HTC EVO 4G HDMI to Micro HDMI Cable (6 ft )High Speed with Ethernet

I bought this thinking it would act as a mirroring onto my tv screen. It only shows up when looking at pictures or videos though. It arrived when expected. Maybe there is an app that might help me.

ProAm USA DVC200 8 ft Camera Jib Crane

My Jib Crane arrived 2 days before the projected delivery so walking into the office seeing that big box felt like Christmas morning as a kid. I tore into it, expecting complex instructions, but everything was self explanatory and it took longer to get the protective wrap off than it did to assemble. That's a sign of solid, well thought out design.

Sturdy construction, no flex, smooth as silk, and stable! I ordered the suggested stand in addition to this jib because it just makes sense. Everything is sturdy and the crane has a wonderful matte finish that just says BC went the distance. Everything fits together as planned without drama or buyers regret. I'm 100% thrilled with both items.

The only thing that I don't like... No carrying case. This is such a great deal already, so I don't think anyone should be discouraged from buying it... as a note to BC Media... Bags are cheap to make, but hard to find. If you did that homework for me it would have just been that little extra step to show guys like me that you're covering all bases (no pun intended).

All together great! Send me some transport gear and I'm head over heels... :) I'd hate to scratch beauty with it banging around the trunk. Keep up the hard work guys!

Ok, when I looked at this, I thought it was too good to be true when I saw the price. When I received it, I realized it was too good for the price! I highly recommend purchasing the 4' extension and base along with it. You'll be amazed at how much it will increase your overall production value without breaking your budget.

A COUPLE OF ITEMS WORTH MENTION: You'll need to buy the weights separately. (I also highly recommend a lillyput monitor w/ mount, a motorized pan head and wired camera remote WITH EXTENSION! We found it also very helpful to utilize a few sand bags on the tripod to keep it a little more steady, especially if you're shooting with any sort of winds.

Love this product, its portability & its ease of use... Look no further.

Buy ProAm USA DVC200 8 ft Camera Jib Crane Now

This is an awesome jib with a great price. It just WORKS! Get amazing shots that everyone will be in awe. Using it with my 5DMK2. Stuck a manfrotto plate on and mounted a LCD monitor. Setup and breakdown. You can buy a bag from BC Media but I recommend putting foam padding between the bars because they can get scratched. This jib is the best.

Read Best Reviews of ProAm USA DVC200 8 ft Camera Jib Crane Here

This crane / jib is well built and an excellent value, especially if you compare it to other pro ones that cost way more.

Adds so much production value to the shots. I even use it on some regular hand held shots to help hold steady.

However, my one only biggest complaint is the flex on the mounting bracket where you attach the camera.

There is considerable flex after mounting a DSLR rig to it. In airplane terms: it rolls clockwise. In other words it tilts to the right, since it hangs to the right of the main arm. So the camera, when facing forward, looking down the length of the arm, is always off level and tilted to the right.

I have tried bending and flexing it back, but it always relaxes back after mounting equipment to it.

The simple solution was to level the tripod that the crane is mounted, to compensate for the slight angle, but alas, as soon as you swing and pan in either direction, the angle is worse in one way or the other.

The obvious solution would be to mount an adjustable head on the bracket, which is what I've done. However, now I need to buy another tripod head so I can do the quick release thing from crane to tripod without having to unscrew everything back and forth every time I switch between supports.

There really shouldn't be any flex there at all. Aside from that, a good product.

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I just received my DV200 and I was blown away by how tall and sturdy it is. Keep in mind that I ordered the entire set, which includes the extension and the base stand. My crane can easily reach 16', the base stand that is extra easily gave me 4' of extra length and its super sturdy. Although I bought the monitor and I am returning it because it only has video cables and does not support my HDMI only cameras. I would recommend this to a friend!

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Pentax K-30 Weather Sealed Digital SLR Camera with AL WR 18-55mm Lens (White) with 32GB Card + Case

I ordered the camera for a college photography class. I debated whether to get a canon or a nikon as well. For the money this camera is an exceptional buy. I would have spent much more money on a Canon or Nikon equivalent. The weather resistant lens and camera body are a real plus for anyone who spends anytime outside. I highly reccomend the buyer and the camera. Shipped to an APO in less than a week (I am currently in Afghanistan).

Tripp Lite P510-006 6ft VGA Monitor Extension Cable Gold HD15M / HD15F 6-Feet

As the title states, the quality is good/excellent. No ghosting. Excellent contrast. Crisp text. At least as good as the cable that came with my monitor.

Design wise, the thumb-screws are poorly designed. The shape does not provide for a good grip...sending you for a screw-driver. The plastic is not hard/firm enough to tolerate the force of the screw-driver turning it...it bends, scrapes and generally causes one to question the quality choice of the manufacturer.

Length does not perceptibly degrade LCD monitor image quality.

I would purchase again, but I might look for a cable with better thumb-screws all else being the same quality.

Causes extreme ghosting on monitor. I expect this is due to the fact that the cable has very thin shielding -much less than a standard 6ft monitor cable. I bought this because I wanted to get my computer off my desk and out of the way, but was completely useless to me. Threw it away.

Buy Tripp Lite P510-006 6ft VGA Monitor Extension Cable Gold HD15M / HD15F 6-Feet Now

In order to rearrange my computer equipment, I needed something longer than the original monitor cable to connect between the CPU and monitor. I found this cable and ordered it, thinking it would do what I needed. After receiving the cable, I quickly learned that it causes ghosting on the monitor, something that does not happen with the original cable. The manufacturer, Tripp-lite suggests changing the resolution or refresh rate, neither of which would be acceptable to me. I would like to see Amazon revise their description of this item and tell people that it may deteriorate the performance of their monitor.

Read Best Reviews of Tripp Lite P510-006 6ft VGA Monitor Extension Cable Gold HD15M / HD15F 6-Feet Here

This very light-weight and cheap feeling 25' cable produced hazing and ghosts in the VGA signal, worse with the higher resolutions. Further reading indicates that it is due to improper impedence rating of the cable, which means it is just cheap materials. If you need a VGA cable to go 25', get it heavy shielded and pay.. or you will end up paying twice.

Very disappointed.

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Because VGA is an ANALOG format instead of DVI/HDMI digital connections, VGA cables must be treated with great care from manufacturing to use. Unfortunately this cable wasn't treated well in manufacturing. The cable impedance is wrong which creates ghosts in the image. The mfgr (tripp-lite, well known for their inverters and ups systems) tried to get by with thin cable which might be ok for a 3 foot VGA but in 25 feet the cable degredation just ruins the picture.

Proper cable is 75 ohms for VGA signals, measuring this with a tektronics cable analyzer shows it is off by 33%, and that the red, green, and blue cables are not all the same impedance (they should be matched). You will not like the image at the end of this above 640x480 and even there it will be sub-par.

For long VGA cables, look for thick cable (3/8-1/2 inch) heavy shielding, the thicker the better. On my unix workstation the 3 coax cable is 1" in diameter. the VGA standard calls for 5 coaxes so you can see they are using skinny wire inside.

As the other reviewer said, buy the best. forget the rest. I hope this review saves someone's eyes out there.

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Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only)

If Pentax were a bit more serious about increasing the sales of their cameras to first-time Pentax buyers, they'd be making some changes to their marketing strategy. It's unfortunate that with most consumer/professional camera reviews, the Pentax products get dinged in relation to their competitors when they shouldn't have to be. You can see this in the Consumer Reports review of DSLRs and other reviews such as PopPhoto. The problem is that these reviews are performed with tested cameras at their default settings, and Pentax chooses to "compromise" the performance of their cameras by requiring custom adjustments to bring about the true potential of the product. The K10D took a hit with its lower-contrast, soft and dark pictures when in default mode. Change the settings and you have a camera every bit in step with its competition at the time. Now the K20D suffers the same fate with the decision to make Noise Reduction-OFF the default setting. The PopPhoto test of the K20D actually resulted in higher noise levels than the K10D. Indeed, when I first compared the two cameras, I found them both the same at ISO 1600 for the amount of visible noise. Obviously, this is a shocker when you consider that the K20 uses the new CMOS sensor as opposed to the K10's CCD. Although the detail was higher in the K20, the noise was no better. That is, until I set noise reduction to "weak." What a difference! Comparing shots taken at the same settings between the two cameras (K10 default has noise reduction on) but with the K20 at the full 14.6 mp setting and highest JPEG quality with noise reduction at "weak," and the K20's image is strikingly cleaner and sharper. There's no doubt the resolution of the K20's image is hands-down superior to the K10. But you won't read about this in any review unless they choose to turn on noise reduction. There is a very slight loss of detail with NR on, but the resolution of the K20's sensor is so good anyway that the loss is negligible (especially with the Pentax DA* 50-135 lens). Certainly experienced photographers could argue the Pentax reasoning behind the default setting issue, but from a marketing perspective, subjective reviews and objective lab results based on lesser picture performance of default settings can only hurt potential sales when a buyer sees that the 40D or the D300 has clearly better performance in the noise level competition. When you're going up against the giants, you need to exploit the maximum potential of your product, and I believe Pentax has failed to do that.

Having a K10 and a number of Pentax lenses already, I couldn't quite justify jumping ship for the excellent Canon 40D or Nikon D300. But in the end, the price of the K20 was well-justified. The first feature that sold me on the camera is one that only true professional cameras have and isn't even mentioned in the K20 pitch the ability to fine-tune the auto focus system so that if a lens is front or back-focusing, you can correct for it. This allows you to change the relationship between the point you focus on to the front-to-back area around that object that is also in focus known as the depth of field. This feature could save you a lot of heartache with poorly calibrated lenses that would otherwise be useless. The second feature of this camera that sold me is the improved sensor with its 14.6 MP rating and increased resolution. ISO 1600 shots are now a non-issue compared to the K10. Overall, the K20's pictures tend to be a tad bit warmer than the K10's, but I've also found them to better handle high-contrast transitions between bright and dark with less blown-out bright areas. This was evident in sunset shots where the brightest areas of the orange clouds went yellow in the K10 but kept their detail and color with the K20 (shooting in JPEG). No longer is there an issue with under-exposed shots as with the K10, and normal settings are set close to sharpness/contrast ideals, I've found. But of course, it's all adjustable to just about any result you could want. Just be prepared to deal with some pretty big file sizes on the highest quality JPEG setting about 11MB. Shoot in RAW and it's almost twice that size. 4GB SD cards suddenly seem puny.

After several thousand shots with the K20, there are a few things that I would consider a bit of a deficit with this camera's performance. First and foremost is the burst rate of 3 frames per second. This is perfectly fine for just about all shooting situations except sports. If you plan to do sports photography, this is not the camera for you. Way too much action happens between frames at that slow rate. The other area where performance lags a bit is with the auto focus system: it's just too slow at the very times you need it to work faster than it can. The issue remains a nuisance from kit lenses to the DA* SDM lenses in low-light or with moving objects. Live-View was not something I cared much about, but since it's there it has come in handy at times for inconspicuous pointing of the camera at non-moving objects or confirming focus when in manual focus mode. My only complaint is that its not as refined in its operation as I'd prefer, and it makes odd clunky-clattery noises when its in use. Another feature that could use some improvement is the Auto ISO setting where the camera selects the ISO between a range you specify. The problem is that it defaults to the lowest ISO which could result in a shutter speed as low as 1/80. This is too slow for anything moving, and I've lost opportunities to blurred pictures because of this. More expensive cameras have the ability to specify a minimum shutter speed as the secondary setting to this feature. Perhaps Pentax has it somewhere, but I just haven't found it. The last nit pick I have is with the shutter sound. It's a little bit sharper and quieter than the K10, but I really don't care for the sound on either camera too "squeaky/clangy."

In the balance, however, there are a multitude of plusses to this camera that make it great such as the quality of the photos, the flexibility to custom adjust just about anything connected to the picture image and capture (too many to mention), the RAW file handling, in-camera image stability system, the auto focus adjustment feature, weather sealing, the ergonomics/handling and solid feel of the camera. The dust mapping and removal is nifty, too. The dust mapping lets you see a representation of where exactly the dust is on the sensor rather than having to study pictures and transpose the positioning to what you see when looking straight at the sensor from the front. It's also quite sensitive. It showed the presence of dust when I had a very had time even detecting the dust in photos of blue sky taken with a high f-stop. Interestingly, the dust shake-off feature of the sensor has never worked for me on either the K10 or the K20. What always works is to use a manual blower to shoot a few burst of air at the sensor at the right locations.

If you want a truly fine camera that lets you stand out from the Canon/Nikon masses without feeling second-rate (so long as you stay out of sports arenas), this camera is a worthy purchase that will get you great results. I'm surprised at the looks and questions I get from even professional photographers when they see me shooting with the K20 and a DA* lens attached. If you aspire to professional levels of photography without the typical high accessory costs incurred by Nikon/Canon shooters, this is probably one of the best mid-level cameras going. And Pentax is continuing to introduce more professional lenses on par with those from Canon and Nikkor at significantly lower cost.

I have been a Pentax owner since the 1950's when the first Heiland Pentax SLR was introduced to the market. This is my 3rd Pentax digital SLR, the first two being the 6 megapixel 1stDS and the 10 megapixel K10D. This new model is a significant upgrade from the K10D, and at 14.6 megapixels, provides significantly more resolution in the crops I make from the original images. What this allows is for me to go to smaller crops (increased area enlargement) and still maintain excellent resolution. Another significant feature is the new imaging device from Samsung, producing, for me, low noise excellent quality photos at sensitivities as high as 1600 ISO.

To me, one of the most significant features of this camera, also found on my earlier K10D, is the RAW button on the left side of the camera body. This enables me to shoot most of my photos in JPEG, but allows me to go to RAW for a single image that I really want to get the most out of. This feature really conserves memory card space, but allows shooting of intermittent RAW images when they are really needed. This is a feature that I believe is unique to Pentax. At the highest quality (least compression) JPEG setting, the camera produces 10 megabyte images, which provide plenty of detail and excellent color.

The quality of the shake reduction capability seems, to me, to be improved over the K10D. I have been able to shoot sharp photos at F3.5 at a 30th of a second at a focal length of 250 mm.

The camera is extremely well built and, for this reason, is slightly heavier than other brands of comparable size. But the small extra weight and the fact that the camera feels well in the hand makes for really steady shots.

A new feature is live image production on the 2.7 inch rear screen, which is somewhat larger than that on the K10D. Being a long time SLR user, I don't use this feature very much. But it seems to be the up and coming thing on new digital SLR's.

The internal software of the camera has really been upgraded and includes an in camera capability to convert RAW images to TIFF or JPEG, a really neat feature if one is on the road and doesn't have access to the computer software necessary to process RAW images but yet wants to view them on other portable imaging devices.

I bought my camera without a lens and separately purchased the new 18-250 F 3.5-6.3 Pentax zoom lens and the 50 mm F 1.4 Pentax lens, which serves as a very short telephoto, wonderful for taking pictures of people. This is the combination I would recommend. The 18-250 appears to be manufactured for Pentax by TAMRON and is an excellent lens in my opinion. It is also quite versatile, giving a 28 mm field of view at wide angle and 375 mm at full telephoto. The 50mm F 1.4 is really inexpensive, at about $199 from reputable internet dealers, and is one of the sharpest lenses ever produced by Pentax. This lens is a real "sleeper" and should be owned by any Pentax DSLR owner for low light and portrait photography.

At about $1250-1299 street price for the body alone, the camera is not cheap. But it is a prosumer model and priced somewhat below comparable Canon and Nikon models. It is providing me with wonderful performance and I highly recommend it.

Dr. James E. Maynard

Buy Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only) Now

I had a pleasure to use this Pentax's baby for three days. This camera takes photography as far as it never was before under $8.000 price tag. The image quality is stunning. I especially like this rich tremendous color rendition that looks like mid format color slide of 6x9. The tone gradations are simply endless. If you take picture of sunset it will be the best sunset you ever seen.

I will not describe endless technical data details but I must stress how smart, convenient and relevant all the menus! You have a photography tools in your hands, not the computerized toy for browsing menus. The controls placement is the best I ever seen in any brand. Everything is under your fingers, everything is assignable. The camera reacts in the way you expect, it feels solid, complete.

It is pleasure to hold it, the balance is very good. This camera's software allows remote shooting (just like k10d) and if used in studio may be entirely controlled by computer. The ability to use the internal flash as a controller is very nice! The ability to store preview is very nice! The shift preview on shutter is super cool! The viewfinder is nice, clear and bright!If you had experience with K10D, you will find these awesome Pentax invented modes related to auto ISO settings.

The image quality is second to none. While there are many good cameras are around, this one of the league on itself. The tonality, sharpness, expressiveness of this cam is outstanding. What is even more outstanding is the combination of shooting experiences that end up in the final image. You feel that you control it to any degree you wish. The final image may be whatever you tune it to be. Make a profile and get it over sharpened as Canon, oversaturated as Sony or over contrasted as Nikon. Mix is in any way you pleased. You have any number of cameras inside. I personally enjoyed portraits and nature shots I made with it. With awesome tonal variations, countless gradations in shadows, natural and lifelike skin tones. This camera does equally good job on dark skins as well. And it looks real, photographically rich and not exaggerated.

In short, my three days of hands on experience with this camera I walked off very impressed. Hugely impressed.

Read Best Reviews of Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only) Here

I've only shot about 1700 images so far, so I haven't fully explored all the new features on this camera. This is my first impression and I'll update this review as I become more familiar with it.

I've used the K10D since it came out, and the K20D is a strong addition to the line. The new sensor is amazing. Live View is very handy when you're reaching to get the camera into an awkward position. I haven't needed the Dust Alert feature yet, but since I shoot in less than clean conditions, I'm guessing it will come in handy.

One of the features of the K10D that they've kept, and the primary reason I switched to Pentax in the first place, is the construction of the body with 72 seals to keep water and dust out. I've used the K10D in the pouring rain, in sea spray, and in smoky or dusty, windy conditions, and never had a problem. I've started to expose the K20D to the same conditions, and I expect the same performance.

The Shake Reduction is also fantastic, especially for my shaky hands. It doesn't replace a tripod, but it does allow me to shoot handheld in lower lighting than I ordinarily could. Since I have several lenses, it's also a money saving feature for me.

5/26/08 update: Three additional comments:

I've used this camera in both pouring rain and windy dusty conditions (not at the same time, obviously.) Since the body construction didn't seem dramatically different from the K10D, I expected it to survive my abuse, and so far it has.

Live View with a tripod and a wireless remote is heaven in awkward positions! No more contorting my body to squeeze into difficult spaces! (Well, ok, I do that for long enough to focus, then stand comfortably and switch to Live View. You can use the AF button to focus while using Live View, but I guess I'm a little old fashioned, and I like seeing my subject in focus in the viewfinder.)

It can be frustrating waiting for the images to write to the card, especially when you shoot in Continuous Shooting mode and shoot six or eight images at a time. But since part of that is due to the speed of the card and part of it is due to the size of the images, I can't complain about the camera here. If you are shooting multiple large raw files quickly, BUY FAST CARDS.

I've just scanned the manual and didn't notice the maximum capacity, but I'm using 8GB SDHC cards.

Now that I've spent a little time using it, I love this camera even more.

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This was quite an upgrade from the Samsung GX-1S (clone of *ist DS2) I used previously . Pentax have always put out nice products but haven't really been pushing the envelope until now.

The bad:

Auto white balance is still pretty poor. This has been the case with the other Pentax DSLRs. Certainly not a huge concern--especially if you shoot RAW--but a little annoying considering other manufacturers seem to manage it much better.

It has a tendency to underexpose. Normally I find myself shooting with +0.7EV compensation and rarely do I run into situations where it blows out the highlights with that setting.

The good:

Absolutely outstanding image quality. I have shot everything from 110 to large format in film, and the first thing that struck me looking at some of the K20D shots was that it looks like medium format film: the ultra-smooth gradations and gorgeous tones.

The lens focus adjustment! Both my Pentax SMCPDA 16-45mm Zoom f/4.0 ED/AL Lens for Pentax and Samsung Digital SLR Cameras and Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Pentax and Samsung SLR Cameras required some adjustments to compensate for slight front and back focusing. Without this feature I would have been stuck with lenses that would not focus perfectly wide open.

The viewfinder. Large, bright, clear.

TAv mode. I spend 90% of my time shooting in this; Pentax treats ISO like a third variable in addition to shutter speed and aperture. Simple and brilliant. You just adjust the shutter speed and aperture with the wheels and it tells you the ISO so you can make a judgment call on a good compromise between all three.

Clever battery grip design that lets you store a spare SD card and remote.

Nice high ISO performance. I have shots at 5000 that look good, though 6400 is pretty noisy.

Hands-off noise reduction. Default is OFF, which lets you control it entirely in post-processing. Much rather have that than the water color paintings other cameras prefer to output.

Again, AMAZING image quality. I was worried that they were pushing the sensor too far with 14.6mp but they manage to control noise and retain wonderful detail. It does require good optics to get the most out of it, so I would recommend looking at some high quality glass. The 16-45/4 is one of the bargains out there; tack sharp, great color and contrast, and just around $300 new.

If Pentax could do a little better on the white balance and metering it would be absolutely perfect for me. As it stands, it is still an incredible bargain though!

VueZone System with 1 Indoor Camera and 1 Indoor Motion Detection Camera (SX2500)

The good:

-Extremely easy to setup, was up and running in well under 15 minutes including unboxing time.

-Gateway grabs a DHCP address from your broadband router and connects to the my.vuezone site.

-Smartphone clients for Android, iPhone and Blackberry devices. (Update: Blackberry is no longer supported)

-Cameras are completely wireless, allowing for extremely easy installation

-Cameras seem to have a very decent range from the gateway.

-No line of sight needed for the cameras, no problems for me going through walls and floors of brick, wood and drywall. Metal building supplies may pose issues though, but this will be the case with any wireless camera.

-1 year of Premium service comes with the system, currently only $49.95 per year after that.

-Snapshots/videos are recorded out to the website immediately, and can be played back from almost any internet connected computer.

The bad:

-Motion sensing does not work through glass.

-Cannot set ignore times for motion sensing/alerting, it is either on or off for each camera.

-Low-light performance leaves much to be desired. Despite several streetlights, no picture was visible in an area easily visible to the human eye.

-Operating temperatures limited to 32º to 122º F, so mounting options will be limited to temperature controlled locations for most locations. (Update: per Avaak Tech Support, this is a limitation of the batteries, not the camera.)

-Cameras have no wired power option, so you'll be using up batteries even in areas where you could easily connect wired power.

-Fixed 60 degree field of view on the cameras is a bit limiting.

Overall, the system is good with a few caveats. With more camera options, it would be great. Unfortunately, it appears Avaak has gone the other way, as the Outdoor rated camera has disappeared from their site.

I would love to see cameras with an AC power option, an outdoor rated dome camera (Pan/tilt/zoom would be outstanding) and perhaps others integrated into the great gateway and website that Avaak has going for them.

Update:

Outdoor (waterproof) camera mounts are now available! This doesn't address the temperature restrictions of the batteries, but gives you a lot more flexibility in the mounting location. Avaak has changed their service plans several times from when this review was written, so check the latest account details on their site. They also run sales on the service renewal from time to time, so renew when the sales are going to save yourself a few bucks.

My concerns with eating through the batteries seems to have been unfounded, as I'm still on the original batteries in all the cameras. Also, the sticky-back on the mounts should be looked at as a BACKUP to the screw slot on all but perfectly smooth surfaces. I had a camera take a nasty 8 foot fall onto concrete which left a crack in the housing, but it still works perfectly.

I have had my VUE SM2700 motion detection camera system up and running for about a week now, and so far so good! Installation really is a breeze, and the wireless cameras (and their mounts) are so convenient to use. I have the receiver upstairs along with one of the cameras, and the other camera is downstairs. Both cameras have perfect reception and the viewing resolution is better than I expected. Also, there are three adjustable settings for the available lighting the room provides, which is accessed through the software so you can easily change the settings even when you are away.

I tested the motion detection once, and it worked fine. An email was immediately sent showing a video clip of the movement. This can be adjusted from a 10 second or 40 second clip. I will do more extensive testing at a later date, but so far it seems to work well. The 2x zoom function also works well. You get to decide what to zoom in on, and the resolution is excellent. The movements on screen are a little laggy, but that is to be expected and really its not that bad at all. If someone was removing something from your home, I think you would be able to get a clear shot at the persons face along some point of a 40 second motion video. A lot also depends on how far you setup your cameras from the objects they may be viewing. The brighter the available lighting and the closer the better.

I have had zero issues using the software on a PC, IPAD, and on my Android phone. They all three work perfect so far. This is great news, something that actually works!

So far I am very happy with this setup. I will say that this is NOT a high end surveillance system so dont buy it with unrealistic expectations. However, for basic home use I think you will be hard pressed to find anything better anywhere near this price range. I only wish a future firmware upgrade will add a schedule setting that allows the motion detection to turn off/on at a certain time. That way when you come home at 5pm everyday, you dont have to disable it manually.

Otherwise, no real complaints! Two thumbs up!

Buy VueZone System with 1 Indoor Camera and 1 Indoor Motion Detection Camera (SX2500) Now

It is very easy to set up the cameras and "gateway". No technical knowledge is necessary. The gateway has one USB port but the manual and web site do not mention any use of it. I wish the recorded video could be stored in a USB flash attached to the gateway. Lens are not wide-angle. To capture a view of entire room, the camera has to be placed high on the ceiling.

I am not happy with the frame rate. Eight frame per second at 320 x 160? Come on, this is not in the 80s.

A nice feature will be providing advanced functions by connecting to the gateway directly, just like you connect to the web site inside a Linksys router and change the settings. This feature may be present but hidden.

Don't bother to view the camera at night. The FAQ web site says at least 40-watts light bulb is required. I tried it. The image was very grainy and painful to see.

Overall, the product offers basic functions of live video camera. Make sure you have adequate lighting, or preferably in bright daylight. Online registration is quick and easy. I can view the camera immediately after registration. However, if your network is down such as no Internet due to ISP (Internet Service Provider) issue, you're doomed. You can't view the camera.

Read Best Reviews of VueZone System with 1 Indoor Camera and 1 Indoor Motion Detection Camera (SX2500) Here

I have been using these cameras for several years and generally been pleased... until recently. This company is trying to now get me to pay for a yearly subscription to view my cameras on-line. I think this is a serious problem and it was not disclosed that I would need to purchase an additional service when I made my original camera purchase. I have three cameras in one location and to be frank, am not sure why I need to pay an additional $20 a year for something that was originally free and has minimal benefits. I have written to this company questioning this policy twice so far and have received unapologetic generic responses. I am very angry and am looking for another product to replace my VueZone.

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Hidden fee warning: to use any mobile phone requires $5 / month fee. To share viewing with more than 1 person requires fees as well. Many negative reviews seem to have been updated because the company threw a bone at these customers and extended free service by 1 year, and raised fees for all others who are buying now.

If you read company rep's response to those negative reviews, it's a lie saying premium fee is required for maintaining quality of service. This camera should not be using any of the company's resources once installed at home, the fee is only good for keeping their profit and bonuses growing. I am a software engineer myself and I appreciate the need to make money, but requiring users to pay additional fee for some basic function that's highly touted in their product description is highly deceptive.

I almost bought this camera since the design looks very nice and the gold box offer is tempting.

Thanks to those who wrote 1 or 2 star reviews, I was able to see the proper warning. Since company now is engaging in trying to change those negative reviews to better by selectively offering additional benefits, I feel compelled to warn everyone else.

Hope this will save some people's trouble having to pay the return shipping when realized that it does not work with phones out of box.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8 12.1MP Digital Camera with 4.6x POWER Opical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7

I received my camera yesterday and am extremely impressed with it. The body is beautiful and sleek. It feels solid with the metal frame and no cheap plastic parts. The menu is intuitive and the images outstanding.

I tested the movie with HD video and am very impressed by the quality of the picture. Night shots haven been excellent as well.

PROS:

* Image quality

* Night shots

* HD Video

* ZOOM while recording movies (not many other cameras can do this)

* Great looks

* Sturdy camera

CONS:

* No lens cover

* No button for recording video (have to use the menu instead)

I bought this camera to replace a very old Kodak. I picked the Lumix FP8 because of it's speed. I wanted a camera that would take consecutive pictures without much hesitation. I used it last weekend at a wedding for the first time; and the pictures turned out pretty good. I have a love/hate relationship with the size; it's great because it fits easily in about any pocket, but it is so small I feel a bit clumsy operating the controls. I have to concentrate on holding such a small camera still so I don't get camera shake. It would be nice to have a viewfinder in addition to the screen for better stabilization. Overall, I like the camera and would recommend it.

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I have used the camera for about a month now and tried a variety of light conditions for stills as well as the video. I am very pleased. The one caution is that you have to be careful to not get your finger in the way of the lens this camera is very thin and it is easy to do.

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Very fast time for 1st and 2nd picture taken! Finally I'm not missing moments because of a slow camera. I used Consumer Reports to make this decision and I'm very happy with it!

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The camera itself looks slick, but I really disliked the cheap-feeling buttons and overall plastic-y functions. It's an okay camera for the money and takes fine pictures. The menus can be irritating to navigate through; I like using built-in features but navigating through them is kind of a hassle on this camera. I probably would not get a Panasonic next time around; I went for an upgrade and got the Canon Elph... pretty pleased with it and the extra hundred is well worth it in just about every arena.

Pentax K2000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DA L Lens and AF200FG Flash

Pros:

High quality (sturdy feeling)

Well designed

Superb Image quality

No pattern noise at high ISOs (looks more like film grain)

In body image stabilization

Cons:

No image orientation sensor (if you hold portrait style have to manually rotate)

No red focus confirmation dot (still has green dot in viewfinder at bottom)

Who should buy the K2000? Anyone also considering entry level Nikon or Canon DSLRs. This is fully competitive, but offers in body image stabilization that works with any lens (old and new). Nice feature set at a great value.

The auto focus of this camera is improved, focusing more precisely in low light than previous Pentax models, and also works with the new SDM lenses. Auto white balance is also improved. It does much better under tungsten light than some previous Pentax cameras.

The shake reduction is highly effective, as much so as most in lens systems. About 3 f-stops for me. This is a handy feature because it works with ALL lenses. You don't have to keep buying the same feature for $100 to $500 every time you buy a lens for which you want stabilization. Not to mention, when a new body comes out you get an improved stabilizer. With an in lens system, you have to replace your lenses to get improved stabilizers.

Even though this is a no frills system, it is very capable for those advanced amateurs or pro's looking for a compact body to use with the Pentax Limited prime lenses (compact lenses offering outstanding image quality). The big two haven't invested many resources in prime lenses suitable for APS-C sensors (by far the best selling dSLRs), Pentax has bucked the industry trend with their superb DA Limited series lenses.

Image quality is outstanding. I used it at a studio shoot recently, and had no issue. My only complaints were the lack of user selectable focus points (besides all or center only) and lack of orientation sensor. For the most part these were easy to work around. The picture results were stunning, even up to ISO 800. By 1600 there starts to be a fair amount of noise, but there is no pattern to it (my K20d has awful horizontal pattern noise). These photos are highly suitable for B&W conversion, and they resemble high speed film better than many digital cameras.

In conclusion, you get a lot of bang for you buck with this camera. The bundled AF200FG flash is very good compared to any built in flash offering much better range, better fill, and being off camera helps reduce red eye and shadowing from lenses. The kit lens is excellent at apertures 5.6 and up at any focal length (it is a tad soft at the corners at wide angles at apertures larger (smaller number) than f/5.6. I mounted it to the K20d and it had no problems resolving for the higher resolution sensor. I recommend this without many reservations (see my cons), and for a starter or enthusiast it is a great little camera. With my review title, it is the first time I can feel comfortable to recommend a Pentax to a non-DSLR user (previously they have been better enthusiast, non-beginner models).

Update One: First set of batteries that came with the camera have more than 1000 shots on them, many of these with the flash. This has truly amazing battery life, especially considering how much the back LCD is illuminated (no top information display). This would last many users a year!

The only other little things I have noticed is there is no slot for a cable remote and the back LCD can be bright. This camera wouldn't be the best for star trails for example, but this will only impact a small percentage of users.

I still love it!

This is a great camera. Its pictures are stunning. The camera is well built and it feels solid in your hand. The kit lens is excellent and it uses all of my old 35mm Pentax lenses with the camera's stabilization feature.

The camera is very intuitive to use; I was able to use it right out of the box and have then progressed to use more and more powerful features by reading the manual. The features are all well thought out; this camera clearly implements many lessons learned from previous DSLR's because so many things are done so well. It is simply very well engineered.

I have had a series of point and shoot digital cameras over the last several years including a Fuji, a Sony and a couple of Canons. Before that I used a 35mm Pentax SLR and am therefore familiar with SLR operation. I also have a number of good lenses from the film SLR.

Part of my enthusiasm is this is my first DSLR and it offers so much more than the point-and-shoots and my old 35mm SLR. For example, I have been using its RAW feature and can save photos in both a Pentax and a standard Adobe RAW format, the latter I was able to use with Photoshop Elements 6 and have found all kinds of useful adjustments that were never available to me before.

I also like the fact that this camera uses regular AA batteries available anywhere.

The AF200 flash works well in my group photo shots and is a great value bundled with the camera. It has a nice diffuser cover for the flash to support wide angle shots. On the negative side, the AF200 is not extremely powerful-I was used to a more powerful one with my old 35mm's external flash and the AF200 can not be swiveled to bounce the flash off the ceiling--another feature I miss. However, it is much more powerful than the pop-up on the camera and it too uses AA's.

Another feature I like about this camera is its low light performance. The pictures I took at night making use of high ISO and image stabilization were simply amazing.

The camera does not have live display on the LCD on the back; you have to look through the viewfinder. Despite my recent experience with the point-and-shoots which all have live view, I have not missed that feature-looking through the viewfinder works well for me under all lighting conditions.

Overall, this has proven to be the perfect camera for me. I STRONGLY recommend it for folk coming from the point-and-shoot world and if you happen to have some old Pentax lenses (or buy some on e-bay) it makes an even more compelling purchase. Five stars!

Buy Pentax K2000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DA L Lens and AF200FG Flash Now

I own a Pentax K100D which was my first DSLR. Enjoyed for 2 years shooting sports photos (runners) and landscapes. Main issues were somewhat slow focus and having to clean sensor (30 minutes and test photos) with almost every lens change.

The new 2008 cameras almost all have built in sensor cleaners which are worth their weight in gold. I wanted faster autofocus and the "cleaner" so I looked at many reviews for all entry or middle level SLR brands. It came down to the Canon XSI, Sony A300 and the Pentax K2000. The Pentax 200D and 20D used existing autofocus and reviews all said they were slow.

With built in image stabilization, the flash included, and the 5 point auto focus (faster than the 11 point K100D) I decided on the Pentax. The Canon and Sony have live view, but if you haven't used it for awhile you won't miss it. I had also invested in a couple of lenses (Pentax 18-250) and a lesser priced Quantaray 70-300 zoom for the K100D, so I didn't need to spend any additional dollars.

Waiting for the spring track season and the faster continuous shooting speed, but I'm happy with everything I've taken so far. Slightly smaller than the K100 body, but sturdy and controls well placed. Help button is new and works very well, especially for the new SLR user.

I'm used to AA's for power and always keep an extra set charged.

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This is my first DSLR, upgrading from a 10x point and shoot, although I was a film SLR owner for several years. I looked at the following cameras closely before deciding on the Pentax K2000: Nikon D60, Canon Rebel SXi and the Olympus E-420. Although I'm sure that all of these cameras are good, I chose the Pentax for the following reasons:

size: it's smaller then all of them except the Olympus and I liked the feel of it compared to the Olympus. I wanted a camera that's good for travel.

lenses: although I'm starting fresh with no lenses, I liked the fact that you can use Pentax lenses even from the 1970s gives me more options to pick up some good lens deals. Also, I read that Pentax has good lenses for cheaper than the others. Along with this purchase, I got a pancake Pentax 40mm lens love it and when it's on the camera, it's really not much bigger than a point and shoot.

good for beginners: it's very easy to use and makes it easy for people who are new to DSLR to learn.

I also like that it uses AA batteries good for travelers.

I like that there's not a bright red light that beams out to help focus in low-light situations. Some cameras have that and it's very annoying when you're trying to discreetly take photos in a church or someplace.

There are some things that could be improved, like the 5-point focus system, but for the price, this is a good camera.

Overall, I just like the camera and I'm loving some of the photos I'm taking. I also like the support you can get online at the Pentax forums. I would definitely recommend the Pentax K2000.

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My K100D still works great, but it's starting to feel a bit dated with its slower autofocus system and lack of SDM lens support. Since K2000s are getting so inexpensive, I decided to pick one up for a minor upgrade.

My initial impression was that the K2000 is heavy. It actually weighs slightly less than the K100D, but the smaller hand grip makes it feel heavier to me. The hand grip is less bulbous so it doesn't fill into my hand nearly as well, but I suppose that the hand grip was the only part that could be drastically reduced in size without making the camera feel unbalanced.

I also immediately noticed the missing LED screen at the top. Fortunately, all of the information is clearly and brightly displayed on the back LCD screen now. The new interface is actually very, very well designed. It's familiar enough that I could jump right in, and intuitive enough that I quickly figured out the new shortcuts and features. I'm finding the autofocus to be pretty quick and camera operation a bit quieter. Overall, I find the K2000 to be extremely usable.

The switch to the 10MP sensor finally gives me ISO 100 and smaller ISO increments for more control, but I'm also noticing much more noise than with the wonderful 6MP sensor in my K100D. With my K100D, I found ISO 800 to be very usable, but I'm afraid of pushing beyond ISO 400 with the K2000. I think this is something that I'll just have to get used to when I'm framing and exposing scenes.

The DA L kit lens seems to be about the same as my old DA 18-55mm, except for the plastic mount and sticker badge. You also don't get a lens hood. I haven't really tried the AF200FG flash because I have the AF360FGZ, but it seems appropriate for an entry level kit flash.

Pros (relative to the K100D):

+ Smaller and slightly lighter than the K100D.

+ 10MP sensor that gives more control over ISO.

+ Incredibly intuitive interface.

+ Sv (sensitivity) mode! I didn't have this before on the K100D.

+ Excellent mix of pro and non-pro features like the Help button, which can also be changed to be the RAW button.

+ Despite the cheaper construction, the kit lens still feels solid and comparable to my old 18-55mm that has a metal mount.

Cons (Relative to the K100D):

The 10MP sensor is noisier than what I'm used to. I've seen some amazing pictures taken with this sensor though so I'll have to learn the limits of this camera.

The ergonomics of the body aren't quite as good as the K100D. It's probably perfect for people with smaller hands though.

The DA L kit lens has a plastic mount, a sticker badge, and no lens hood.

UPDATE 7/28/09: I took my K2000 to San Diego Comic-Con and I must say that it performed admirably at ISO 800. I found that as long as I expose properly (preposterous!), the noise levels are totally acceptable. It's a bit more fussy than the K100D when underexposing at the same sensitivity, but I'm no longer afraid of using this sensor at ISO 800.