Leica Digilux 4.3 2.4MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

This is a great digital camera. It has a nice display screen (which is important since the view finder is very small and hard to use) but the camera is designed nicely to be held in the palm using the display screen. They supply a 32 meg smart media card and rechargable batteries/charger. Which is needed because they run out fast using display window. (I bought an extra 4 to keep in the carrying case) The picture quality is excellent and the added 80 second movie is a neat option. If you were considereing the Canon elph s100, take a second look at the Leica as it offers slightly larger size but double the picture quality for less than [price] and as always it has the phenomenal Leica lens. Enjoy!

I asked for this camera for christmas a got it(horay)! The main reason was that I thought it had the highest resolution 4.3 megapix. In fact it does not and Fuji who made it have had to change their advertising which has been called misleading. It is like a 2.3 megapixal but used some funny formula to produce data files that have 4.3 megapizals, but the original picture does not. HOWEVER it takes really great pictures and can do movies for up to 80 seconds (with included 32mb sancard) There are a wide range of settings full automatic, manual, movie, night time, 'rapid fire' that takes 3 pictures one after another. The controls are easy to learn and can be manipulated with one hand. It is relatively small and fits in a pocket. I was pleased to find a macro attatchment for it (you also have to by a small base stand to attatch this to the camera). this allows you to take extreme close ups mainly of skin which is good for me as a Dermatologist! Although it does have difficulty with colors at extreme close ups, it has no problem that I can see without the macro. The pictures is produces are really great. I also have an Epsonn 875 color printer, when combind with good photographic paper to print on they really do look like amazing pictures. Now I have not used digital cameras before so I can not really compare it, but I have seen other frineds camera and I really like my one. It is not as small as those Cannon Elfs. It only uses rechargeable batteries. Make sure you buy it online it is at least... more expensive in most stores. Enjoy. Oh yea, it comes with easy to use software.

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After only one week of using the Leica Digilux 4.3 I'm extremely pleased with the quality and features of this camera. After using a Kodak 260 for 2 years with great satisfaction, the Leica is a better overall camera at the same price.

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Regardless of what the numbers say, this camera is a (roughly) 2.1 megapixel system that uses a process similar to television "line doubling" to effect its claimed 4.3 megapixel resolution. While that is true, it also true that the pictures it takes are plenty sharp without "doctoring" and will easily enlarge to 5" x 7" without becoming grainy. This is in no small part a result of excellent optics. In addition, the true (optical) 3X zoom is excellent, and its ability to shoot rather long movies (80 secs with sound) is a nice plus. Having said all that in its favor, it is still (IMHO) *way* overpriced, mostly because it has the Leica name on it. You can buy the same camera with the Fuji name on it (model 4700) and save hundreds!

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I recently acquired a Used L DL4.3 , and I am very impressed with both the Camera , and its general qualities ! Form , Fit and Function have produced a Low Pixel device , but a real producer of quite good pictures ! Slow in comparison to current Market Cameras , but it has a general Feel of " Leica , irrespective of Fuji ' s design , and production ! I paid $125. on ebay , and am really enjoying My " Find " ! Fuji's Finepix 4700 is the identical Model , and some are still available !!! R E Keay

Hitachi CP-X505 XGA 3500 Lumens1000:1 Contrast Ratio 15.6Lbs Networkable 16-Watts of Audio 3LCD Pro

Great product. The 15 watt speakers are sufficient for everyone to hear in the sanctuary in our church! The colors are good with many options and settings. The picture is good even during morning service in full daylight. Easy setup. Easy operation.

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SecurityMan Remote Control Pan Base for camera (PANBASE)

This Securityman Pan base had me surprised as it exceeded my expectations, I've owned cheap pan remote controlled bases in the past, this one is better than them by far. I do not own a Securityman camera that the mounting bracket was designed for, but it didn't matter, I used a Uniden UDWC23 Wireless Video Surveillance Accessory Portable Indoor Camera (Black)& I affixed the wireless camera to the Securityman base and it works perfectly. I just bought a new home that has a 77' screened in lanai in the shape of an L and I wanted to be able to watch my cat while at work to make sure he didn't try to escape from the new home. (indoor only cat) I had two options, buy another uniden camera for $100, or buy a pan remote controlled base, I made the right choice as this product worked perfectly for my needs, no more rear of the home blind spots my security cam can't see.

Not to mention, my cat loves his new 77' lanai, my old lanai was 12' long, the Securityman has 370* coverage, I can remotely look at whatever my cat is looking at from my home office. This is a good product well worth the $29 plus shipping

We purchased two of these and have attached them upside down on the corner of the overhang of the roof. Had to drill holes and attach the hanger on the bottom to make it the top. The camera swivels great and reverses great, we can see all of two side of the house and yard for each camera. Biggest problem is the remotes are prone to break. The switch is a small spring and doesn't last long. We have had to buy another unit just to get the remote. Company needs to make the remote better and sell it separate.

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I BOUGHT 3 OF THESE AND AFTER THEY GOT HERE I FOUND OUT THAT THE ROMOTE FROM,ONE MAKES ALL 3 MOVE AT THE SAME TIME AND WHEN I CONNECTED THE PAN SYSTEM TO MY LOREX CAMERA WITH THE POWER SUPPLY FROM MY CAMERA . THE PAN SYSTEM WOULD NOT WORK. SO I CONNECTED THE POWER SUPPLY THAT CAME WITH THE PAN SYSTEM AND THE CAMERA WOULD NOT WORK WITH OUT LOTS OF LINES AND RAINBOW SPOTS ON THE SCREEN.

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I bought this a few years back and forgot to do a write up. I got this to increase security down the side of my house. With having roommates I had a lot of people invited over that could not be trusted...and later they came back to rob me and everytime my system has helped from me getting fully cleared out. (Had my video setup hooked up through a proxy to send picture messages of event triggers of possible break ins)

I loved the fact that it was on a remote so when i heard something outside I could stay put and just look over at the security screen and watch as the camera is panning over the yard and side yard. I had multiple cameras setup but this really helped close all the gaps were there was no coverage.

The one thing I did not like is the casing design. make sure the base sits flat and is not going to get rained on or have water run down the wires and feed into the Pan Base. Every once and a while the camera would stop panning. once I moved and uninstalled it i realized that water ran down the cord and into the housing...which filled up with water and would short everyonce and a while. Still works! just make sure its in a dry location. Oh and the range on the remote is pretty good. I would guess its equal to any 900mhz wireless transmission range.

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I used to like it, but this is my 3rd purchase and I am tired of forgiving my purchases. I pay extreme postage, then I wait and wait only to receive the items for them to work for a brief moment, then freezes up on me. Now I have a near 50.00 item that does not work. it is wireless and appears to be useless. Actually this is my 3rd item that has stopped working. I refuse to buy another.

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Canon VC-C50iR Reverse-mount Communication Camera

I recently purchased this camera thinking it was IP compatible. It was not and unfortunately had to return it. However, I have used this product before and found it very usful for building security and monitoring.

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Dropcam HD Wi-Fi Wireless Video Monitoring Camera

My review is focus on one aspect so as not to be too long, but still useful. **Please note the updates at the end**

The Dropcam is a very good, very easy to use device. Many of the top rated reviews here do an excellent job of listing the pros and cons. Also, the firmware has been updated since many of the negative reviews were posted, so there have been subtle improvements (not enough) with motion detection, and also the iOS and Android apps are now easy and great.

The best use case of this camera, by far, is indoor remote surveillance of a kids room, a family room, or a workplace.

Here's the real, overpowering negative about the device for me: it uses about 60GB of upload data capacity each month. The camera transmits its HD video feed to the DropCam cloud servers ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. The cloud service is what makes the user experience so easy, and what allows you to view your camera from multiple places, phones, tablets, all with just a userID and password. It's good in that you don't have to learn about firewalls, IP port forwarding and such just to make it work. But, that also means that it sends enormous amounts of video of a room with nothing at all happening in it. If your ISP has a quota or a limit to how much you can send per month, this camera WILL DEFINITELY USE A LARGE PORTION. In Canada and with some US ISPs, the limit is 50GB...i.e. less than this camera sends!

Lots of ISPs offer a quota of 250GB, so this camera won't put most US customers over their limit. Just know that this will soak up a good portion of your allotment.

Each additional camera will add to the bandwidth you use.

Consider that you are also downloading the video feed from your ISP, so if you are in the same place as the camera viewing it, it doubles the bandwidth used. Yep, that's right, your video goes up to the cloud server, then back down to you.

FYI, the upload rate is about 400-600 Kbps

The camera does use excellent compression, so the HD video is as compact as it can be in 2012.

If you have anything less than awesome Internet service, the camera will slow down your uploads of other stuff, like photos, attachments, etc. Upload speed is always much slower than download on consumer Internet service, and that's what this camera uses.

So, take this important point into consideration. It may still be a great product for you, but you need to know the costs. For me, I planned on using this at a lake house with slow Internet, so it doesn't work for me. I'll have to find another use for it.

****Update, September 2012

The camera has just received a software update that lets you switch between SD mode and HD mode. All DropCams that are turned on and connected to the Internet will get the update automatically. The standard definition mode uses half the bandwidth of the HD mode. Overall, there is a big improvement regarding the problem I cited in my original review. The update has other benefits in motion detection, etc.

As for me, the 30GB a month is still too much, so I will continue to use the available software switch to turn the camera on and off, and only enable it when I want to watch.

I spent some time researching the different options (Logitech, foscam, dropcam, adt, x10, cisco, ...) in this product category. I decided to try out a DropCam HD. So far (3 days of use), I'm delighted. The product does everything it promises.

It took me about 5-10 minutes to complete the full setup process (open the box to getting video streams online). In fact, it took me longer to figure out where I was going to put it.

Other solutions require special software to be installed and/or a PC/Mac system to be running to capture the video. I don't want to keep a computer on while I am away on travel + have to maintain/update the software. The DropCam HD solution removes all this extra effort/time/pain.

pros

====

easy to setup (5 minutes of work)

can view online or via android/iphone

can share your camera with friends securely

motion tags allow you to jump to interesting sections

no need for special software or a PC running to capture all the data

surprised by 2way audio feature. Fun to use while you are away.

cons

====

monthly dvr pricing for saved streams (free if you just want live views)

still testing

=============

low light/night video capture

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I have to say, I am loving this Dropcam! I put it in my living room to see when the kids are home from school. The setup process was done lickety-split, and all I had to type in was my wireless password (which admittedly I had to hunt through a dozen post-its to find). Now I can see it on my iphone and also from my computer at work! Cool!

Some details:

1. I tried another camera like this before and it couldn't see the entire living room from its perch in the corner. On the other hand, the Dropcam can see almost my whole living room while sitting on the same bookshelf in the corner. Faces appear a little small, but I definitely like being able to see the kids whether they are on the couch or laying on the floor

2. The night vision is a really nifty feature. I could just make out my husband on the other side of the room (about 20 feet?). We don't have a big use for it since our kids are older, but it would make a great baby monitor. I guess if somebody breaks in (eek!) we will have the video for America's Most Wanted!

3. There's a little clicking noise here and there on the audio (not sure what that is?) but you can definitely hear what's being said ... I had to wear headphones to really make it out though because my laptop's speakers aren't too great

4. The talking feature is already a family favorite at least for Mom, that is ... let's just say I think a lot more homework is about to be done after school and before dinner time....

5. It's bee-yoo-tee-ful! I really can't tell you how many of these electronic doo-dads are ugly as sin. It looks and feels like a little art sculpture sitting next to the other knick-knacks on the bookshelf, and the white cable blends in nicely with the wall.

I think that's about it! I don't normally write reviews, but I just felt like this gem deserved it. Thanks Dropcam!!

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I pre-ordered this item 2 1/2 months ago, so I was very excited for its arrival this past weekend. However, upon setting it up, it worked for less than 15 minutes before it overheated & shut down. (Same problem another previous reviewer reported). I have been unable to get it to turn on ever since.

I have submitted a ticket to customer service, over 48 hours with no response so far. I will update my review if they can make it right, however at the moment I am VERY unhappy.

EDIT 4/20/12: I gave up waiting for an e-mail back and called customer service. Took about 10 minutes to get through, and after a series of questions, the agent agreed that the camera I had (or possibly the power cord) was defective. He sent me a prepaid shipping label to send it back to them, and immediately sent me out a new unit 2nd Day Air. So big kudos to their customer service team.

I received the new unit lastnight, and spent some time playing with it to make sure it was not going to do the same thing as the first one. It seems to be working pretty well so far. My intent is to use this to keep an eye on my baby when he arrives this summer, but for now I am using it on my dog while I'm at work. I have been able to peak in at him a few times today. I really like that you can turn the camera off or on from the iphone app, so it doesn't have to stay on all the time. I also LOVE that the audio is two-way, that was an unexpected bonus that blew my husband and I away! It works very very well.

That being said, the device is not perfect, there are definitely some kinks they need to work out. It takes a lot of patience to make any changes or turn the camera off, the settings on both the app and the website are pretty slow to come up. The video delay is only about 2 seconds though, which is what really matters in my opinion. The video is pretty darn clear too, and the night vision is impressive.

Occasionally when I turn the camera on or off from the app, it "freezes" and I have to back completely out of it and go back in. Not a huge deal since it works once I go back in. Also, it'd be really nice to be able to control the panning/zoom from the app.

I'm also stuck with two video feeds in my account now that I had two separate cameras, I went through every available option, and there's no way to delete the non-working one. Annoying.

Overall though, as long as it continues to work, it's a pretty cool gadget, and will definitely come in handy with keeping an eye on our little one once he arrives!

EDIT 11/19/12:

I wanted to come back and update my review now that I have been using the Dropcam for 6 months, 3 months of which have been on our new baby. We absolutely could not be happier with the Dropcam. It stays on 24 hours a day, every day and has caused us no problems with overheating or anything. There have been several updates to the iphone (and now ipad!) apps, and website, and I find them all to be much more user-friendly now. We chose this in lieu of a traditional monitor, and we have no regrets. I especially love that we can leave the baby with a sitter and peek in on him no matter how far we are from home. We would obviously not have that option with a traditional monitor.

My one (tiny) gripe is that it does tend to disconnect several times throughout the day and night. Every time this happens, I just have to exit out of the app and go back in. I believe this is more of an issue with our internet connection and/or router, but I wish there was something dropcam could do to make it automatically reconnect whenever this happens.

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1) Form over function. The power cable pulls camera out of stand and made it difficult to position camera.

2) Low quality video. I was never able to get 720p video quality even with my business class Internet.

3) Heat. When the camera is using night vision it turns into a hot piece of coal.

4) No local access. There is no support to connect to the camera within your own network. You have to use their cloud service which potentially decreases video quality.

5) Network stability issues. I would find the camera disconnected every few weeks and never reconnected until I power cycled camera.

I tried really hard to love it but I ended up being totally disappointed with the camera. It is a good concept but it just has too many faults for me.

JVC GR-SXM520U Palm Size Compact Super VHS Camcorder With LCD Monitor

I really like this machine. The owner's manual is good and the features are useful. For VHS-C format, one has the option of standard-play for 30 minutes of recording or extended-play for 90 minutes of recording. The night vision feature is good I recorded shots in almost total darkness and the camera made it look like the lights were normal in the room. The LCD screen is really good so that the user can use it for shooting or for playback viewing. The zoom freaked me out at how sharp the picture could be at about 50 or so yards. The price seems okay and this camera is a pretty good deal for my purposes anyway.

it is very difficult to tell but i think it good

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NEC NP-V300W - DLP projector - 3D Ready - 3000 ANSI lumens - WXGA (1280 x 800) - widescreen - High

I've had this projector for more than 2months now and I absolutely enjoy every movie/tv event in HD. I project to a wall and the colors are excellent. You cannot go wrong with this if you are in the market for a projector. I have not tested the 3D function until I get the 3D glasses. It's the only projector in the market with the specs it has at a good price.

best choice 3D Projector for budget Home 3D. This projector Replaced a Viewsonic projector that failed out of warranty at just 230 hours. The Viewsonic had 3200 lumins but the NEC is brighter at 3000. Used with NVidia 3D Vision on windows 7, it creates stunning 3D effect with NVidia active glasses in my home theater. you MUST use only Power DVD 12 Full (not eval) if you want this projector to display Blue Ray DVD in 3D. You also must have fully updated NVidia drivers or this combo wont work. Get it working and you too can watch 3D DVDs on a screen thats over 9 feet wide at about a 15 FT throw.

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PROS

I tried an Acer 5360 before this projector and this projector blows the Acer's 3D & 120hz 2D away. Colors are excellent in 3D, motion is super smooth and there is ZERO crosstalk. Plus, this projectors extra 80 vertical pixels over 720p makes a noticeable positive impact on image quality as well.

CONS

-There is some minor rainbow effect when you shift your eyes really fast but its not a deal breaker and nowhere near as bad as the Acer 5360s rainbowing.

-This projector's zoom ratio is a joke and like most DLPs there is no lens shift so you are very limited if you plan on mounting it.

-This projector is about twice the size of the Acer 5360, but thats not a bad thing as this monitor feels like quality while the Acer was a total toy.

CONCLUSION

If you like 3D gaming and have a 3Dvision capable gaming rig, then this projector is a keeper!

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Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

I have had tons of digital cameras before and I have always sold them on eBay to get rid of them. Canon is by far the best digital camera I have ever owned. I previously had an SD10 for the last 3 years and am still happy with it. 3 yrs is a long time for me considering I am a bit of a techie that likes to change all of my electronics whenever a new one comes out. So for me the SD630 is finally a well deserved upgrade...

LOVE IT. The LCD screen is amazing and there are tons of new features that I did not have on my SD10. Everything with this camera is terrific. The only thing and only thing I can say is that there is not a battery meter, the meter only shows up when it is already running out of battery. This was the same for the SD10 and it was quite annoying. Anyways, definately buy a backup battery just in case.

Other than that, you cannot go wrong with this camera...

I just received my Canon SD-630 in the mail today and can already say I am very happy with my purchase. I had been researching cameras the entire week, looking for the right one for my needs.

When I went to the store, Best Buy, I had written down a few camera model numbers that caught my eye. Over the next few days it was interesting to see how my perceptions of these cameras had changed. I had at first liked the 7.1 Megapixel Sony I had put at the top of my list at Best Buy. I based this on merely the camera having a high megapixel count and the looks of the outer casing. But after getting on Amazon and reading product descriptions, going over reviews, and looking at shots submitted by customers all of my original perceptions changed.

While the Sony may have looked good and had a higher megapixel count than my Canon, it was the features that attracted me to the SD-630. I liked that it had some interesting options to play around with besides just the usual camera settings like outdoor, indoor, etc... Besides the basics, the Canon has options like Color Accent and Color Swap. These features really let you produce some unique prints without having to do any post manipulation with programs such as Photoshop. I myself had done similar work with photos using Photoshop, to make certain objects color while the rest of the image remained black and white. But this takes time depending on the object and its nice to be able to achieve the same results without any work! Its also very easy to use and I took some great shots in no time.

Another camera I was interested in was the Kodak V570. After reading the feature list on this camera, such as the Panorama Stitch and Wide Angle Lens I thought it was perfect. Plus the pictures I viewed looked very cool when incorporating these modes. But some of the reviews on the camera turned me away somewhat. Such as having to use the supplied dock as well as Kodak software just to upload the images to my computer or charge the battery. I like the flexibility of the Canon, allowing you to transfer images via USB cable or memory card without having to use any other software. The battery charger is also very compact, no cords or large battery trays, just a simple charger that has a folding plug for easy transport (the charger is the size of a small cell phone probably smaller).

Yet I still liked the Panorama Stitch option that the Kodak offered and was really considering this camera as my final pick. So I decided to go back to the store and look at these cameras again now that I had done the research and knew what I was looking for. It was a whole different experience than my first visit to Best Buy. When I played with the Kodak it just didn't live up to what I had hoped for. I was put off by the button layout and the overall feel of the camera when compared to the Canon. After finally figuring out how to do the Panorama Stitch, while it was a cool little feature, it just wasn't all that great on the camera. The screen is small and when your grouping so many different images together, 3, its hard to really see what you are doing and to get a shot exactly as you want. I'm sure after some use I would get use to it, but to get the full effect you would have to upload the image to a computer and look at it from there to see if it came out the way you intended. The camera just seemed simple in terms of functionality.

The Canon, which I had tested out before this camera, was a whole different story. I really liked how everything was laid out and the big screen made looking at images so much easier. Thus when you used an option such as Color Accent, you could really get a sense of how the final product turned out and decide if you were happy with the shot (or needed to do a retake) without having to view the image on a computer. It has so many different options to play with that are very useful in the simplest terms; such as Vivid Colors. I took a few pictures of the same objects using this mode and some in just Auto. You can really see a nice subtle difference and in some cases the colors just pop when compared to normal. It is very nice to use and is a great compliment to the camera. Simple features such as this are excellent and let you take great pictures without having to adjust manual settings. But if you would like to tinker with manual options, the camera leaves plenty of room to do this as well (which was another feature I was looking for, as I wanted to get more involved with the camera over time).

The video on this camera is also excellent. I remember taking videos on older digital cameras I have used and they were pretty low quality. I do a lot of video editing and such, and found the video option on this camera to be very nice. It really lets you take some quality footage, that if you showed a clip to someone off of your computer they would think it was taken with a camcorder. Another nice thing about the video is that you can use Color Accent and Color Swap, which I did not know was possible until reading the manual. It makes your video much more interesting if used in the right way and adds a touch that would require high level video editing software (AVID, After Affects) to attain. This does it without any other work.

Overall I am very pleased with this camera and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of purchasing this model. Like I said, after reading reviews and customer feedback on Amazon as well as other sites that tested these cameras, I completely changed my initial impressions of what I thought I was looking for. If I were you I would make sure to go out and test out cameras you have in your Top 3 after reading all the great information found on this site. It really helps you make a confident decision in your purchase, such as the one I made. I had read before that Canon made excellent digital cameras, some of the best available, and can definitely back that up with my experience in just one day of use. I cant wait to use this camera more often and really get to know the many features it has to offer. I made sure to upload some pictures I just took today for others to see, hope this review has helped in some way.

The only things I would seek to improve on this camera would be the addition of a wide angle lens and better construction of the tiny little door that covers the USB connection and AV cable connetion. It seems a little brittle and I would be very careful when opening and shutting it. Im sure it will be fine with proper caution, but if you were to open it fast or tug on it hardly, it could possibly rip and detach. Only gripe I see to express, but nothing too major.

Buy Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Now

This Canon SD630 camera replaced my "garbage" Sony that suddenly stopped working. I love this camera!

PROS:

1. HUGE 3" LCD screen (the main reason I bought this camera).

2. Excellent picture quality.

3. Tons of pre-set settings including "fireworks" (which takes perfect photo's of fireworks).

4. Lots of manual settings if you prefer, including high ISO, white balance, etc.

5. Takes top quality videos (at up to 30 frames/sec at 640X480 similar quality as that of full-featured video cameras).

6. You can upload any WAV and JPG files to personalize all the camera's settings (the sound and picture that shows when you turn on your camera, the sound the shutter makes, the sound of the buttons when navigating settings, etc.).

7. When reviewing your pictures, the built-in "gyro" will flip the orientation of your photo when you tilt the camera going from "portrait mode" to "landscape mode" and vice-versa.

8. The "colour swap" feature will have designers and decorators drooling. You take a picture of say, a house, then aim the pin-point in the middle of the LCD screen at a colour on the house that you want to change and press the shutter button, then aim the camera on the colour you want to change it to and press the shutter button, then voila!, the original picture of the house now appears with the new colour you had just personally selected!

9. It takes only about 15 minutes to fully charge the battery (NB-4L, Li-ion) in the included external battery charger.

10. The "auto create directory" feature is great. You can set the camera to create a new directory every day (or at a certain time) so when returning from your holiday, all your pictures are filed in folders according to the date you took them.

11. The "photo stitch" feature is awesome. Select this feature then snap a picture, rotate yourself a few degrees, take another picture, rotate, etc. The PC software will take all these shots and combine them into one panoramic picture.

CONS:

1. There isn't a visual battery-life meter; it only appears when the battery is almost dead, so it's hard to tell how much battery life you have left until it's too late. I bought a second battery that I carry with my camera just in case.

2. Flimsy cover on the USB and AV/OUT terminals.

3. When you connect the camera to your PC, the camera isn't recognized as a "removable device" (which is preferred with digital cameras), so you can't just copy pictures back and forth in Windows Explorer. The camera requires it's own software to download your pictures.

4. The built-in speaker is located on the top of the camera (it isn't facing you), so it's difficult to hear videos when you're playing them back on the LCD screen.

The "PROS" far outweigh the "CONS" with this camera. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. Prepare to meet new people when you're out using this camera people are amazed at the size of the LCD screen.

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I purchased this camera as a replacement for my SD-400. I loved the SD-400 except that I broke the LCD twice. I was not about to replace the LCD for a second time so I went shopping for a new camera. I take over 1,000 photos a week on this camera as I use it as a primary tool in my job. They have added a rigid protection barrier for the LCD whih pretty much eliminates my only complaint with previous SD Models. Let me give you my quick Pro / Con List:

Pros:

-Size: It is the perfect size. I can't imagine working with a camera that is any smaller.

-Weight: It is light weight and easily fits in your pocket even after you put it in a hardshell case.

-Picture Quality: Far superior picture quality as compared to other 6 MegaPixel Cameras. This is of course due to the higher quality lenses and the precision auto focusing.

-Availability of backup batteries: Duracell makes an excellent battery for this camera. NB-4L It is fairly inexpensive as Lithium Ion batteries go and it is easy to find.

-SD Memory: It takes SD card memory which make life easier and less expensive.

-3" LCD. The LCD on this camera is very larger and it is beautiful. Feels like I am using my MiniDV Camera.

-Software Interface: This camera is very easy to use and the menus are intuitive and simple to navigate.

-LCD Protection: The LCD is behind a rigid clear protecting surface which seems to be fairly resistant to damage.

Cons:

-Battery Life. This camera does not use AA Batteries so if you have a 512MB card or larger, then you will probably have to charge the battery before you get through the entire card. The large LCD uses a bit more energy so this camera doesn't have as much battery life as its predecessor. The trade off is well worth it in my opinion. I recommend purchasing a backup battery (NB-4L) for those long sessions.

-No View Finder: There is no view finder, means in the really bright sun it is somewhat difficult to take pictures. Although it is not as others I have owned.

I recommend this camera to anyone who wants fantastic quality photos and an easy to use easy to carry camera.

Good Luck!

Want Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Discount?

The Canon PowerShot SD630 is a small yet fierce compact point-and-shoot camera. This little 6-megapixel camera managed to bundle performance and snappy photos into a package you can easily carry in your shirt or pants pocket. I recently upgraded from the Canon SD450, and I am so glad that I got the SD630 (rather than the SD600). THE SD630 is almost identical to its little brother, the PowerShot SD600. The SD630 incorporates the same sensor, lens, and internal components. The only advantage over the less expensive SD600 is its 3-inch LCD screen, but had to lose the viewfinder in the process (which I never used anyway).

The first thing that jumped out and caught my attention is the (relatively) HUGE 3" LCD screen. It provides plenty of room to frame your shot but not so much room to operate the camera. Granted, the pixel count on this screen is the same as the 2.5" screen on the SD600, I still like the larger view. The buttons on the back include a standard four-way rocker control pad, menu, display, and a button for printing when the camera is hooked up to a PictBridge-compatible printer. If you have large hands, you'll probably find its control layout a little uncomfortable, and it doesn't have an optical viewfinder, but the SD630 is still a great compact camera. Once you get the hang of it, the pad allows "easy" navigation around the menu system, and you can directly set options such as the self-timer, continuous shooting, macro, flash, and ISO sensitivity. The top edge of the camera holds the shutter release, the zoom rocker, the power button, and a slider for switching between photo, movie, and playback modes. The zoom rocker is a tabbed ring around the shutter release similar to the SD600, facing the front edge of the camera. Some users have mentioned that it is uncomfortable for large fingers and extremely awkward to operate with one hand, especially when zooming out. I have large/x-large hands, and I find no problems using the controllers.

The Canon PowerShot SD630 has a decent amount of features that give its tiny form a nice amount of flexibility. Canon couples a 6-megapixel CCD with up to 3x optical zoom (35mm-to-105mm equivalent) lens. The lens has a pretty narrow maximum aperture of f/2.8 to f/4.9, with a shutter-speed range of 1/1,500 second to 15 seconds, average numbers for models in this space. The camera has automatic, program, and manual exposure modes with a range of plus or minus 2EV in 1/3EV steps, which is also on a par with the competition. Its sensitivity range goes as high as ISO 800; that's not quite as much as Fujifilm's and Sony's latest offerings, but it will still give you more low-light flexibility than most cameras of its size.

I won't go into the details of the measurements, but I have to mention that it is less than an inch thick with its lens tucked in (great to carry around). It is easier to carry around than the SD450, or my ancient S200 (yes, the CompactFlash version!). I liked that the right side of the body is somewhat shaped/curved, because it lets the user hold the camera comfortably in your right hand.

In addition to standard automatic and manual exposure modes, the SD630 offers a handful of scene modes. One will also find options for photographing beaches, plants, snowy days, and fireworks (not available on the SD450). It even has an underwater mode to use in conjunction with the optional underwater housing (for extra $$). Color Accent and Color Swap modes can filter and change colors in the camera, producing some neat artistic effects. And, the camera has an awesome 30fps VGA movie capture mode, which can be used in conjuction with the Color Accent modes and other features. I've shot a 45 minute movie of my 4-month old daughter (I have a 2Gb SD card) with no hiccups, and I think I could have gone longer.

The SD630 takes a little over a second from power-on to the first shot, and takes about 2 seconds between shots, which increases marginally with flash. I haven't tried the burst mode yet, but it is supposed to shoot at 2.1fps with no buffer constraint on the number of shots.

So far, the photos I have taken with the SD630 were quite pleasing, looked crisp and clear, and nice color reproduction (at least with my poor eyes) at the lower ISO range. However, images become noisy at ISO 400 and ISO 800 (as expected), but still usable. I will be doing a field test against my Digital SLR (Nikon D100), results pending. Also, I have not used the bundled software, which is supposed to be very good.

Conclusion:

I am happy with my purchase of the Canon PowerShot SD630. It is an extremely solid ultra compact, with performance and photo quality that more than make up for its very few design flaws. It's a surprisingly good shooter, and its feature set makes it quite flexible for a camera of its size. It is a more expensive version of the PowerShot SD600 ($50-100 more), with a larger screen and no optical viewfinder. Personally, I don't use the viewfinder, so I am willing to give it up for the larger LCD.