Sony Alpha ECM-SST1 Stereo Microphone with 3 Filter Set + Cleaning Kit for 3, 5, NEX-F3, NEX-C3, NE

Great price for the kit you get...the microphone works wonderful and I do use the filters. The rest of the accessories really aren't necessary for me though. I know the microphone alone is around $100 on Sony's website.

Genuine FOSCAM wireless white IP camera Pan 270° Tilt 120° MJPEG Night Vision 2 way audio

I wanted the older model with the I/O ports on the back as shown in the pics, however they sent me a FI8918W which is newer, but I would prefer the model as shown. I have also read that the Fi9818W did not have a mounting hole that was threaded the same as a camera, however on mine it is the same and I can mount this on a tripod if I wish. The camera works OK, video quality is not spectacular, but if you are familiar with inexpensive security cams this should be no surprise. The 2 way audio which was supposed to be improved over the older model is hit and miss, which really makes it pointless. Additionally for firefox the vlc (videolan) plugin needs to be installed to get sound (IE can get it with a plugin from the manufacturer). The pan and tilt functions do work well, though I have not found a way to set it up to patrol regularly.

I can verify that this works with IPCamViewer on an android device, only bug with that app was that the L/R buttons were reversed (not a ding against Foscam however).

Overall a cool toy, but the lack of I/O ports and the sound quality (or lack thereof) bring it down a couple stars.

I use this for our vacation house to serve several functions. When idle it is aimed at the front door including a view of the big screen TV. In the event of intrusion, it is set to email me multiple pictures giving me a better sense of security when we are away for weeks at a time. Also it comes in handy for a quick weather check. Mounted in a window frame, I can pan to the deck to see how much snow to expect on the way up in the winter. Only complaint is it creeps out the kids when they borrow the house. Whenever cabin in use I just aim it at the ceiling and shut it off. Overall very satisfied with the purchase.

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First of all, you do not get the webcam shown in the photos. You get the Foscam FI8918. It looks pretty similar but it doesn't have the alarm ports on the back.

Set up was easy enough. I didn't install the software that comes with this cam. I simply plugged the cam into my router, found the IP address on my network and used a browser (Google Chrome) to log in. There is a lot of setup you need to do on your router if you are going to view this webcam from outside your house. You will need to set up a static IP for the cam and then setup port forwarding. You also should use a DNS service if your internet provider changes your modem's IP address from time to time (most do).

Image quality of indoor images is good even in the dark. Outdoor images are very washed out and the colors aren't that good. I have since learned that if you want good outdoor images, you need to buy a web cam with an IR cut filter. This cam does not have an IR cut filter. I have this cam sitting in a window. You can't use the night time illumination (IR LEDs) to light anything outside because the LEDs just reflect off the window. Indoor image quality is good when lit by the IR LEDs.

If the outdoor image quality were better, this would be a 5 star cam. If all the stuff about the router set up sounds difficult to you, that is really the nature of any IP based web cam and there are some good tips and a forum on the Foscam site that should help

Read Best Reviews of Genuine FOSCAM wireless white IP camera Pan 270° Tilt 120° MJPEG Night Vision 2 way audio Here

I'm impressed! The IP cam worked better than what I expected, good range of movement, nice night vision and sound and audio that works well with IE7. Our first experiment for the Foscam was a petcam setup ...we always wondered what the dog did while we were away. I can even turn-on the speaker and call to our little critter... got him all confused lol! Easy to setup, I didn't even open the manual nor use the install disk... just followed hints from other reviews. First, plugged the cam into the router and opened router configuration to find the cam's IP address. Next, I logged onto the cam, configured user accounts and WiFi settings, disconnected the lan cable and presto... wireless cam found the router! Then, I setup the cam with a free account on "no-ip.com" to view our petcam on the internet. After allowing internet propagation of our new host setup on no-ip.com and port-forwarding, we now have petcam anywhere... fantastic! Highly recommended and a great buy!

Update7/22/2012; after 6 months of 24/7 use, the camera has an issue, locks-up about monthly and needs a power cycle reboot... somethings several to get the router to see the cam again... Which means reset the cam before leaving on vacation so the it stay up and running for as long as you are gone. I have two foscam but this cam seemed more problem pronged than the fixed foscam. Also, sound, mic and video record requires activeX to work... Meaning Windows only! Not a big issues. I like the alarm setting where the cam will email you clear pictures when it detects movement... Great for posting around the streets... "Do you know this guy???". So, stlll works but with issues.

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i bought this to monitor a panel on my boat and it has exceeded my expectations. As others have pointed out the setup is definitely not plug and play. Unless you configure routers for a living setting this thing up so you can look at it from anywhere is going to take you some time. But reading the instructions over and over again and getting on Google, it can be done. It is worth the time and the second one you do will be real easy.

Olympus XZ-10 iHS 12MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (Black)

Unlike the other 2 reviews I actually do own this camera. I was frustrated by the terrible low light quality of my phone but I cant always be lugging my Canon DSLR and 2 extra lenses to concerts or nights out. I did some research and found this camera. I took it to a concert this week and WOW, great performance, battery didnt even drain 1 tick, and I was really happy with what came out. I took some pictures the same night in the same places with my phone and the quality was night and day.

The only reason I gave it a 4/5 is that I threw away the camera manual and there isnt a PDF version on the Olympus website. Without it I cant figure out what all of the modes exactly mean and I feel like I am missing some features.

I dont really care about the Pop Art modes or anything like that but I do like that the camera mode is just a button on the back, so no matter what mode you are in you can quickly switch to movie mode and take a full HD video.

Although I don't own the XZ-10 (yet), I don't want people to be put off by the 3 Star rating by the writer of "good but no match for xz1", so I will give it 5 stars. Just to put it back in balance :-D

Although the XZ-10 has a smaller 1/2.3" CMOS sensor (better suited for high iso pics) than the XZ-1's 1/1.63" CCD sensor (keeps better detail), it does have Olympus' newer TruePic VI image processor. The same as in the excellent Olympus OM-D E-M5.

The photos I've seen online show impressive results for such a small sensor camera.

Furthermore, the XZ-10 and the XZ-1 are in a different price range. The XZ-10's initial $400 is about $100-150 cheaper than the XZ-1 when it came out last year. And maybe the price will drop.

Lastly, the XZ-10 is a front shirt pocket camera with a retractable lens, while the XZ-1 (and XZ-2) is not.

From what I've read and seen on the web so far about the XZ-10, it seems to be quite a capable little camera.

For me it is a serious contender.

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I already own the xz1 which is excellent bar the video and low light . I was hoping the cmos sensor would be a step up despite the smaller sensor size . but not to be Ill keep the xz1

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Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens

If you have never interfaced with your router's software before (and you are not brave!) than this might not be for you. It is not hard to set up. You plug in its AC adapter and plug it into your router. Follow the instructions and wow.

The picture is wonderful. The motion alarm is fantastic. We placed on of these inside our barn across the street from our home, about 350 feet away. We added an $80. antenna to our router from Hawking, also available on Amazon, and poof! I can now see what all the sqwak is at 2AM in my barn with out walking all the way out there! Wow, wow, wow. The pan and tilt features are really nice. We setup another at our front door, and three "out door" styles around the outside of the property. I don't know how long this black "indoor" will last in the extreme temps and humitity of our barn and front porch, but that is not Foscam's problem. I will update at the end of the winter, or sooner if they die during winter!

4/3/11 Well they made it through the winter. We have been able to review motion detection alarm triggered video clips that were saved on our pc. We have been able to remote pan across the barn to see who is making all the racket and why. It is lovely to know who has been on your porch while you were sleeping! The cameras are wonderful. the there is an antenna you can get on amazon that will extend you wireless cababilities. We view the inside and outside of our barn across the street. These are great.

Where to start...

Well I'll open with.. I'm IMPRESSED! I opted to get the white version of the FI8918W just because it was cheaper than the black version and was identical other than the color. I was first concerned because I got two camera's and the first one was "loose" it seemed (camera from the base). The second seems to be identical so this must just be the way these camera's are. I hooked this up directly to my router as per the instructions and tried to determine a standard ip address without having to use the included software. I wasn't able to so then used the mini-disc on my windows 7 PC. The computer prompted for reboot which I did before I noticed the icon on the desktop. When it rebooted I double clicked the icon and after a brief moment it displayed the ip address of the camera. Note: I'm also using zone alarm and it requested access to 255.255.255.255:10000, which I allowed and it displayed the camera.

When I double clicked the ip address displayed in the software window I was taken to ie which then I put in the user id: admin and for the PW. I don't know if I'm just lucky because I've had so many lessons with my other IP cameras, but this one was very easy (outside trying to figure out why the wireless config wasn't working as expected). One of the other things I was really impressed with was the ease of setting up the wireless. I "scanned" for wireless sources, found mine, clicked it and nearly all the fields were prefilled. I only had to input my security key. Now... The issue I had. I'm currently running 4 different cameras, x2 different Linksys camera's and a trendnet. Those all when setup kept their ip address. This Foscam uses a different one. So after you have it setup I'd recommend re-running their ip software and finding the new ip address after you have removed the cat5 cable. This took me about an hour to figure out.

My camera background:

I started out with x2 Linksys wvc54gca. These were my basis for learning about the IP camera's, the router work required to open the ports and more especially multiple camera's on the same router and how to accomplish that. After moving from the lower 48 to Alaska, we wanted a pan tilt zoom (PTZ) camera and opted for the Linksys WVC210. This camera is a very nice unit, but after getting the new Foscam night PTZ camera, I feel like I wasted a significant amount of money on this one unit, when I believe the Foscam FI8918W is easily a better buy. We also have the Trendnet tv-ip422w and compared to this new Foscam camera, the video is absolutely SUBPAR to the Foscam.

While this is a review about the Foscam FI8918W I want the readers to know and appreciate what this camera does. The Linksys WVC54GCA works perfectly in IE and Firefox (Safari as well). The WVC210 will NOT, repeat NOT work with IE. There is an active X that is required and Cisco must have an issue with Microsoft or something because I cannot force my computer to accept the active X. You can ONLY view this in Fire Fox (FF) or Safari (if I remember correctly), but FF is what we use to view it. These Foscam's work in: IE8, FF and FF on Mac OS-X (Snow Leopard). I haven't tried Safari, but our needs were met in that realm.

Mobile browsing: Both of the Linksys cam's were visible on our iPhone/iTouch. We have now ditched the iPhone (junk) and went with the Samsung captivate (android) and had the same experience. The Trendnet and Foscam units were not viewable on either of our phones. This was an initial HUGE issue, but I've found that on both the itunes and android app store there is an app (android has a free version, apple doesn't) called "IP Cam Viewer" by Robert Chou (android lite version works for free and has a banner at the top). If you use this program use "Add IP" in the settings to add your DNS address you established and go from there. This app also allows "swipe to pan" option.. NICE!!

In setting up, I mentioned that I have multiple camera's. I've resorted to using multiple different port's such as: myipcam,dot,com:1111 and the next is: myipcam,dot,com:1112, and: myipcam,dot,com:1113, etc. You will establish this in your individual camera settings and your router config.

Over all.

I know my setup was based on historical config's I've done with other camera's so I was aware of some of the pitfalls. But I believe these cameras were the easiest to setup. The camera's software/firmware is a little "hokey" and could be improved I believe, but It has everything it needs to have (that I could determine) so I can't fault the firmware (admin) settings/options about that. The actual web GUI (interface) was pretty nice, especially compared to the other camera's I have. I didn't try the multiple setup and accessing them through the internet because one of the two cameras we received will be kept a little more "private" and may have access to part of our bedroom from its location.

The camera is very quiet. I found myself enjoying that with the movement options you can hold down the arrow (on the screen) and the camera will move until you unclick it.

The status LED, which can be turned off, is located on the back. I appreciate that as well.

The only thing I found a little annoying was the IR bulbs are a little too visible. We have one of these in the kids' bedroom and the red glow (obvious) always attracts attention. This is visible even when the IR is turned "off" in the settings.

The package included everything I believe a normal user would require/desire. Camera, base (movable/adjustable which is a nice touch), antenna, screws and anchor, cat5 cable and the power cord.

On the audio, I didn't try/use the included option. I'm sorry that a review of that feature cannot be included. With the amount of camera's we are running we can't support the additional bandwith requirements.

The only problem I experienced was the wireless being a different IP address vs. the wired IP address. I've never experienced this before, but was a simple fix by using the supplied software.

In closing:

I wish I could provide a link so others could see how impressive these CAM's are. But I won't ;) Had I known how great a value these cameras would be I would have purchased at least a couple more, with the possibility of enough to replace / supplement all of our Linksys/Trendnet cam's. I'm leaving for a yearlong military deployment in 10 days so the ease in setup/config was a HUGE help and success on the part of this company. At this point I'd have no issue recommending these to anybody who is looking for an excellent camera. The day time image is excellent, the night vision (as with everything) is less grand, but the IR bulbs completely illuminate our 12x35' room with plenty of light to spare. These camera's are all usable on Win XP (laptop), Win Vista (laptop), Win 7 (PC) (Both with IE 8 and Fire Fox) and Mac OS-X (Snow Leopard) on a Macbook Pro and IMac , ipod Touch and Samsung Captivate (Android) WHEN using the app: ipcam viewer by Robert Chou (free on Android).

I really hope this review helps some other potential buyers as I had a ton of questions, to which few (if any) were answered by other reviews.

Buy Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens Now

There are a ton of well-written reviews for this camera (also check out the other versions, e.g. FI8918W White, FI8905W) that give an excellent sense of its many strengths, minor weaknesses, as well as tips for setting up IP cameras in general. I won't rehash the basics, but I will give a brief overview of my setup. Then I'll make a comment on security, and finally go through some of the ways you can extend this camera's capabilities. This last section is where the Foscam truly shines, in my opinion. After all, if I just wanted a no-hassle cam/DVR, I could get something more basic (but much more expensive) off the shelf at Costco or through a residential security company.

If you have any questions, just comment on this review. I'm happy to respond.

Setup:

The setup process was very standard for any sort of web-enabled device. It'll take a bit longer if you've never gone through the steps before, but once you do it, you'll know how to set up a whole slew of similar devices (e.g. home webserver, media servers, etc.). There are literally hundreds of great tutorials on all of these topics around the web, so if any step or terminology is confusing, just google it and you'll find a bunch of good links. (i.e. don't get deterred by reviews that say "bad instruction manual" or "bad customer service", since you won't need either if you have the whole internet and the power of google at your fingertips). Anyway, here is the rough outline of the setup process for me:

1. Connected Foscam via LAN cable, checked "DHCP clients" list on router (I have a MacBook Pro and an Airport Extreme router) to get local Foscam IP, and then typed this into my web browser to get to the Foscam web interface. Alternatively, use the little utility included with the Foscam to get to the same place.

2. Added a new login/password, deleted admin login, and set up wifi access in the Foscam settings. Then disconnected from LAN and moved Foscam to the desired location. Plug it back in and now it's working via wireless.

3. Went into my router's settings and assigned a static IP to the Foscam's wifi MAC address (note: this MAC is different from the ethernet MAC). This is done with "DHCP Reservations" on the Airport, but of course the exact label will vary by router. Now the Foscam web interface will always be accessible at the same local address within my home network.

4. To get external access outside of my home network, I went into my router's "Port Forwarding" settings and forwarded some external port to port 80 at the static local IP of the Foscam.

5. Since I have a residential internet provider, my external IP is dynamic, which means it could potentially change. To get around this, signup for a free dyndns account. Then just use the updater client on the Foscam, itself, or one of many others that are available for free for mac, windows, and linux.

Security:

This is a bit confusing since the Foscam advertises "encryption". The part that IS secure is the Foscam's communication to/from your router via wifi. This is very good, and considering how easy it is to snoop traffic over an unprotected or WEP-protected wifi (there are even NYTimes articles describing the basics!), I would consider this a mandatory feature of any IP cam. While this is excellent to have, if you choose to make your Foscam web interface accessible from the outside internet (i.e. you did port forwarding), then this connection is public and completely unencrypted. Firstly, this means you should immediately add a new user in the Foscam settings and then delete the admin login. Even once this step is done, it means that there will be no little "lock" symbol in your browser indicating SSL encryption, and your new login/password and video stream will still be sent in the clear. This doesn't bother everyone, but if it does, you can use a computer on your home network to set up a VPN or SSH tunnel (easier) to make the connection encrypted (or just disable external access completely if you don't need this feature). At any rate, it's good to be aware of this limitation at least.

Enhancing functionality:

Misc information on advanced features There is a lot of useful information about these Foscams, including some more advanced topics, scattered around on various blogs and forums. Here are a couple (I'm sure google will find even more): gadgetvictims dot com, forum dot networkwebcams dot com, networkcamerareviews dot com.

mangocam dot com Free online storage for your cam stream. What's the point of having a security camera if the crooks steal all your computers with the footage!? This site just popped up with a free public beta, so it's definitely worth checking out. Sort of like the built-in FTP/email features taken to a whole new level.

Smartphone apps A neat way to check in on your cams remotely (but see important security note, above). IP Cam Viewer Lite works great for Android, and other reviews mention other apps for iPhone, etc.

ZoneMinder The holy grail for getting the most out of your cam. This is a free and open-source web application for managing your cam feeds. It is sort of like mangocam, but you install it yourself on your own webserver, and it does a whole lot more. For instance, you can define different motion detection "zones" in the image. Maybe zone #1 is the whole image, zone #2 is just a doorway, and zone #3 is a tree that is always moving in the wind. Then you can define all sorts of complex filters, like 1) Record a section of video footage when there is any motion in zone #1, excluding zone #3, or 2) Record a section of video footage when there is any motion in zone #2, but only during work hours on weekdays; then automatically send some still screenshots to my email and upload a movie of the event to some off-site server. Wow...the options are truly endless! With just this program, some $200 linux boxes, and some Foscams, you could start a business setting up surveillance systems for people!

Read Best Reviews of Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens Here

I really wanted to love this camera, the feature set appeared to be excellent. The set up was fairly simple to set up a static IP address and I even gave it a higher port number. It did work well in Firefox, Chrome and Safari, but the most advanced features like sound and better quality picture appear to be in Internet Explorer. I even got it to work via my iPhone. The problem I have is the constant freezing upon logging via Internet Explorer on my Windows 7 Laptops. I'm running both 32 bit and 64 bit IE. I looked for solutions and saw users have been experiencing IE issues with the buggy Active X controls since Vista.

I'm on the fence if I should keep this Wireless IP Cam, since the Activex code crashes on both my laptops and freezes them. I'm sick of having to reboot. It's very annoying, but I'm not sure if I really need the audio anyway, I'm more interested in photos and ability to ftp, and email pictures to an account. It's annoying since I even upgraded the firmware to the most current version and tried to follow all the useless instructions of disabling firewalls, disabling antivirus, and allowing all active x controls even whitelisted the IP in a trusted zone. NOTHING WORKED. So far the Active x controls are the only thing broken, besides two IR lamps seem to dim compared to the rest, the ability to pan and tilt are excellent. Image Quality is fair, seems almost better in the dark, but in the dark it's black and white.

Update:

I decided to keep the Camera. I've noticed it seems to go into a "look" mode randomly moving everywhere occasionally, but overall I'm happy with the product. I signed up for the free dynamic dns account, then put the info in my Verizon Fios Router and Foscam settings. I also used my ISP and set up an FTP Account. I also enabled UPnP, which allowed me to set up the port forwarding rules in my Verizon Router. I'm using a higher 4 digit port number ending in zero so I can add additional cams in the future. Other then the remote control with Internet Explorer, I was able to get all the other features to work, including motion detection, emailing via the SMTP settings (used my ISP again), and FTP of any activity out to my account (my hosting ISP is Bluehost which allowed me to configure the FTP and SMTP info very easily).

Let me know if you require any assistance configuring settings, it's convenient to access via Dynamic DNS Address or directly via the IP Address (must add high port to each to connect). The 5 dollar iPhone app is also a nice access option.

If they resolve the Win 7 Active X issues or allow sound via other browsers, I'll raise my review. Also we'll see how the quality holds up over time.

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This is a decent IP camera with enough features for most first time users. I was able to configure and use the camera without having to load any of the included software without any trouble, but an average person might have trouble getting every feature working. If you don't know what DNS or FTP means, you are one of these people.

If you are planning on just sitting this on a window sill and pointing it outside as a 24/7 security camera, think again. It works fine in the daytime, but interior reflections on the window glass make it less useful at night. The IR LEDs reflect back off the window and effectively blind the camera.

Image quality is typical of a low-cost CMOS sensor. Color accuracy and saturation is poor, but adequate for most uses.

It also has several shutter speed settings....a 60hz speed for night/low light, a 50hz speed for medium lighting, and a slow shutter speed for outdoor use. While the camera is able to automatically adjust sensor sensitivity a bit to compensate for changes in lighting, it doesn't have an automatic shutter speed setting. This means that if you have the shutter speed set on the "Outdoor" setting, it works great on a sunny day, but at night is far too dark to be useful. You'd have to manually switch shutter speeds every day if you were using it as an unattended security camera. Leaving it on 60hz setting and trying to view an outside scene just results in a white video image...the sunlight totally overwhelms the sensor unless you use the "outdoor" setting.

The motion detection feature is excellent. You can have the camera automatically email you a sequence of still photos everytime it detects motion. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this worked. You can specify up to 5 individual recipients.

It is also capable of uploading the same still images to an FTP server if you wish to archive them for review later. A date/time stamp on the image would have been a nice addition but isn't a feature.

I did not try the audio features, thus cannot say if they are improved over the old camera. If you are looking to integrate this camera into your DIY home security system, you should purchase the previous model (FI8908W) as this new one doesn't have the RS485 port anymore.

Bottom line, whether you want to use this camera to monitor an interior room, or an outside scene, it's a good entry level camera. Just don't expect it to be able to do both without manually making some adjustments for one or the other.

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AXIS Communications M1054 720p Network Camera (0338-004)

I am testing the Axis M1054 and a Panasonic BL-C210A. The 201A is only 640x480 resolution, but has pan tilt and zoom (PTZ). The static image quality of the M1054 is much higher (I'm running mine at 1280x800 pixels). When the Axis is online, its images are very good, certainly better than the 210A but not $250 better. I need hi-rez images for security purposes and hoped that the M1054 would out do the 210A. Both have been in my lab and running for 2 weeks now. The 210A was easier to set-up and more importantly, it has stayed up the whole 2 weeks. I've had to re-boot the M1054 dozens of times, re-assign IP addresses, unplug and plug it in again to keep it connected to my monitoring software. I've even had IT guys in trying to figure out why the M1054 keeps dropping off the internet. Haven't solved it yet. For the price, it's server software and ability to remain online (or at least reboot itself when it looses connection with the monitoring host should be far more robust.

I am starting to build my surveillance system at home with Axis Cameras (PoE) and SecuritySpy, as controller. It's working great on Mac OS (iMac, iPad and iPhone).

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First things first, the camera is NOT wireless as titled here in Amazon. The M1054 is part of the Axis M10 network camera series. There are four cameras in the series and two of the four (including the M1054) are not wireless. The wireless M10 cameras end with a "W" in their model name. The difference between the M1054 and the rest of the cameras in that series is that it has the following:

higher resolution 1280x800

min. illumination of 1.2 lux

1MP 720p

alarm inputs/outputs

I am no expert in surveillance and equipment. This is my first camera. I am managing this camera using my Synology DS211+ running the Synology Surveillance Station app. It works great and no problems whatsoever. Setup was easy on both the camera's built-in settings (there's plenty settings to mess around with in terms of video/audio/events/triggers/etc) and under the Synology DiskStation as well. The reason why I decided to go with Axis was compatibility with my Synology DiskStation but most importantly because of the reputation Axis has with its products. Yes, this is an expensive camera but when you compare video quality and the amount of settings you realize the value of it.

Running the camera for the first time, you will be instructed to set the password to the camera. This is done by entering the IP address to the camera on your browser. After that, you have access to the setup page. I reserved an IP address to the camera on my router to make things a lot easier. Depending on your network setup, you will need to make sure you allow incoming connections to ports 80, 554 (RSTP to allow H.264 streams). This is all documented in the manual it comes with. Again, this is my first camera and if you have general network knowledge you should be fine setting it up and making sure the ports are forwarded on your router.

It runs smooth. No issues to report so far. I've had it running for about a week now. No disconnects as stated in some of the other reviews here. I have it connected to a DLink 1008P PoE switch and that is hooked up to my Apple Airport Extreme wireless router. The camera is hooked up with a Cat5E 100 ft cord. Again, no issues to report. Works great and wish I could afford to get a second one for more coverage. I may end up doing this later down the road. I'm very happy with this camera.

Read Best Reviews of AXIS Communications M1054 720p Network Camera (0338-004) Here

The is a great camera, I have it on my front yard, the low lux allows for color display with the street light. However, it was advertised as being wireless, it is not. Thus the reason for a three star. I think Amazon needs to correct title since it is misleading. Otherwise, excellent small HD camera that does what it says it does. I especially like the C-Clamp attachment. I was able to clamp it to the window sill.

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This is an expensive camera. You can find others that are half the cost and have similar specs.

But this camera is worth it. It's far better than cheaper units. You get a high resolution stream, with a mild fisheye lens which lets one camera, placed in a corner, monitor an entire room with no hidden spots. In other words, this camera has 90 degrees of coverage, and enough resolution to have clear identifications within that 90 degree radius.

It's also small and nice looking. I'm happy with it. I will update this review if anything changes as we get more experience with it.

I like that it has power over Ethernet. This means we run one Ethernet cable to it and we're done. Greatly simplifies wiring, and has the benefit that if your POE switch is on UPS, then your camera is also on UPS.

It's made in South Korea.

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C2G / Cables to Go 54191 Mini DisplayPort 1.1 Male to HDMI Female Adapter Cable with Audio

Output at 1080P to my projector with audio.

Surface automatically detected the cable and output and adjusted video output to mirror on the surface and projector. Audio switched over a couple seconds later.

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Sony LCS-U20 Carrying Case (Black) with 16GB Card + NP-FV70 Battery + Tripod + Accessory Kit for Ha

I loved this product. I didn't have to seperately purchase all the little extras that I would need everything was included and supplied as advertised.

Professional Cable MDP-HDMI Mini DisplayPort to HDMI 6-in Cable - White

The product description says that this adapter supports "compressed audio", and one of the other reviewers said they got audio from a MacBook Pro through it. It didn't work for me. I plugged it in, got perfect video through my HDMI switching receiver to my TV, but no audio. The System Preferences "Sound" panel does not show a second audio output device.

I then ordered another adapter that specifically says that it supports audio out from new MBPs, and that one works. My receiver now appears as a 2nd audio output device in System Preferences, and when I select it the sound works.

This adapter is great if all you want is video out, or if you have a pre-mid-2010 MacBookPro that doesn't output audio through DisplayPort anyway. However, if you want audio out from a new MBP, do not get this.

The description is misleading, I think. It makes it seem like it would support sound output. I think most people would buy this to use with an MBP. Don't waste peoples' time just say that it doesn't support audio from an MBP in the description. Also, I emailed the vendor and they haven't responded for 3 days now. Oh well, at least it was only ~$7 with shipping.

I placed my order despite some negative reviews I've read regarding this product---and I'm glad I did!

The product looks and feels like an OEM from apple (nice white color, not grayish). It's plug and play, I didn't even have to adjust anything on my macbook pro. As soon as i got it, i hooked it up on my MBP to my samsung 5 series HDTV and played online movies, youtube, etc and it worked like a charm! I was surprised it even carried the audio! (SOME REVIEWERS SAID THERES NO AUDIO).....and BTW, the seller shipped it fast too.

Great deal. I'm very pleased!

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Not much to say, other than this product works great for connecting your Apple laptop to your TV or other HDMI interface. Just be aware that the display port on the Apple laptops is purely that display only. So, you will need to connect the audio port from your laptop to audio in on your TV if you want your sound to come out of the same display device you are connecting to.

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It can take the video from the mac to the tv, but no audio like an HDMI cable should.. so its not what I was hoping for.

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This works great with my MacBook Pro. My TV and it Avatar-ed to each other is a beautiful thing--on the eyes. No sound transfer. Lame.

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C2G / Cables to Go 40303 High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet, Black (1 Meter/3.28-Feet)

The cable performs exactly as expected. I plugged it in and the picture quality is great. The connectors fit firmly and the cable has a good, sturdy feel to it.

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Panasonic PV-GS90 MiniDV Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I purchased this camcorder to document the vacation of my lifeime. And I have been extremely pleased with its performance. Panasonic has addressed several design flaws in previous models to make this one sweet little unit. They've also added a few new improvements.

The bottom line is that it takes good video overall. Quality is very good in outdoor lighting. Indoor performance is good; low light performance is minimal, but much better than expected. Considering what you pay, video quality is on par with units costing hundreds more.

Pros:

1. Great video for a single CCD camera. Great for outdoor shooting.

2. Amazing 42x optical zoom. Picture stays crisp & clear.

3. Advanced Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). Panasonic has a reputation of having the best. This allows you to zoom in and move the camera with minimal screen jitter. Better than other brands costing $100's more.

4. Uses inexpensive miniDV cassettes. These can be purchased just about anywhere if you need one in a pinch.

5. Lots of software available to do video editing. You'll also need a firewire cable and card to transfer the video to computer.

5. Built in lens cover; it slides open and close by moving a sliding button. Say goodbye to dangling or lost lens covers.

6. Firewire port has been moved to side of camera under the foldout LCD. You no longer need to remove the battery to get to it. The AV output is on the front right side.

7. A usable built in LED light. It won't light up a room but just enough helpful illumination for a subject 3 to 5 feet away in dim areas.

8. Lots of manual control. User can switch from Auto to Manual modes at the touch of a button. Controls include focus, white balance, iris, f-stop, and others.

9. Shoots and displays video in widescreen 16x9 and standard 4x3 formats.

Cons:

1. Poor battery life. Battery included barely lasts 1 hour. Using the viewfinder instead of the LCD helps a lot. You'll definitely need to buy an extra battery.

2. Expensive replacement batteries. I found that the batteries for previous Panasonic camcorder models work just fine, and are a fraction of the cost.

3. Poor low light performance.

4. No slot for memory card. Takes video stills. Plan on using your digital camera for regular pictures.

5. No way to use accessories such as lighting kits or extra lenses.

Basically what you get is a minimalist digital camcorder that takes good video. The limitations of this camcorder are hardly "cons" considering how little you pay for it. MiniDV is on its way out, but is currently still a viable media. If you need a camcorder that takes HD quality or good low light video, this is not the camera for you.

But if you are looking for a great first time camcorder, or an inexpensive little unit to document that once a year vacation or occasional event, you'll be pleased with this one.

I bought this camera first at Best Buy first in order to record a very important event. However, after the event, I noticed, while reviewing the video, that there was a distracting dead pixel (greeen spot always on) right in the middle of the image. After verifying that it was on the CCD and not on either of the two viewfinders, I returned the camera for a full refund. I would have exchanged it but every store was out of stock. The techs verified the defect and waived the "resocking fee." :-)

Next, I purchased the same camera, used, from Amazon.com. This time the unit appears defect-free and I am very happy with it.

The picture is great, the interface is intuitive, and the optical image stabilization is wonderful when you take advantage of the 42x zoom. I haven't played too much with the digital zoom because it degrades picture quality, but it seems to work as well as digital zoom can be expected to.

The only reason I can't give this product 5 stars is because the package is incomplete. It comes with no transfer cable, so if you want to load the video into your computer, you will have to run out and buy an expensive firewire cable (about $30). It also comes without any software. However, you won't need additional software if you are happy with the free movie editing software that is included with Macs and Windows.

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Panasonic PV-GS90 MiniDV Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I have purchased the Panasonic PV-GS90 from Big Value Inc. through amazon.com and the product is pretty good for the price. I have had Panasonic Camcorder (the PV type) before. If you are a MiniDV tape fan, this product is a good choice. Like other reviews, I expects this product to perform minimum picture quality when taping inside my house. I was right! The in-house picture was grainy, because there was not enough lighting inside the house. I was not upset because I expected this problem to happen. You can try to have more lighting inside your house when recording. Maybe that would fix the grainy pictures problem. For a little over $180.00, this product is supper. Out-door taping is excellent for the price, once again. I love miniDV tape because the movement of objects I am taping is recorded clearly, not jerky like other memory-card camcorder or DVD camcorder producing. I have never seen the quality of hard-drive camcorder; I imagine it would not product jerky movement of object when recording, but the price of hard-drive camcorder is too high for my checkbook. Overall, Big Value Inc. delivered what it promised and I am happy with my purchase.

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My Sony is getting old and I didn't want to lose the ability to play my mini DV tapes. Got this camcorder and like it lots. Image quality is fine for my needs. Great zoom range and the anti shake works well. Have not tried (and don't really care) about super low light or HD.

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I still use the first two from 2002 and 2007. I love the mini DV tape models. I actually bought this one because not only am I still using them on vacations, I use them to create DVDs I can play on my TV. After editing in Final Cut Pro, I pass through the camcorder to a DVD recorder to burn the DVD. I did not want to get orphaned, so I really bought this unit as a back up. It does have a higher zoom but a weaker low light record.

Dynex PC Monitor VGA Extension Cable - 6ft (1.8M)!

This product works great and is very handy. It gives e the possibility to move the monitor wherever I want it. I should have bought it sooner. Great service from the seller. Product was quickly available and in a good condition.

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ViTiny UM05 Handheld USB Digital Autofocus Microscope with Steel Stand (up to 320x on 22" Moni

• Lens & CMOS sensor: 2M pixels; Magnification: 1x to 80X, 320x on 22" monitor
• Still Image Resolution: 1600x1200 pixels (JPEG or BMP file); Video Resolution: 1600x1200 pixels (AVI file); Frame rate: 30FPS (resolution: 640x480) and 15FPS (resolution: 1600x1200, MJPG)
• Autofocus: Single Autofocus or Continuous Autofocus; Light Source: 4 white LED lights; USB 2.0 High-Speed Transmission; Web Cam function
• Multi-functional Steel Stand: 360 degree rotation and height adjustment; Preview Window Resolution: 1600x1200, 1280x 960, 1280x800, 1024x768, 800x600, 640x480
• Far Distance Control Mode: Control all functions by Software without a single button touch on microscope; Software with Measurement Functions: Length, Circumferences, Radius, Diameter, Area, Angle, Image Comparison, etc.

I really enjoy this auto-focus digital microscope and I think it is one unique product on markets. The microscope is well built and has good quality. The steel stand is sturdy and helpful to make adjustment of the observation angles. The most enjoyable part is that with simple clicks, I can control the focus, lighting from the software. I found the measurement and comparison functions are useful too.

Amy

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I purchased this USB microscope so that I could take quality pictures of coins and do highly detailed close-up examination as well. I have only worked with the scope for a few hours, but was very impressed with the ease of set up and super quality still photos it produced on my laptop. No problems installing software or hardware.

The metal stand feels a bit flimsy and is totally manual control, it also controls the field of view / magnification, which I learned through trial and error. If you put the scope right next to the object, you get high mag/high detail, if you move it up the stand you get a wider view and lower magnification. Once I figured that out, it was perfect for looking at the whole coin, or just a key detail of the coin with the scope closer in.

The auto focus took a bit of getting used to, but eventually I figured that out as well--when you move the scope up and down, you need to run the autofocus to get a clear picture. No problems there after the learning curve.

Great pictures, directly onto my laptop. The software is a bit kludgy, but it works and I was able to get what I wanted. Key appears to be appropriate direct / indirect lighting, depending on the object you're scoping. There is an LED light on the scope, but that tended to get some unwanted reflections, so I used indirect lighting with much better results.

Overall, you get what you pay for. There is a learning curve with this (especially for newbies like me), but once I figured it out, this was a great little scope at a great price, and exactly what I was hoping for when I ordered it over Amazon.

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First the good news: I liked the seller (Oasis Scientific Inc.). They seemed to be genuinely nice, good people who sincerely tried to help me get this product working properly. They even called me -amazing!

Now the bad news: the product itself. Gee whiz, where do I begin? There appears to be no way to get the device out of the "default setting is operating microscope" mode (that quote is from page 68 in the manual). I repeatedly clicked the button that SHOULD exit that mode, and every other button I could find that might possibly relate, all to no effect. While images from the "microscope" (more about that in a minute) appeared on my computer screen, after countless attempts on two different computers (a Vista 64-bit desktop and a Vista 32-bit laptop), the remote control functions never worked. Those functions are one of the primary benefits of this model (assuming they work), and why this is so expensive, so when they don't work, this is just another cheap "microscope," but it isn't inexpensive.

Calling this a microscope is a bit of a stretch. The "320x on 22" monitor" is like saying I am 20 feet tall on a movie screen.

The white LEDs that illuminate the object being viewed often reflect off it and wash out portions of the image in addition to making colors appear too pale. Turning the LED intensity down (or off) can solve both problems but create another: an overly dark image. I usually obtained the best images by using natural light and *carefully* adjusting its intensity, such as by blocking some light coming in from the window. Question for the engineers who designed this device: There's an easy way to correct this problem. Can you think of it?

Even on its best setting, JPEG images from this device were very disappointing, exhibiting pronounced blockiness and blurring. I assume they are compression artifacts, yet I can't produce equivalent distortions in Photoshop even when I save JPEGs with a quality of 0.

I could never get the autofocus to work unless the "microscope" was relatively far from the object. Even when it worked, it would have been much faster to focus manually because the autofocus zoomed in and out, and in and out, before finally settling. The autofocus motor and gears sound like they're made of cheap, tinny metal and cheap plastic gears. For $190, I expected better quality.

Because the autofocus is so poor, it'd be nice to have a manual focus on the stand like some other models have in which screwing a knob changes the height and hence focus.

Besides the fact that part of the software (the remote control functions) never worked for me, some of the other software was also annoying. For example, no image would appear until I clicked Setting > Input Device. Oh, come on . . . can't that be the default? I also couldn't find any obvious way to set preferences, such as image size & quality and the default location to save images.

I installed the software from the included CD. A newer version is available from ViTiny's website, but it is a .rar file, which Windows (Vista 64-bit) will not open. It is utterly ridiculous to supply software updates in a format that Windows will not open without searching for a utility written by someone I don't know or trust, from a website I don't know or trust. Expecting me to go on a wild-goose chase, and waste more of my time, figuring out how to install that new software (which may or may not solve the above problems) is RIDICULOUS.

Ultimately, I returned the device to the seller and received a refund for it. Even-steven? Not quite. I got my money back but I'll never get back the many hours I spent TRYING to get this thing to work and communicating with the seller. This was so frustrating that I coined a new term: junkphobia, referring to a fear of buying products because too many of them are junk that wastes our time or fails prematurely. Ethical manufacturers should compensate users who lost time, money, or both as a result of product flaws. Instead, too many manufacturers do anything they can get away with. If their products cause you to waste time, too bad; their profits are more important than doing the right thing.

UPDATE: I strive to be fair, so I revised my rating from the original one star to four stars after receiving a comment from "experimentist" (see below), who seems to be the manufacturer. I am impressed they took the time to investigate the problems I experienced. He/she seems honest, so I'll assume the microscope I returned did indeed function acceptably on their Vista systems. By looking through the manual, I see images captured with very good quality.

Sony Alpha DSLRA300K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization with DT 18

Having previously reviewed the Alpha 200 and 350, it seems a bit silly to review the Alpha 300. After all, the Alpha 300 is a 200 with Live View, or a 350 with 10 megapixels instead of 14mp. Right?

Well, pretty much that's the case. But there is also a corresponding price difference. Is Live View worth an extra $100? Is 14mp worth an extra $200?

For my money, yes, Live View is worth the $100 because of the way Sony has implemented this feature. Unlike most systems, you won't see a loss in autofocusing performance (or a loss of autofocus completely), nor will you alter the way the exposure and white balance are determined. Add to this the articulated screen that makes extremely low or high angle shots easier, and I say "YES"! Any drawbacks? Yes, this screen is a bit thicker, and pushes you back a bit when looking through the camera. Also, the way Sony implements Live View does mean you only see 90 percent of what you'll get on the image.

OK, is 14mp worth the extra $200? I don't know, but I don't think so. We really need more critical comparisons from people with true scientific methods of measuring the difference in image quality, but there are a few assumptions that will probably hold true, based on previous cameras. The 14mp will give a superior image in good lighting, when ISO values (the fake "film" speeds) can be set to higher quality settings. You won't see this difference on an 8x10 standard photo, but probably could in very big enlargements or severe cropping of photos. Keep in mind that the "1.4x and 2x teleconverter" option you have with Live View is nothing more than cropping, with 2x dropping your effective megapixels in half.

Past cameras would suggest, however, that the higher pixel density of the 14mp camera would be a drawback in low light conditions, in particular when we have to raise the ISO settings. Thus, they may not even be as good as the 10mp sensor for these applications (but we still need critical testing to confirm this assumption).

So, for my money, I'd say the 14mp is probably not worth the money for someone shooting an even variety of shoots, but might be for a landscape/wildlife photographer.

Compared to other brands, I think the Alpha 300 wins on features compared to the Canon Digital Rebel XTi or Nikon D60 (Live View, stabalization in body). The new 12mp Canon XSi is more in the price range of the 14mp Alpha 350. In any case, with 3 new Alphas, and the new D60 and XSi, there's no more excuses! Get a camera and start taking great photos!

Sony Alpha A200K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization with 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens

Sony Alpha DSLRA350K 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens

Nikon D60 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens

Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)

I had to choose between the a200, a300 and a350. Like another reviewer said, I think the a300 hits the sweetspot. The Live view is a feature that I might have to add to my list of requirements for future upgrades.

One of the things that annoyed me about shooting with a dslr were my glasses. To prevent them from being smudged, I'd flip them up when pressing my face against the eyepiece. Spend an entire day doing this and it becomes a royal PITA. I've only used the camera for about a week so far and I can already see that I'll be relying on Live view a lot.

The other major benefits of Live view are: 1) being able to shoot pics from the ground level perspective (great for kids and dogs) without multiple trial and errors or crouching/laying on the ground (my back thanks me), and 2) shooting over a crowd of heads, fence, glass partition, etc.

The image doesn't track as smooth as I'd hoped, but it's good enough for framing the shot. It shows you the autofocus points as well as providing a live histogram (i love it!).

I upgraded from a Minolta 5D and I think I'll miss the depth of field preview as well. Small price to pay for all the other great features.

In summary, get this camera if you're not heavily invested in other lens systems. I haven't checked out the competition since I'm one of the surviving members of the Minolta clan, but I'm sure others have competent implementations as well.

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My first DSLR, and I am very satisfied.

Why I bought it:

Live View excellent implementation. This was my number one purchase point for this camera. Fast switching to and from the Optical Viewfinder. You can use Live View outside of the studio and it acts just like a standard consumer digital camera screen. Screen tilts, which is handy.

10MP this is the sweet spot for price and capability. The Alpha 350 has 14MP, but I decided to save the money and buy a few accessories right away.

RAW+JPEG I wanted a camera that shot RAW+JPEG and didn't skimp on the JPEG. You can shoot high-quality JPEG and RAW at the same time.

Great photos has to do that.

Good surprises after I got the camera and started using it:

Ease of Use very easy to start using right out of the box (recharge the battery first).

Steady Shot gives me the confidence to shoot without a tripod and it has a nice readout on the LCD that tells you when you're shaking.

Battery life I've been taking quite a few photos the last week and have yet to recharge the internal battery.

Display Button easy to press and review your photos. Very easy to get back to shooting.

Minor Bad Point in-camera flash is very low and kit lens casts a shadow if you are too close to your subject. I got an HVL-F36AM external flash with the camera so I don't have to worry about this too much.

Some mention that the viewfinder is small, but I used it all day today because of the bright sunlight and was happy with it. I was sitting in our vehicle and noticed a tank in my side mirror. I decided to take the photo using auto focus but that didn't work, so I focused manually on the tank about 30 yards behind me through the driver's side window in the left side mirror and got a perfectly sharp picture using the Optical Viewfinder.

Great camera!!

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I purchased the Sony A300 5 months ago through J&R Music World. The camera came to me quickly and with no apparent problems. Since then I have used the camera several times to take photos of my grandchildren and also some landscapes. I always mount the camera on a sturdy tripod. When it is not being used, it is stored in a padded camera case. The last time I turned on my camera the LCD showed a white screen with just a couple of lines running through it. I did not bang it, drop it or otherwise abuse it. The camera comes with a 1 year warranty. Since I purchased a Sony product I did not expect to have a problem with them honoring my warranty. They gave me instructions to send it to Precision Camera Repair. After about a week I checked Precision's online repair status and I had a message saying that repairs were delayed because they were waiting for payment. When I called they told me that the camera showed some small scratches on it's base so the camera was obviously abused and therefore they would have to charge me $254 to repair it! I went ballistic. Precision's customer service person told me that maybe they could reduce the repair cost and immediately reduced the charge to $175. Now you may say that my argument should not be with Sony. It should be with Precision Camera. However when I called Sony Customer Relations they refused to intercede and told me I was out of luck. My argument is with Sony because they are using an obviously unscrupulous repair service. How do I know they are unscrupulous? Because I have since found out that what they did to me, they have also done to other people. There are many complaints about them at these websites:

Sony's Customer Relations Department turned a deaf ear to my complaint. I had no choice but to pay for a repair that should have been covered by the warranty.

I am very disappointed with the durability of this camera and the way Sony handled my problem.

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I've had the A300 for about a month now I've been using it regularly and am very pleased. I did a lot of research before choosing this D-SLR and IMHO the A300 offers the best bang for the buck in its class. My decision was based on the image quality, Sony's innovative LiveView functionality, in-body stabilization, lens availability (without any confusion as to what lens is compatible, what lens is stabilized or has a focus motor...) and price.

I use the LiveView and OVF interchangeably and both work very well for me (and I wear glasses). I find LV and the tiltling LCD particularly useful when using a tripod as it's no longer necessary to contort my body to the OVF to see what the camera sees; it's also very useful for candid shots and to get over peoples' heads (or fences at zoos for example). I've found the LV/tilt-LCD incredibly useful to be able to place the camera on a wall or post or less convenient spots when there's no tripod, and be able to compose and shoot a great night shot.

I find the camera responsive no complaints there AF is fast and accurate. Metering is flexible, accurate and consistent. Battery is great lasts a long time and with the % display, I know when I'm running low.

The built-in image stabilization has saved many a shot for me where lighting was marginal I would not want to have to do without this feature.

I'm pleased with the image quality (even when I forgot to reset the ISO from 800 after some indoor/no-flash wedding shots). The camera has lots of buttons so I don't have to go searching through menus and if I do need to do something that doesn't have its own button, the Fn button generally gets me there quickly a well thought out interface that works for me.

I have the Sony 18-70 and 75-300 kit lenses and I'm happy with both as they provide great flexibility in range, and they're sharp enough for me. All in all I'm very happy with this tool and if my shots don't come out the way I expect them to, it's more likely my problem than any lens or camera limitation.

Knowing what I know now about this setup, I'd definitely make the same decision to buy it.