JVC Everio GZ-MG330 30 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom (Silver)

3/15/08 UPDATE (read initial review below) I have now bought 3 different JVCs the initial GZMG330 (rated below), the upgraded GZMG730, and last year's GZMG255. I bought the latter two after I was not 100% satisfied with the 330's video.

After buying all three from Amazon and testing side-by-side/same video events, there is a CLEAR hands-down winner of these 3. The 330 (about $450) is the bottom end of JVCs new lineup, but only has a 680k pixel CCD (effective is actually 340k, and it shows), and a f1.8 lens. The 730 (about $730) is the top of the new JVC line, with a 7+ MP CCD, BUT a very small f3.5 lens (no idea why). The smaller the f-stop, the less light will be available for filming. Between these 2, the 730 definitely took overall better video, but the 7+ MP CCD really does not improve it that much. Plus the smaller f3.5 lens on the 730 makes it near impossible to film in very low light conditions. JVC would have hit a home run if they simply would have used the f1.2 lenses on the new lineup, no idea why they failed to do this.

Then I did more research and read about the JVC GZMG255, last year's jewel. It essentially has ALL the same functionality of the new 330/730 line, except a toggle button on the side of the screen vs. the cool laser-touch menu system on the 330/730. HOWEVER, the 255 has a HUGE f1.2 lens, which officially lets in 2x the light of a f1.8 lens (330 has that), and 4x more than a f3.5 lens (730 has that, still don't know why). The end result is a FAR SUPERIOR low-light brilliance on the video, and resolution on the 255 is as good as or better than the top of the line 730, and DEFINITELY better than the new 330. The 255 can be had for about the same price as the new 330. So trade in the cool laser touch screen for the nearly-as-cool toggle button menu system, and get 2x better video. SERIOUSLY!! Plus it can do everything the new ones can, including the 1-button DVD burning feature, whcih works beautifully and simply. I still give the 330 a 5-star rating for the price, but for the same price, GET THE GZMG255 and you will thank me all the way to the TV screen when you view your video.

ORIGINAL REVIEW FOLLOWS BELOW --

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I did 2+ months of research before finally buying a hard-drive camcorder, and I was dismayed by many of the reviews -some perfect scores, some zero's, on the same camcorder. Quickly figured out the professional-level and amateur are both reviewing these things, with very differnt viewpoints and needs. Hopefully this review will help all of you!

I have owned 4 higher-end camcorders for the past 10 years those that the "normal" consumer (family) would buy for use, without having to pay $1000 or more (all of mine were $600 or less). I am NOT a professional photographer, but rather a very avid/busy photographer interested in capturing family experiences concerts, sporting events, graduations, vacations, pets, grandparents, family times, etc what 95% of us use camcorders for. All the previous camcorders I have owned have been 1MP or better CCDs to provide the best video possible for the "normal" user, without paying more than $600 for any one of them. I have historically only owned Canon and JVC camcorders, and recommend both lines.

All previous camcorders were mini-DV tape format I just recently had 100+ tapes converted to all DVDs very nice if you have not done so yet. It will cost you about $11-13 per DVD (2 hours of video) to get yours professionally transferred, with menus, etc. Well worth the $$. I just resold my previous Canon Elura70 1.3MP camcorder, which served me well for 3+ years. I wanted to move to the "future" and go with either a DVD, HD, or flash-drive, or combo. Something that would allow me to better archive and copy my footage myself (DVDs, etc).

After 2+ months of reviewing, I was all but sold on the Canon HG-10 high-def, multi-MP camcorder, with a hard drive. Reviews were very strong. But I liked the size/features of the JVC. The HG-10 looked unbeatable. Then I went to a store and compared them side-by-side, and was pleasantly surprised by the JVC performance and feel (in the store) and by the notable size difference (HG-10 about twice the size). I decided to take a chance on the JVC, even though it was not high-def, 1+MP CCD resolution, etc.

For the above explained purposes, this camcorder is, hands down, THE BEST VALUE and size and features and results that the "normal" user can ask for, at this price. The size is phenominally small, the features, ergonomics, and usage are near perfect, and the video quality is excellent to very good under most instances. I have now used this to film outdoors, indoors, and what I consider a VERY difficult scenario a high school concert, dimly lit in a big auditoruim, with bright backlighting behind the performers, and from a distance of several hundred feet, zooming in 20x or more to see a full face image (my 16-year old) in the screen. Under this very difficult scenario, and viewing the video on my 52-inch 1080P Samsung (a VERY unforgiving LCD TV for less-than high-def images remember the larger the playback monitor, the harder it is on video as it will show every imperfection in the signal/images), the video was EXCELLENT up to a zoom length of about 22x. After 22x zoom (which is pretty darn far), the image got somewhat grainy on the 52" TV. Images at less than 22x zoomed, on my huge TV, looked phenominal under these poor image filming conditions. This is impressive, if you consider the zoom ratio (and hand-held!), and then played back on a hi-res 52" monitor!!! When viewed on a smaller 20" TV or my 17" computer monitor, the zoomed video looked flawless in these dim conditions up to the full 35x optical zoom I was impressed, and sold on keeping the camcorder. The digital image stabilizer works well once zoomed to where you are going, but a bit jittery while zooming I did the above hand-held resting my elbow on the seat armrest only, and had NO jitters in the image once zoomed in or out. I was blown away by the quality of this less-than 1MP, less-than-Hi-def CCD sensor even given the tough situation/playback described above BUY THIS CAMCORDER!!!!

All other videos I took under normal lighting in the house during the day, outside, etc. were flawless when viewed on my 52" TV.

There is an Auto mode (everything done for you), and a Manual mode, where you can adjust the most common settings (white balance, shutter speed, "scenes" or enhancements to the video, etc.) I tried both, and for most of what I will ever do (and have done for 12+ years), Auto is all you need.

The laser-touch slide bar for menu access is intuitively genious, and easy to use. Menu's are simple and understandable, the users guide is brief and informative, and within 15 minutes, I understood every feature of this machine. Battery usage has been reported less than great, but I get a full 90-100 minutes from the standard battery just buy another one for a spare. And the on-screen battery life sensor (minutes remaining) is way cool with JVC batteries.

Burning DVD is SIMPLE, and connectivity is SIMPLE on this camcorder. I was able to burn and copy a DVD with the push of 1 button when connected to my desktop that has a DVD burner. Very simple to use. I am 100% sold on this camcorder for what I (and most people) will ever use it for.

I cannot underscore the simplicity of usage. That, on top of the image quality, sold me.

For stills, don't even bother using this I did not even try (seriously), and never will. If you are a true photographer, even amateur, spend $150 and get a 6+MP digital Canon camera or similar, fits in your shirt pocket, and KEEP STILLS SEPARATE FROM VIDEOS!! I have had 2MP CCD video camcorders in the past that took terrible stills, so why bother???? THIS IS A VIDEO CAMERA!! I would love to see manfacturers stop trying to combine both into 1 package.

If you are a high-end videographer, you need to skip this (why are you even considering a camcorder for under $500????), buy at least the Canon HG-10 (which is wonderful except a clunk in size compared to the JVC), or go for an even better camcorder and spend an extra $500 doing so. For the price, this is more than 99% of what the normal users will ever need and expect for under $600. Period.

My only reccomendation to JVC consider upgrading the CCD to a true 1MP or better, for enhanced low-light video imagery. This is a wish list only item, as the images are pretty darn good as-is, and the larger f1.2 lens and 1+MP CCD that would be required for that will defeat the size/form factor that you get with the 330.

Bottom line best darn harddrive based mini-camcorder out there at close to this price BUY IT!! (and you can choose any of the cool colors a WOW factor to say the least). And, if you buy from a reuptable dealer, you'll have 15-30 days to test it like I did, and not worry about having to return it. If that happens, nothing lost, just get the HG-10 or better!!

Pros:

* Convenient small size.

* Lens cover button helps protect lens from debris and scratches.

* Easy navigational controls.

* Direct record to 30GB hard-disk-drive save is pretty awesomeno worrying about tapes!

* Easy navigation to review everything that has been shot on camera.

* USB connection to computer makes super-fast transfer.

* Bundled software allows you to create DVDs very quickly.

* Video recorded saves into a .MOD file that plays in any Windows Media Player.

* Can play over 7 hours of "high quality" video and 37 hours in lowest quality setting.

* Displays battery life in special menu feature as well as how much space is on your hard disk.

* Can zoom up to 30X and still be very detailed.

* Snapshot capability (low resolution) for quick image stills of video.

* Micro-card slot in the bottom will allow even more recording. In Best Buy, a 4GB micro-card will run you about $60, probably less on Amazon, haven't checked.

* LCD screen is very sharp and works well in daylight unlike older camcorders which washed out the video during the day, forcing you to use the eyepiece (please note this camera does not have a viewfinder/eyepiece).

* The price.

Cons:

* Video quality is pretty poor, they could have done a lot better.

* Small size makes it hard to keep camera from shaking when you are zoomed out past 10x.

* Battery it comes with only lasts a maximum of 110 minutes.

* Snapshots are very low resolution, but ideal for small presentations or emails.

* Look closely at the photos, there is no viewfinder (eyepiece) for you to look through if you prefer that method... however the LCD works well in daylight (unlike older camcorder LCDs where you can barely see the picture).

* Bundled editing software is a little difficult when trying to edit on the timeline... the split clip function is a pain and you have to click on the timeline at least 3 times to get it where you want it. No menu shortcuts either, you have to go through all the menu items.

* On a very bright sunshine day if your subject has a white shirt it will create a purple rim around it. This happens on still cameras as well, but still it's pretty annoying when you have a purple halo around someone wearing a white shirt.

* If you want to edit your video in another software, you may run into some problems. I wanted to use Windows Movie Maker because I find it easier than the included software. Well, it turned my video upside down and each clip I had to rotate 180* to get it right side up. Also, it hangs up when you are attempting to edit and view the video in the source window. Not to mention before you bring it into Windows Movie Maker or any other program you will have to use the included software to convert the .MOD file to .AVI or .MPEG. Yeah, that kind of sucks.

* Difficult to go back through your footage to find a certain thing when you have transferred it to your computer. File names are generic and Windows does not create a handy little thumbnail of what you have shot, just a Windows Media Player icon. If you want to be organized you'll have to spend the extra time in going through each clip (which is created every time you record a small segment) and rename them so you'll know what you're looking for... I guess this is the only slight disadvantage when using a hard disk camcorder.

In Conclusion:

This is a pretty decent little camera though I expected a little more with the video quality. I think that's the only drawback that I have about it. These days we are so used to watching crystal clear images on our televisions and DVD players that when we view the video from these little camcorders it's a bit disappointing. However, all-in-all this is a good value for the home/personal consumer, but professionally and for the video enthusiast, pay a little extra money and go with a 3CCD. Find a hard-disk-drive camcorder as well... you can't beat not having to pay and keep up with a bunch of MiniDV tapes.

(I will keep updating this review the more I use the camcorder and the software.)

4/21/08 If you are curious to see videos this camera produces, more importantly the video quality of this camcorder, go to youtube and enter the name of it into the search bar.

Buy JVC Everio GZ-MG330 30 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom (Silver) Now

If you are looking for a camcorder for an easy home video recording. This review might be helpful to you.

I purchased JVC Everio GZMG330 one week ago. I thought about buying a SONY DCR SR42 at first, but the model is discontinued. I thought SONY SR42 was the smallest among the HDD camcorder, but this is even smaller than SONY SR42. This is much slimmer than SR42. This is really small to fit in my small hand very well. I got a sapphire blue one. It's really cool. I wonder why most camcorders are in the silver color only. It looks really pretty in the bright sunlight outdoors.

The HDD camcorder is the right decision I made. I used to have dozens of tapes for the old SONY camcorder (well organized though). After I used this for couple of days, I realized that HDD is the perfect solution for camcorders. You can record video all day long without worrying about the tape recording time. In fact, battery life is your only limit for recording. ^^ I recorded my son's soccer game for about an hour. It spent about 3 GB of the storage. Not bad.

35x zoom is great. I didn't pay too much attention to the optical zoom, but it turned out to be very important for various shootings. You can zoom in and see objects which you cannot distinguish well with your bare eyes. It's a good idea to use a tripod if you spend much time in the zoom recording.

The connection to the computer is easy and intuitive. However, the bundled software to organize the video files runs very slowly and its GUI looks pretty simple and ugly. The video editing S/W has better GUI though.

The image quality is okay. I didn't have a chance to compare the image quality of all the camcorders. It looks better than the old tape camcorder or VHS tape recorded video on TV. It's not as good as the DVD titles. It could be nice if the camcorder had an s-video output. On computer, the image looks much better. Especially after you finish the video rendering into DVD HQ format with the bundled software, you'll find out that the video shows smoother motion than the original 'MOD' one. You cannot play the MOD video from the media player directly. You need to convert it to MPEG2 format using the bundled software. The max video resolution is SD 720x480. Anyway, I didn't expect the highest quality video at this low budget camcorder. For a casual home video recording, the quality looks fine with me. However, I'm curious how good the video quality of this camcorder is compared with others though.

However, you should handle the LCD panel carefully. It looks weaker than other camcorders. The average image and fragile LCD is why I give 4 instead of 5 stars.

Read Best Reviews of JVC Everio GZ-MG330 30 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom (Silver) Here

I bought the JVC Everio 330 prior to this, but was interested in the Canon because it had a mic input. I bought the Canon FS100 at Walmart and of course started filming right there in the parking lot. On a sunny day, the camera struggled to get good focus on a zoom in the many many tests that I put it through. At full Optical zoom, it never focused completely. I took it home and put it throught many more tests, indoors and out, same problem. It had poor low light capabilities too, and of course equally bad autofocus indoors. If only they would have used the same Instant Autofocus system and optical image stabilization that they put in the High-Definition Canon HF10, they'd have a great Standard Definition camera here.

Just to let you know, I am a professional filmmaker, and two of my films have made it to television, one on PBS. But I wanted a really simple no frills hard drive camera to record video notes and just for fun.

Now for the JVC Everio 330. After two weeks owning it, I am amazed with it. It records great in low light with Electronic Gain Up, and it focuses SO WELL, that most of the time it appears that there is never anything out of focus. It does it so fast. AND, unlike the Canon FS100, when you take it out of manual settings to auto settings, then back to Manual, it REMEMBERS the last settings. The Canon FS100 clears them.

The only thing I can say good about the Canon is their electronic image stabilization is better than JVCs. But with the focus problem, does it really matter? I love my JVC Everio 330!

Want JVC Everio GZ-MG330 30 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom (Silver) Discount?

Our previous camcorder died about a year ago, and I finally was able to start looking into purchasing a new one recently. I dove right into researching and comparing the options out there for a decent-but-cheap camcorder. I wanted something with a good zoom level, a large LCD screen, and was hoping to find something digital (either DVD or hard drive) so we wouldn't have to hassle with tapes anymore and could copy video directly to our computer.

I started off by looking at the Sony camcorders since that's what our previous one was and I do trust the brand in general. But I was quickly swayed toward the JVC camcorders when I read the reviews for both brands on Amazon and on . I ended up deciding on the JVC Everio GZ-MG330 camcorder with a 30GB hard drive and 35x optical zoom. And I'll tell you exactly why this camcorder works for us.

* First of all it's tiny! I couldn't believe when I received it and opened the box. It's honestly not that much larger than our point-and-shoot digital camera and it weighs about the same as well. Which is incredibly convenient when you're trying to hold a camcorder up with one hand (usually with a 2-year-old in the other arm) for extended periods of time. The 'official' size is listed as 5 x 3 x 4.4 inches and a total of 2 pounds.

* The quality of the video and audio is excellent. Even when new, our old camcorder never recorded nearly this clearly, especially in low light. See below for a couple of samples of video that I've recorded with this camcorder.

* The zoom quality is amazing. The lens is a Konica Minolta with a maximum aperture range of F/1.8-4 (which may mean something to you photography buffs out there it doesn't really to me). But all I know is that I can stand on the play structure at our oldest daughter's soccer field and clearly see and film what's happening in her practice or game. And since I spend most of said practices and games over on the playground with our 2-year-old, this has allowed me to actually see what's going on over at the field.

* I thought it would be strange to not have a viewfinder to look through, but the 2.7-inch display screen is plenty big enough. And I haven't noticed any problems with being able to clearly see it, even in bright sunlight (another issue we had with our previous camcorder).

* The 30GB hard drive holds up to 37.5 hours of video. No more shuffling tapes on Christmas morning or at birthday parties that go for more than 60 minutes at a time. Or realizing that you're about out of tape 5 minutes before the performance starts.

* Even when zoomed in close on something like my daughter's soccer game, there is a minimal amount of shaking in the picture. The worst problem that I've had is from standing on the play structure and having kids run by, shaking the entire structure. There's not much anyone can do to solve that. :)

* It is possible to take still photos with the camcorder at a 2 megapixel resolution. Which, although not nearly as good as our regular digital camera, certainly is nothing to sneeze at and is a good backup in case we forget our digital camera or the batteries go dead in it. I didn't buy the camcorder to take still shots with after all but having the option to is something I do like.

* The cost was very reasonable.

* Downloading video to the computer is very easy and the software that comes bundled with the camcorder allows for some pretty basic video editing.

The bottom line for me is that so far I'm loving this camcorder and would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a new one.

Manfrotto 311 Video Monitor Platform with Straps - Replaces 3152

My 10 inch Thrive fits fine. I have it on a double connection bar with the camera on the right and this, with the tablet, on the left. It is a little unsure, in the "wild", but, when connected, it works just fine on a manfrotto tripod. The straps can be problematic when they slip and block the screen. I downloaded a SLR program so I can manipulate the camera directly from the tablet. It works well, though set up takes a few minutes.

Solid construction. Good, simple design. Compact size. Decent value. Makes just about any stand a monitor stand. What more can I say.

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Pentax Optio Z10 8MP Digital Camera with 7x Optical Zoom

I am about to travel around the world and want an alternative to my Pentax K10D, particularly when wishing to be unobtrusive in third-world countries. First, I spent some time with the Panasonic LX2 -same camera as the Leica at less than half the price -which has some unique features and seems to be a terrific camera. BUT it won't go into a shirt pocket because the marvelous Leica lens protrudes. At a hefty (!) 7.8 oz, it weighs 56% more than the Optio Z10's 5 oz. The Optio is so small that there is nothing to hold onto. The Panasonic is better in that respect, but significantly bulkier.

I had just about decided to send both cameras back when I realized that I hadn't even looked at the few pix I had taken with the Optio. So I duly transferred them to my Mac and was absolutely astonished by the results. For reasons I don't understand, the Optio seems to handle subtle shades in the sky and clouds better than the K10.

The bottom line: The Optio produces razor-sharp pictures, even when using the 7x zoom hand-held at a slow shutter speed. Given some of the negative comments in these pages, I really didn't expect that. The design of the camera is superb. I only wish there were some semblance of a grip to hold onto.

This is a great camera. You can use the Auto but I prefer to use the Green mode where you can set the settings as in my SRT 101 35MM camera. I took a outdoor shot of a veined flower, about 8 inches away. It came out extremely detailed, and trust me I'm pickey. I then used the stitch mode where you can create a 'Digital wide angle' it also worked great. The feature of the lens that uses a refraction mirror to go from wide angle to close is great as you never get the lens protruding from the camera. The features in this camera are plentiful and you can use them to get really fantastic pictures. Read up on this camera and compare for yourself, you'll love it.

Buy Pentax Optio Z10 8MP Digital Camera with 7x Optical Zoom Now

I bought this camera because of its huge optical zoom, 8 MP, new mirror optics and because it is Pentax. And this camera is absolutely great! The pictures are very juicy in color and clear! Nothing moves when you zoom only mirrors inside the camera! It's true that the camera marks easily, but it can be easily cleaned! The Menu is very easy to read, with helping tips about each mode of shooting a great plus for me since I don't like to read the manual. However there was one thing that frightened me and I did read the manual if you press several times Ok-button histogram will appear and if you want to shoot something that has spots which are very dark and very light they will appear as yellow and red spots on the LCD display! In the beginning that made me think the LCD or camera itself is damaged. But it's actually the way it's supposed to work!!! And now I think this is very useful tool! O! btw, to turn the camera on you should move the plastic piece that covers lenses on front tricky to understand but easy to do!

So I'm completely satisfied with this purchase. That's why I give this camera 5 stars. A great camera in style!!!

Read Best Reviews of Pentax Optio Z10 8MP Digital Camera with 7x Optical Zoom Here

This camera has speed settings from ISO 64 to 3200. Of these, only 64 and 100 are acceptable. In bright scenes you will get a picture with good detail and color and a small amount of noise. Even at these low settings, a slightly magnified image will show noise as a speckling in the image. I made a mistake buying this camera somehow misunderstanding its characteristics before I bought it. If you do not believe me, then read the professional reviews, such as at

The good It's compact, has a 7x optical zoom, has a nice screen, easy to use controls, and takes adequate movies.

The bad It takes low quality noisy pictures, it has no image stabilization. Pentax claims it has image stabilization, but what they really do is increase the ISO level, reduce the exposure time, and greatly increase the noise level. You will get this effect whenever you take zoom pictures, except in the brightest of sunlight.

My recommendation: Do not buy this camera! If you want a small high zoom camera that takes good movies, but has better noise characteristics, look at the very similar looking Casio with real image stabilization. Pentax certainly could do better.

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I have several Pentax cameras (digital and 35mm) and I find that they are truly built to last and are as user friendly as they possibly can be. This camera is my quickie pocket camera and has proven itself worthy of the Pentax name. The buttons are simple, intuitive and easy to read for any digital camera this size. The zoom is awesome, but I usually don't go past the 7x optical because the digital zoom is like most digital zooms, grainy. It isn't the fastest between shots, but it's usually fast enough even for sports, kids and pet action. It shoots nice little videos with decent sounds quality too. I have dropped this camera several times on hard surfaces, used it in rain and snow, and even dropped it in some water once and it still works great. The LCD viewer is like all LCDs in the sun, a little hard to see, but I find that the photos always turn out better back home than they looked on the LCD. Bottom line, for $200, this is a great, great camera. I wouldn't have been upset paying $300 for it.

D-Link DCS-930L mydlink-Enabled Wireless-N Network Camera

I purchased this camera to use as a cheep wireless IP webcam. It offers the ability to hook into your network either with the wireless WSP functionality or with an ethernet connection. It is fairly small with the camera being about the size of an iphone (maybe about 80% that size). The base allows for you to mount it in multiple settings, but be clear, this is a very simple design...not rocket science by any means. The ac power cord is about 4 feet long.

Setup: I ran into an issue when I was trying to set up the wireless connection. I could not get my camera and wireless router to talk at all. I called tech support (the free version) and they were useless. The rep had no clue about the specific devise and it is clear that he was just in a large call center that probably supports dozens if not hundreds of products. I had NO problem when I hooked it into my network via an ethernet cable. The set up application runs very nicely and easily gives you the option to select either wireless or wired set up as needed.

Back to my wireless problem. I decided that I would pay $32 for D-Links premium support for 30 minutes of help...I rolled the dice, as they do not guarantee they will fix your problem for your investment, but I had a feeling my issue was something simple with my network configuration...and I was right. The rep was great, she remoted into my pc, checked out my wireless settings on my router and determined that I had a bad character in my site name. None of my other wireless products had a problem with the character, but the D-Link cam did not like it. She changed the name of my wireless network, we restarted the router,and instantly the camera linked in wirelessly.

I am absolutely convinced that if I had not had a dash in my wireless network name, then this wireless set up would have been a breeze. So, I can't place blame for this issue on D-Link, but it was interesting that no other wireless device I use had a problem with the naming convention of the network.

Once that hurdle was cleared, it has been smooth sailing. I really like the ease of use and the functionality included with the set up...through a web interface, you can control video size, audio (yes it has a mic and sends the audio over IP in realtime), you can set motion detection, auto emailing on detection, and it even has a built in ftp server to send the images where ever you like.

Simple camera that does exactly what it says...it provides decent video and audio wirelessly to your network and then you can do with it what you want.

Pros: Simple, straight forward, nice setup application used on your pc, D-Link offers free remote viewing via their web portal MyD-link, and they also offer a free iPhone app (no audio on the iPhone app).

Cons: Seems somewhat fragile...I would not want to drop it form more than a foot off the ground. A fall from any higher seems would shatter it.

Overall I think this is a really good value.

((Update Dec. 18, 2011)

So I have had this camera in service for over a year now...and it has been installed outside, under an eave of my house. It has no additional protection from the elements...just its own casing and the few inches of cover provided by the eave. It has been subjected to all the weather Atlanta receives in a year...heat 95+, cold 9, wind, rain, humidity, etc. The verdict...GREAT..not one issue with it. So, I just purchased three more for outdoor viewing around the house. I put one into service yesterday and had NO problems with setup at all. Used the auto network connect feature on the camera and my Netgear router and it hooked in within a minute. Great little camera and with the price dropped to $70, I think it will be hard to beat it.

This is the easiest way I found to monitor our home remotely.

I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly everything came together I had the camera installed and transmitting in less than 15 minutes. I plugged the camera into a power outlet, popped the CD in (on a Windows 7 64-bit computer), entered my wireless network credentials, set up a DLink account from which to monitor the camera, and presto!

What works well:

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1. The lens is reasonably wide angle it can cover most of a normal size room.

2. It has audio! And it works very well.

3. Image quality is decent you can recognize people, but it isn't broadcast quality by any means.

4. Moving the camera kills the feed for a couple of minutes, but it's back on the network in less than 2 minutes.

5. The iPhone app is cool! We were able to watch the camera just as well on an iPod Touch. As another reviewer suggested, Tiny Cam (the free version is sufficient) worked great for me on Android.

6. The admin interface for the camera is stellar. You can control the refresh rate and resolution of the camera; the saturation, brightness, and contrast of the image; and the volume for the audio. You can even turn off the annoying LED light on the front of the unit!

7. Setting up motion detection is also really easy. You just pick the sensitivity of detection, and click on parts of the frame where you want detection to trigger. That's it! When motion is detected, you can ask the camera to email you the images.

8. Setting up email notification is simple too. I looked up the SMTP address and port for Yahoo, entered my email address and password, and was soon receiving emails from my camera!

9. This device supports WPS. What this means that you can automatically configure it to access your router, with just a couple of button presses. You press the WPS button on this camera, and within 60 seconds press the WPS button on your router (or in your router's admin screen). Then, magically, within about a minute, your camera configures itself with the SSID and password required to connect to your router.

10. It connects via Wireless-N and has an awesome range. It connects without problems to my router from across the house, through multiple walls.

What doesn't:

##########

1. The camera does not work in low light conditions as it does not have infrared capabilities. You need at least a 40W lamp for it to be functional. This tends to be a bit annoying for me, as the camera becomes fairly useless once evening falls. The infrared-capable DCS-932L may be a better choice in this regard.

2. No pan/tilt options on this camera. For me, this is not as big a deal as the low light issue, especially given its wide angle of view.

3. The camera feels a bit delicate, but should hold up well given that it isn't going to be handled much. It did take a couple of falls and has survived.

4. The camera needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet. Its short power cord does limit the locations where it can be placed.

Conclusions:

########

Overall, this was plug and play installation at its best.

I also can't believe there is a simpler way to get all of this functionality in a single unit. This device is extensively customizable. I was particularly impressed that the designers had thought about putting in a way to turn off the blinking LED in the front of the camera. This LED is a very useful diagnostic tool (it flashes amber when it is setting itself up, and green when it is broadcasting), but it drove me nuts, until I found this option in the admin panel.

Updated Feb 06 2011:

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

Okay maybe I spoke too soon.

Access to the camera that I tested when I wrote this review was from within my internal network. Unfortunately, the feed from this camera was not visible from outside my home network. My router and this camera were UPnP compatible but that didn't seem to help.

Networking Primer:

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

Before you begin, remember that you only have one publicly visible IP address and this is allocated by your ISP, and is assigned to your router. Inside your network, your devices are allocated private IP addresses, in the range 192.168.x.y. These addresses are termed "private" because they only make sense within your own internal private network.

A computer outside your network only recognizes the public IP address of your router. It has no idea how many devices you might have on your internal network.

The workaround below, lets you use the mechanism of [port forwarding] to uniquely identify one of your internal devices, and make it addressable over the Internet. You do this by reserving a particular port (say, 81), and telling your router that any attempt to access that particular port on the public IP address, should actually be sent directly on to the internal device (say, a camera) identified by a given private address (say, 192.168.1.5).

You have roughly up to 65535 ports that you can forward, though many of these ports are reserved for well known applications (such as a web browser on port 80). Ports between 49152 and 65535 are considered private and usable for reasons such as this one.

For each camera you want to expose externally, you'll need to pick a port number, and then add a port forwarding rule to your router.

The workaround:

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

1. Log in to your camera's settings page:

...a. on the Network Setup tab > set Port Settings to listen for HTTP requests on port 81.

...b. Disable UPnP

2. On your router

...a. Turn off UPnP

...b. Add a new Port Forwarding Rule

.....Service Name: DCS930L.

.....Protocol: TCP/UDP.

.....Starting/Ending Ports: 81.

.....Server IP Address: set this to the internal network address for your camera.

.....This will be of the form 192.168.x.y, where x usually is 0 or 1, and y will vary.

A port forwarding rule causes any request coming to your router's IP address at this port to be forwarded to the server IP address that you specify.

3. Now access the camera using your static IP address as assigned by your provider @ port 81.

...This will take the form: . Note this is your externally visible IP address (not of the form 192.168.x.y)

...Provide login credentials.

If you want to get really fancy, and are tired of keeping up with changing IP addresses, then you might wish to register at dyndns.org. My router Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDR3700 actually keeps dyndns informed whenever my ISP changes my IP address. You can then use a simple textual host name and it will be automatically converted to your IP address whatever it may be set to currently.

Hope this helps.

Happy Monitoring!

~Damodar

Buy D-Link DCS-930L mydlink-Enabled Wireless-N Network Camera Now

4/4/2011: The day and night video is pretty good. The installation process was flawless. Unfortunately I can't use the camera as a baby monitor since the audio static is awful. The static is so loud you can't hear anything. Hopefully Dlink will address my concern. I'll update my review once I hear back from them. See my video if you'd like to hear the bad static. Also Dlink hasn't fixed the audio problem with the Iphone App. You only get video with the Iphone. I have the Iphone 4 with iOS 4.3 installed.

4/5/2011: I contacted Dlink support. They said they know about the audio problem and they don't plan to fix it. Ughh! I'm going to return this one and see if a new one sounds better. I'll post more once I get the new one.

4/14/2011: I received my new DCS-932L from Amazon today. The audio is just as bad with this camera. What a shame. I even upgraded my java version to 1.6.0_24-b07. Ughh. Time to send it back or pray for a firmware fix.

8/31/2011: We've started to use this camera all the time since our baby is older and Iphone support has been added. The audio is good enough where we can hear him. I just wish Dlink would get rid of the static.

3/5/2012: This camera has become our primary baby monitor for our 14th month old. The iphone apps work very well. Our Philips Iphone dock works great with the Dlink Iphone app. It amplifies the audio and cleans up the audio a bit. I'm adding 1 more star back. I still wish the the audio didn't have so much static, but this camera has turned out to be a great baby monitor.

Read Best Reviews of D-Link DCS-930L mydlink-Enabled Wireless-N Network Camera Here

I purchased one of these cameras several months ago and it worked so well for the first month that I decided to get a second one. I have now had both for about two months and am finding that my first camera's wireless connection has slowly gotten less and less reliable. It had been in a fixed location the whole time with two walls and a floor between camera and wireless router (about 25 30 feet away). Router settings have not changed. I have performed extensive diagnostics, i.e. went through camera setup several times, changing router settings (removed all wireless security, used fixed IP) and nothing worked. Reset button on camera did not help. Firmware update did not help.

I have finally found that the camera now only works within 15 feet or so of the router, and it must be on the same floor as the router with no walls in between. This is unacceptable for a wireless camera, and my concern is that the wireless card within the camera is losing strength. The other camera I own once worked outside of the house entirely and now will no longer work there nor in the location of the first camera (which is closer and less obstructed than being outside). All other wireless devices we own have ample wireless signal throughout the house, our garage, and most of our yard, and as far as I can tell none of that has changed.

As I am using an Airport Extreme router and thought that there might be some sort of compatibility issue I have even tried running the camera wireless through my old D-Link DIR-615 wireless router with a fully open wireless connection and have not had any luck...the signal range for the camera is the same. DLink support has been no help, other than suggesting only using their routers (which didn't help) and rebooting everything and reconfiguring the camera (also did not help).

I cannot recommend this camera to anyone due to this reliability issue. It is fairly easy to set up and has a useful iPhone app available, but will likely be no use to anyone unless they can keep the camera within 15 feet of their access point with no obstructions in the long run. All I can do is wait until I have the money to replace these cameras with something better. Don't let this happen to you. Start with a different camera first.

Want D-Link DCS-930L mydlink-Enabled Wireless-N Network Camera Discount?

I was looking for a low cost wireless camera with better image quality than the Linksys WVC80N cameras that I have been using for a while. Side-by-Side, this is how the cameras compared.

Bottom Line: Unless you need Night Vision or need the mobil phone apps, the Linksys WVC80N performs better at a lower price. Linksys has better image quality than D-Link at any distance, handles outdoor scenes when the D-Link won't and will deliver video clips (not just snapshots) by email or ftp. The Linksys does not have phone-apps, but it can email a 5 second motion triggered video clip that can be viewed on your android phone.

Best Useage: The D-Link would be great as a baby cam or pet cam. The cute design, better audio and the night vision outperform the Linksys for these uses.

The Linksys WVC80N would be better for any other use where the video quality under all lighting conditions (except dark) is the highest priority.

Compare Image Quality @ 640x480

1. Color Quality D-Link is a little better than Linksys, unless it is an outdoor view. The D-Link exposure control cannot manage any sunlit surfaces. Even grass and trees are completely washed out to white if they are in direct sun. There are no settings to fix this. In moderate light, the D-Link color is better than Linksys because the Linksys has a color hue gradient of red in the center to green at the perimeter. This color balance problem is distracting when viewing a white scene like snow or other very light backgrounds.

2. Image Clarity With the two cameras side-by-side with the same scene of near-and-distant objects, the D-Link by comparison looks optically out-of-focus, though neither camera is great in this respect. If you want to recognize a face at a distance Linksys is better. The D-Link video clarity is fine for a baby's bedroom, because a near-field view does not demand the same sharp focus as a distant view.

3. Sound Quality The D-Link has good audio performance on an wireless "N" lan when accesses directly within your home using the camera's local IP address. Very little "noise", no skipping or break-up and good microphone pickup. I didn't check it out across the internet or with the "MyDlink" connection, but I am guessing audio would not perform so well there . . as other reviewers have noted.

The Linksys has more audio artifacts and is more vulnerable to the audio breaking up when the video settings are too demanding even on the local network. Across the internet with high speed cable service at both ends, the Video has to be set at "Low Quality" and 2 or 1 frames per second for the audio to work without breaking up.

Some Feature Comparisons

1. The one obvious advantage with the D-Link is the night vision. It works pretty well up to 20 feet but the pictures are very soft-focus. For your night-time application you may want to consider that the 4 red LEDS are very bright and draw your eye to the camera.

2. The D-Link camera cannot stream video to a PC without using the full web management interface or using the MyDLink web service. With the Lynksys you can play the video stream directly on an iPad or on a PC using Google's Chrome browser without the surroundings of a web interface. Internet Explorer will only show 1 frame of a video stream if you bypass the full management interface explaining why Google Chrome is mentioned. With the Linksys camera, Right-Click on the video in the normal interface to get the URL for the direct video stream to used on your iPad or Chrome.

The D-Link can display a single .jpeg snapshot without the managment interface. This feature can be enabled in the camera's web interface and it tells the address format to use. This is for direct access, not using MyDink.

2. The D-Link cannot upload a video clip to an ftp server when it sees motion. It will only upload a single .jpeg snapshot. This will often give you a useless premature snapshot of a shadow but not the person, or a door opening but not the person. With the Linksys .mjpeg video clip, no video compression is used so each frame is a good .jpeg snapshot. You can select the best frame from the 5 second video that would give you the best view of the motion event that triggered the clip.

3. The D-Link will only email 6 frames when it sees motion. You can choose 1 or 2 frames per second. It will include the 3 frames it had buffered before it saw motion which is a good feature. This makes the email feature much more usefull than the D-Link ftp upload of a single .jpeg snapshot.

For motion detection features, you may prefer the Linksys which will email, ftp (or both) a 5 second video clip at a normal video frame rate.

I had no reason to examine the motion detect performance on the D-Link camera, but the motion detection on this Linksys camera works much better that on the prior similar models. With careful detection-area and sensitivity tuning, motion detection works great. Motion Detection responds to shadows which makes outdoor use tricky but manageable. Shadows on the ground caused by wind blowing the trees will trigger the camera so your detction areas need to be carefully targeted at areas of interest.

Setup / Wireless Compatibility

Working in a related tech business, I believe the negative reviews on either of these products regarding wireless compatibility or networking issues are the result of bad programming on the manufacturer's setup CD or the buyer's lack of network troubleshooting experience. If you have a friend who is very tech-savy to help you get past wireless and networking complications, either of these products will work reliably on virtually any wireless network. Sometimes the installation CD's will simplify networking issues and sometime they won't.

Reading the complaints on Amazon about the D-Link setup, I had the same problems but they were caused by poor programming on Setup CD; not the camera. If you get failure messages going through the Wizard on the CD, just use the web interface on the camera and save yourself a lot of grief. The web interface on the camera is excellent.

Another reason to skip the DLink CD . . . it forces you to to create a MyDlink account with DLink even though you may have no need for the service because you prefer to port-forward to this camera.

I returned this camera because it was a video quality downgrade from the Linksys cameras already in service.

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X-Rite i1Display 2 Color Calibrator for LCD, CRT, and Laptop Displays

I have been increasingly more interested in my photography hobby and came to the eventual realization that monitor color and luminance calibration was necessary. It just did not make sense, spending sometimes hours post processing a photo on my computer, only to have it show up with different colors on somebody else's screen or printer.

I have never before calibrated any monitors or TVs and considered, in addition to this product, the Spyder 3 Pro and LaCie Blue Eye. I finally decided on the Eye-One Display 2.

I have now calibrated my dual LCD monitor setup (Dell 2405WFP and 2408WFP) and Dell XPS 17" laptop with complete ease and great, consistent results. Because I actually have 2 separate PCIe video cards, calibrating dual LCD is as easy as calibrating one with Windows Vista 32 bit.

PROS:

1. Cheaper than LaCie Blue Eye, which is highly regarded by certain website reviewers (although more expensive than Spyder 3 Pro)

2. Same hardware to the well regarded LaCie Blue Eye

3. Better ability to reproduce black on LCD as per a website review than Spyder 3 Pro

4. Ability to measure and calibrate luminance

5. Very simple easy mode for those who want speed and to not have to understand the complexities of color calibration

6. An advanced mode, which was actually fairly easy for even me to use (and I have no prior detailed knowledge of color technologies)

7. Software allows you to see the before and after effects of your calibration effort by showing a color chart and a small portrait of a woman.

8. Install CD contains very easy to use complete video tutorials on how to calibrate.

CONS:

1. On Apple Macs, dual monitor calibration is supposedly easy. But with Windows XP/Vista, it is not a straightforward task. Because I actually have TWO separate PCIe video cards, calibrating dual LCD was as easy as calibrating one under Windows Vista 32 bit.

A dual monitor setup with a SINGLE video card can be calibrated individually under Windows XP with a workaround solution, as per suggestions I've found from a Google search. I am not sure if the workaround works under Vista, but it seems plausible.

2. More expensive than Spyder 3 Pro (although cheaper than LaCie Blue Eye)

TIPS:

1. On the Dell 2405WFP 24" LCD panel, the monitor will not allow user customizable contrast control if you choose a DVI input for that monitor. I am not certain why this is since my 2408WFP allows this. The only downside of this, is that you cannot use the advanced mode for the Dell 2405WFP, since that mode requires the user to manually change some monitor settings, which include contrast.

2. Consider whether or not you need the more expensive Eye-One Display 2 version vs. the cheaper "LT" version. If you do not need a customized white balance or different gamut or even know what I'm writing about, then you might be completely fine with the "LT" version. I am not 100% certain if the "LT" version will measure and calibrate luminance, however. This could be an important difference.

3. If cost is an issue, I would also research the Spyder 3 Pro system. Although I chose the Eye-One Display 2, I realize now since seeing the vast differences from my pre-calibrated images to my post-calibrated images, that color calibration is essential. It is probably better to calibrate with almost anything vs not calibrating at all.

4. Also realize that the Eye-One Display 2, Spyder 3 Pro, and LaCie Blue eye hardware can be utilized with 3rd PARTY SOFTWARE! A Google search will show that there are indeed even FREE 3rd party software that you can use to drive the hardware. Some forum members seem to write positive results with some of this software.

5. If cost is no object, serious consideration should be given to the more expensive LaCie Blue Eye. A Google search shows that this is a very well regarded system. (The Eye-One uses the same hardware as this Blue Eye.)

6. Go the X-rite website and look at the current version numbers of the software and compare it to what your installer disk has. Instead of using the install CD, I downloaded the newest versions from the website. I believe only 1 or 2 out of approximately 5 files I downloaded were newer from the website, but this is always a good idea. Some of the files are very large and you will definitely need a broadband connection. Burn these files to your own DVD, so that you can then install the software on each of your computers or laptops to use the calibrating hardware. The install CD is still very useful as it has the really useful tutorials.

I hope this review was helpful as it is certainly confusing as a novice to determine which calibrator to use!

There isn't much to really say about this product other than it does exactly what it say it will, does it relatively quickly, and potentially has nothing for you to learn before initial use. I had five monitors to calibrate; all LCDs except for one laptop display, four of them associated with dual monitored systems, mixed on both Windows XP and Windows Vista. I had all five calibrated within 20 minutes of opening the package, and reading nothing more than the quick start flyer; the software wizard in Easy Mode literally did everything in 4 steps without much input from me. On the monitor I perform a lot of graphic work on, I switched to the advanced mode and found the software to be just as intuitive and complete as it was in easy mode. Great product.

Buy X-Rite i1Display 2 Color Calibrator for LCD, CRT, and Laptop Displays Now

I bought the Eye-One recently since I was having trouble seeing shadow details on both my monitors.

I am not sure if they changed packaging since the last reviewer, but mine was simple. Open the flap, fold the front down and everthing is right there for your use. It folds back up nice and easy to store everything until later use.

As soon as I got the package, I brought it to my work computer and plugged it in. I used the "easy" method for this computer. It walked me thru each step (not many in the "easy" method). I was done in a few minutes. One great part is it shows you a comparison of before and after. It is amazing how bad the monitor was calibrated before.

I also brought it home for my laptop. I used the "advanced" setting for this computer. It was just as easy. There is an explaination on each step of what you need to do. The process only took a few minutes and I was done.

It feels good to have a nice and consistant view between both computers.

I have never used calibration equipment before, so I do not have a basis to compare this system against. But I am happy with what I got and its ease of use.

Read Best Reviews of X-Rite i1Display 2 Color Calibrator for LCD, CRT, and Laptop Displays Here

Most of the other reviews here are accurate. This is a solidly-built piece that ultimately gets the job done, but the instructions are non-existent until you finally figure out which of the 4 programs they give you is the "main" program (you have to sift through a messy install CD with way too many folders and icons... it's not evident what's what)... and even then, the instructions and information are weirdly stilted. And the software itself (for Mac) is severely antiquated. It definitely looks like it was in it's prime around OS 8.6, and then (barely) updated for the first round of OS X. And, more importantly, it hung up a few times during the process. And one of the programs, that's supposed to "check" your monitor's health didn't work at all.

Does it get the job done? I think so. The easy mode is darn easy, and the advanced mode, while more time consuming, is definitely better. My monitor is definitely looking a lot sexier, and I'm pretty much glad I got this device over the competition. However, the manufacturer is definitely resting on their laurels, coping a "ain't broke, won't fix it" attitude w/ the software and documentation. When a bit of a spitshine would garner a 5-star review from everyone.

Want X-Rite i1Display 2 Color Calibrator for LCD, CRT, and Laptop Displays Discount?

I used this to calibrate a three year old 19" Viewsonic LCD with a TN panel, a Hanns-G HX-191DPB 19" LCD, a Dell D400 and a Dell D410 laptop. Each one took about a half hour to set up the software and calibrate. All screens look amazing. I did, however, find the need to employ a 3-foot USB extension cable for my desktop, being that the box is rather far from the monitor. Most people will not need the extension.

I chose to do the "easy" method and the "advanced" method to see the difference. After viewing both, I have to say that I find no need to do the "advanced" method again. In the future, I will use the "easy" calibration choice.

NOTE: At the end of the process, be sure to un-check the box that states it will remind you daily or weekly to recalibrate your monitor. That sure is annoying.

The colors on my monitor are now warmer and more true. Being that I have TN panel on all screens, I am very happy that I have the colors I do, for I am only seeing about 72% gamut.

Before the calibration I used the Color Index 2: Over 1500 New Color Combinations: For Print and Web Media: Cmyk and Rgb Formulas to see how far out my colors were. I chose a brown-blue-orange-red mix and typed in the numbers from the page. I wasn't even close! After calibration I typed in the same numbers and held the book up to the screen: now I was very close on all but the brown, which was only slightly out. Not bad for a 30-minutes process that required little to no input from me.

Now, the other reviewers that complained about the instructions are right: it expects a lot from you as a user. You must have a general understanding of what you are doing in order to make it happen. That's not to say it is completely lacking or impossible to figure out, but I could see where some people may have a problem or two. The manual is very basic. VERY basic. Ultra-minimalistic is a better way of putting it.

I highly recommend this product to everyone that has a monitor and USB port.

Vivotek IP7160 3GPP MPEG-4 Fixed Network Camera

The user manual is terrible. Some advanced items are mentioned but not discussed. The camera has a manual focus ring which is not even mentioned!

I was able to access all of the features using my Mac, except setting up motion detection zones and sensitivity it appears these features are Windows Explorer centric. I was able to set this up using Windows XP on my Mac in VMWare Fusion.

The camera has 4 independent streams of video, 3 of which you can configure to your own resolution and quality settings. You can have any number of streams recorded to a whole host of options ftp, email, SD card (I have a 16gig card in mine), SMB windows share. You can have the camera trigger events using motion detection or an external input. You can also have an external output trigger.

The camera is a very comprehensive server with more options than you could ever need.

I have mine set up to record a 800*600 stream to the SD card, (and recycle the card when it is full) in case my video capture machine is off or down. I also have the camera send a 1600*1200 (the maximum size) every second to a Windows share on one of my Macs, and again recycle the storage when it is full. If motion is detected it sends an email alert with a short stream of images of the event.

You can integrate this camera using standard HTTP POST and GET commands, and quickly view a static high res image using a URL, like

or view a stream using a web browser or QuickTime player like rtsp://192.168.20.80/live.sdp or rtsp://192.168.20.80/live2.sdp

It supports security using HTTPS including certificate creation, account access control, access lists, etc.

This camera does not have IR, so your target needs to be illuminated at night.

The quality is OK. Its not as sharp as a 2 megapixel stills camera. I'll upload some samples. For $300 its worth every penny!

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2012

The camera started to malfunction. The only way to contact support is to submit a ticket. It took a little over a week to get a response. The response was essentially, "it needs repairing, but you are outside your warranty. Sorry about that."

We have 9 other Vivotek cameras, and a Vivotek NVR. Given the failures over the past two years, we are starting to regret locking ourselves in on Vivotek,

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

No it's not especially if you take into account its intended users. If you use a Canon digital SLR and are satisfied with the kit lens (18-55) then buying this lens can be the perfect next step for you. Practically speaking, you will be able to increase your zoom reach to the point where you can A) photograph birds in moderately distant trees, B) be able to zoom in on the other side of a valley and frame something of your interest. Those are just two examples. One thing you will NOT be able to do effectively with this lens, however, is to take sport shots with it. How so? Consider some of the following weakness:

*At 300mm zoom range the highest aperture is limited to 5.6 (You will have to use very slow shutter speed to snap fast action shots; remember the inverse relation between aperture and shutter speed.)

*The lens size/weight combination makes it hard to hold steady when attached to a camera like the Rebel XT

*Slow and often inaccurate auto focus (I just don't understand why Canon makes a USM version of this lens for $20 more, but never includes it in the triple rebate program)

*Chromatic aberration is significant in high contrast lighting like in full sun (if you do not know what Chromatic aberration means search the term online or check out my review of the Canon 28mm 2.8 on Amazon, but to summarize, it would be a discoloration at the fringes of objects in your picture)

Those kinds of weakness will limit your ability to use this lens in all sorts of other situations/circumstances. As a practical rule to follow, if the lighting is less than ideal this lens will give you a hard time. Meaning, it will be possible to use it, but you may get too many blurry images because of shake from slow shutter speeds. As for what are ideal lighting conditions? That would be full sun with few or no clouds and with the light bathing your subject/object from the front or the side.

So is this lens that bad? Not really, as with many other lenses, when the lens is coupled with a good camera it still out performs most Point and Shoot cameras. Plus it provides results at par or slightly below the kit lens (18-55). So if you are satisfied with your kit lens, which provides you with a zoom range comparable to 3X zoom (55/18= 3), why not add another lens that will expand your zoom range by another 4X (300/75=4)? Nothing wrong with expanding your horizon!

PS. TWO MORE POINTS ABOUT USING THIS LENS: First, if you're confident you can handhold this lens at slow shutter speeds (I know I can't) then the low maximum aperture shouldn't be a major problem. Second, if you're fine shooting at high ISO (more like 400 or 800) then again the low maximum aperture shouldn't be a problem. The nice thing about photography is that you can do one thing in so many ways, so don't be afraid to explore with this lens!

After reading several online reviews of the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM lens, I had nearly talked myself out of even looking at one. However, thanks to a local Canon demonstration, I was able to play with several lenses, the 75-300mm f/4-5.6 among them. I got to try it out alongside the IS version (which costs just under 3x as much), the non-USM version, and some of their L-series professional lenses.

That said, I found there to be less difference among the directly-comparable lenses (the non-USM, USM, and IS versions) than I'd have thought. On the test shots I took using a Canon Digital Rebel XT, I didn't find full-zoom telephoto shots to be appreciably softer in the non-IS version reviewed herein, nor were the images overly soft for my liking period.

The USM focusing didn't seem to make as much of a difference as I'd expected over the non-USM model, either. Focusing was still relatively slow (as other reviewers have pointed out), although once an initial focus has been made, adjustments aren't too slow unless changing to a subject substantially nearer or farther away. HOWEVER, the AF engine did make a number of "mistakes" when using this lens that it did not using the IS lens (or, of course, the L-series glass); more than once I had to either switch to manual focus or try multiple times to get the right focus "lock." Furthermore, the USM model doesn't get you internal focus, either, like with higher-end lenses, so the end still rotates during focusing, which can be problematic with a circular polarizer or other filters.

Overall, I'd say that you "get what you pay for"; this is a very inexpensive lens, and it shows in some areas. But it's not nearly as bad as some would make it out to be. I tried it out both on several indoors shots under less-than-ideal lighting conditions and was pleased in most respects, and outdoors, I got very good results on even moving subjects.

Pros:

-Cost; at under $200, you would be hard-pressed to find a lens with the same reach with even half-decent optics.

Cons:

-Slow focus

-Autofocus seems to confuse somewhat easily over the IS model

-The USM version is still not an internally-focusing model, and thus the end of the lens will still rotate (and can affect filters, etc.)

I'd recommend the IS version if you have the extra funds, but if you are on a budget and just can't wait, I saw less of a difference than others have between the two. Of course, the real step up would be to a comparable piece of glass in the L series, but with it comes a real step up in price, too.

Buy Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras Now

If you're looking at this lens, you're more demanding than the average Joe who takes photos and have high expectations. This lens is not blazingly fast (f/5.6 at 300mm), and to reliably freeze camera shake, you're going to need a 1/500 sec shutter speed, which means that with ISO 100 film, you only can lose one stop of illumination under "Sunny 16" conditions before you have to decide comprimise somewhere to get your shot.

Consequently, shots into the shade, or conducted under the warmer and softer lighting conditions of the morning/evening will inevitably drive you to the comprimise of a high ISO grainy film or the bulk of a tripod to make up for this lens's lack of optical speed. If you always shoot in full noon sunshine, you'll be okay.

Even though its a great tool, most people don't like to carry a tripod, so the solution is to either accept grain in enlargements, not take certain photos, spend more money to go to a faster lens, or some combination of the above. I'll say it again: the most cost-effective alternative is to use a tripod. The next cost-effective alternative is Canon's "IS" (Image Stabilization) lens technology. There are two contenders in this focal length, the 75-300mm IS and the 100-400mm IS. The former is nearly a duplicate of this lens.... The latter is a 3 lb pro lens.... Of these two, the 75-300mm IS is the bargain.

I started with this lens and after just a few test rolls, returned it and got the 75-300mm IS. The IS technology reliably affords an additional effective two stops of speed, although it cannot be used to freeze subject motion as the shutter will normally also do. But it makes the use of high quality films, such as Fuji Velvia (ISO 50), Kodachrome 64 and even Ekta (Kodak Royal Gold) ISO 25 feasible. -hh

Read Best Reviews of Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras Here

This lens has been a helpful addition to my camera setup. I purchased this lens and a tripod at the same time. I have found that using this lens at max zoom really does require the use of a tripod, or other stabilization method (such as resting it on a table or railing). There is no way to handhold this lens at 300 mm and still get razor sharp pics. I use this lens to attach to my Canon Rebel 2000. As a beginning photographer I use 400 speed film for nearly all my shots, and have been pleased with the results. I generally do not make enlargements from my prints -they just go in my photo album -so the relative graininess of 400 speed is not noticable in 4x6 prints. Coupling this lens with a polarizing filter dramtically improved the contrast and sharpness of distant objects in bright daylight -particularly distant mountains and scenery. As far as zoom goes, this lens picks up where the standard Rebel lens leaves off and really pulls in the distant objects well. I have not tried to use this lens to shoot fast moving objects at a great distance (such as sports) but for landscapes or distant objects -perched birds, mountains, bridges, sunsets, I have found this lens to be an absolutely indispensable part of my kit. It attaches and detaches from the camera with ease. The autofocus system focuses within a second -I've never needed to switch to manual. I knocked a star off because I wish it came with a carrying case. The lens has some heft to it -it weighs as much as the standard Rebel Body if not more. It definetly feels solid and well-made, but at the price (which is expensive for me) I feel like I have to treat it with kid gloves, and I can't find a carrying case for it. When I pack this lens in a carryon I stick it inside a few socks to make due.

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I have Canon's 75-300mm lens for almost a year and have examined it inside out. Unfortunately, I cannot admit that it's a good lens.

First of all, it doesn't have USM (Ultra Sonic Motor) and though having built-in AF motor, it is anyway VERY slow. And since telephoto lenses in general are for capturing high-speed events (like sport, running animals etc), its low-speed focusing makes it no good.

Secondly, its light-factor is quite low (4.0 for 75mm and only 5.6 for 300mm) what forces you to use either high-speed film (not lower than ISO400) or to shoot in the bright light (what's not possible everytime you shoot).

And the last, but not less important thing. I'm not good in mechanics, but what I know for sure is that Canon's 75-300mm lens produce unsharp pictures. No matter if you use a tripod or not, the pictures still are very unsharp which is very bad for images, being zoomed by 300mm.

Anyway, I'd recommend you to buy the lens of the same focal distance but in another configuration: Canon EF 75-300 F/4.5-5.6 IS USM. Although it's a bit expensive and as you see, the light factor is a bit lower, too, it has an USM and IS (Image Stabilizer) what makes focusing drastically super fast and the pictures become more sharper with the help of IS. This lens deserves a high attention. But not this one...

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