Pentax K200D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens

I am an amateur photographer who's always used point-and-shoot cameras. Finally, I got up the nerve (and cash) to get myself a DSLR.

I started doing lots of reading and reviewing the various reviews/features of different cameras, eventually settling on the Pentax K200D.

I have never owned anything made by Pentax/Canon/Nikon/Olympus/Sony before, so I didn't have any sort of brand loyalty ties. I took long, hard looks at the features and performance and went from there.

There are several reasons why I chose the Pentax K200D over similar models from other manufacturers:

1) Weather sealing -Pentax claims their camera is the only environmentally sealed camera in its class ("starting DSLR"). Nice to know it's there, even if I don't plan on intentionally testing it out!

2) Saving High quality JPEG and RAW at the same time (RAW+). Some of the other models I was considering didn't allow RAW + High JPEG, only medium JPEG.

3) Very high build quality. This thing feels like it's built like a tank. After reading literally hundreds of user reviews from Canon owners, Nikon, etc. the general consensus was their bodies (and cheap lenses) felt a little flimsy. I must admit, I went to the stores and tried out their cameras (the entry DSLR) and I felt the same way.

Popular Photography's preview of the K200D said it best: "Mate a tank with a SLR body..." or something to that effect.

4) AA batteries. I know some people consider this a downside, but decent 2500mha AAs are extremely cheap and work great. If I ever run out of juice, I know I can hit up practically any store for a recharge.

5) You can mount any lens Pentax has ever made on this camera. Of course, you may not get all the features, but the consistency of the lens mounting was a plus for me.

6) In-body stabilization A real biggy for me, as this translates to any lens you buy for the system! It has already saved several of my shots.

7) It's an APS-C sensor -this discounted the Olympus line immediately.

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So how do I like the camera? So far it's great!

I've only owned it a few days, but I've been doing lots of testing with the kit lens (which, according to "the net", isn't as horrible in quality as some other kit lenses).

Autofocus is fairly quick, though low light seems to be throwing it off sometimes (duh!)

Light metering seems to be very consistent -I'm not getting surprise too dark or too light shots unless I intentionally screw the shot up (like forgetting to reset EV , doh).

Burst rate is a bit low at 4 JPEG or RAWs but I don't plan on doing too many sports shots so hopefully this won't be a limiting factor. I'm awaiting some Sandisk Ultra II SD cards to come in before I see how much this low rate limits me -hopefully the fast card will allow a quick buffer flush.

The grip is confortable for me, a 6-foot tall male with large/medium hands. So far I haven't accidentally hit a button while operating the camera, etc. I haven't done prolonged shooting yet.

The menu options are pretty self-explanatory, and I like the manual they give you (though it's huge) -They do a pretty good job explaining what various functions do, etc.

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So, the verdict? If you're moving from a point and shoot digital camera (I had a Kodak Easyshare Z612 6MP), this thing is going to blow it away!

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. The kit lens isn't total garbage, the menu functions are easy to access and the camera performs admirably.

The only thing I miss moving from my PNS camera is the zoom.

My next purchase will probably be the fast 50mm prime lens for portraits.

I've been shooting in low-light situations (my house tonight) and so far it's doing great.

I've also taken it outdoors on a sunny day for some pretty good looking shots. I can't wait to upgrade to a good zoom to catch more wildlife.

I previously owned a Pentax K100D. I decided to step up to a DA* lens and wanted a body to match its weather sealing and SDM motor. The K200D is the perfect prosumer DSLR. It has all of the great features of the K100D Super (the K100D with dust removal), plus many more. The 10.2MP sensor takes great photos. The construction is solid and the dust/water sealing clearly visible on all doors. As with the K100D, this model uses AA batteries, a feature I love. Paired with a couple of sets of NiMH rechargeable batteries (I have 2500 ma Sonys), you are set for over 1500 photos. Also included, built in support for wireless flash operation with the internal flash as master (the K100D required an external flash as the master).

Overall an excellent upgrade from the K100D, and a bargain compared to the K10D from which it gets its CCD. I highly recommend it for prosumers and entry-level professional photographers.

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I am not sure why my first review didn't end up getting posted . So I am writing it again.

I have had this camera for about a month, purchased from Amazon, which got it to me less than 48 hours after I clicked "order" with the free shipping amazing.

This is my first DSLR. I owned two digicams before, a 2000 Olympus C3030Z 3 MP, and a 2006 Nikon Coolpix L1 6 MP.

Price wise, the K200D is a steal, especially with the rebate deals going on this summer about $550 after rebate with the DA 18-55 AL II kit lens. Compared to other DSLRs, the only other comparable model feature-wise in this price range is the Olympus E-510.

I can't believe what I have been missing ! The colors with the K200D are just vibrant and nothing like the digicams. Right out of the box, with kit lens (DA 18-55 AL II), the pictures are sharp. The extra megapixels don't hurt either. I wish I had this camera years ago on my previous trip. Most of my old digicam pictures looked washed out to me now, especially with the older Olympus :(

The ability to attach filters to the lens, such as a polarizer for outdoor use, greatly helps in the ability to enhance the picture and get incredible blue skies. That alone is worth getting a DSLR over a digicam.

The shake reduction is great. It is basically impossible to get a blurry picture with this camera in daylight, except if you move it on purpose like crazy. At night time, it can still occur occasionally. And what's even better, since the SR is in the body, it works with all lenses that you attach to it, even 40 year old Pentax lenses made for 35mm film cameras ! The only other manufacturer to have in-body SR is Olympus, in some models.

The camera is very fast. I verified that I can indeed take 2.8 pictures per second as advertised in continuous mode. There is never any noticeable waiting to save a 10 MP shot in JPEG mode, that is to say less than 1/3 of a sec. My Nikon could take several seconds to save a 6 MP JPEG onto SD, and my Olympus 30s for a 3 MP TIFF onto SmartMedia !

One of my favorite cost-saving features is the AA battery support. This is what made my decision to buy the K200D over the Olympus E-510. With the K200D, there is no need to buy expensive proprietary batteries, that can only be used in one device, and will be obsolete for the next camera, or to carry another charger when traveling. Olympus also makes you purchase a quick charger. They only bundle a slow charger with the camera. Once you factor the extra charger and at least one spare battery, the 2 cameras are no longer in the same price range. AA batteries are available everywhere, and cheap NiMH rechargeables work great. I can use the same AA battery type for my flash and my DSLR and only have one charger. I was able to take 1600 pictures on a single set of 4 AA NiMH 2500 mAh batteries in continuous mode, including 100 with the built-in flash. That's way more than Pentax says I could (they claim only 700 with NiMH). This may be because I wasn't using the LCD due to the continuous mode. Even after that, I kept shooting with the same batteries for another week. They were not depleted. But the 1600 pics filled up all my cards so I thought it was time to stop the test.

This camera is not perfect.

It is heavier and larger than most of the competition. It will not fit in your pocket like a digicam, but then no DSLR with a lens attached will, either. The size and weight are somewhat mitigated by the fact this unit seems better built than others, and is weather-sealed, which means it will probably last longer.

It doesn't have Live view. At this price, only Olympus has it, with the E-510. I won't miss this feature much. Actually, I missed the viewfinder in my Nikon Coolpix L1 digicam far more than I miss Live view on the K200D. It was difficult to compose shots on the L1 LCD in daylight without a viewfinder. So, I am very glad to have a viewfinder back now in the K200D. Live view would help a bit when using the tripod upwards, such as for moonshots with a big zoom lens. However, I have found the camera does very well handheld with the SR for those. And for tripod use, if the camera is in an awkward position, you can use a right angle finder admittedly an extra expense and accessory to carry.

Compared to other brands, it is also difficult to find new accessories, such as lenses and flashes, for this Pentax camera locally at stores, because many of them (I tried Ritz camera and Fry's electronics) do not carry anything Pentax. If you want new, then you have to order online. On the other hand, you don't have to buy new when there are plenty of used old lenses to go around on craigslist and ebay, that work perfectly fine, many of them manual mode, and some autofocus. I say the compatibility with old lenses means it's an environmentally friendly camera. :)

If I had to choose again, I would make the same choice in a heartbeat.

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For over five years I used 3.2MP Olympus D-540 camera.

It still works fine. But I decided to step up for some more megapixels.

I purchased Panasonic Lumix LZ7... It was ok, but I didn't get "wow effect" as I expected...

Then I purchased Olympus FE-340, same absence of "wow".

Then I got Fujifilm Finepix S700... I still felt that my old Olympus was getting better shots.

Then I decided to get a real camera... After a lot of research I decided to go with Pentax K200D. After I saw the first shot with it, I got that "wow effect" I expected. Really sharp photo and real colors.

And this camera still makes me wow each time I make a shot. Like another reviewer said: "you really can not make a bad shot".

It's my first DSRL camera, so I can not compare it to any else. But some things that convinced me to get it were:

-Weather resistant build. It even has seals in memory slot, USB port and battery port.

-Hardware shake reduction function. Still didn't get any blurred image, and I believe my hands are not "shake-free".

-Accessible AA batteries (you can get it in every shop)

-Really fast Autofocus (according to one review 1.2 seconds compared to Rebels 3 seconds)

The only bad thing I found (or may better to say: I didn't expect) is that you are obliged to see thru viewfinder to make a shot... Something I didn't expect from a digital camera. But I'm used to it, because I still remember how to use my father's old Zenith 35mm camera.

Other than that it's a great camera that takes sharp photos with life-bright colors.

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I have had the K200 for 2 days now...

I got the K200 instead of the K10 for several reasons. (1) I wanted a DSLR(tired of my "point-n-shoot" and out grew it), (2) My wife needed to be able to use it for her business. Probably more me than her. I had been admiring the K10 for a while and played with it at the store, really wanting it. When the K200 and K20 came out the K10 only remained for sale on line, at least in my area. I drove my wife crazy for weeks reading reviews and even downloading the manuals from the Pentax website as well as other brands. I didn't want to spend this kind of money without actually holding the camera(it's not in the stores yet). Almost all the stores never even heard of the K2oo because the K20 takes top billing..14 mega pixels. Long story short...the advertisement on the K200 is as far as I can see very accurate. Its for those graduating to DSLR and still need some AUTO features. I am not going to try to fool you with a lot of professional sounding lingo. Lets just say I would have preferred the K10 but love this camera. You cannot shoot a bad picture...REALLY! If you can skip through the technical talk in the manual, it tells you everything you need to know. The camera still has plenty of room to play for those of us learning more about how to manipulate shots how we want them plus the auto features for those who aren't. I really like the way Pentax feels like a REAL camera, not cheap plastic like others. My brother owns a popular Cannon. See for yourself, go to a store and hold any of the Pentax late models(K10,K200,K20). I am still fixated on the more advanced K20 but that's for the near future. Then my wife can have this one back.

By the way, Thanks Amazon!!! You sent me a message saying my shipment might be delayed but you upgraded the shipping so I still received it on time...You ROCK. I will continue to use you.

JVC Everio GZMG21 20GB HDD Digital Media Camcorder with 32x Optical Zoom

I moved up from a MiniDV camcorder to this one because of the hard-drive recording. It was a *great* purchasing decision. My personal favorite features:

Plug it into your computer, drag and drop the clips to your computer, rename them from .MOD to .MPG, and then author a DVD. NO CONVERSION NECESSARY! Records AC-3 audio.

Easy manual control

Intuitive navigation of the menu structure (MG21 has a 'stick' control while the MG20 did not)

16:9 recording! Fills up my HDTV.

32x OPTICAL zoom

~5 hours of recording time even in the highest quality setting

Downsides:

Quality out of the box is not so good, BUT with a few adjustments it is much better

How I get good low-light/indoors video (do the following steps indoors with the camera in capture mode):

1) Disable the "Gain Up" feature (major contributor to the grainy low-light video)

2) Turn on "Manual" mode (via AUTO button)

3) Go to the manual control menu (down on the 'stick')

4) Set AE to '+2'

5) Highlight 'MWB' in the WB menu, point the camera at a sheet of paper (position the camera so the sheet of paper fills the view of the camera) and press and hold the middle of the 'stick' until 'MWB' stops blinking (about 5-10 seconds).

6) Set S.sp. to 1/60

7) Press down on the 'stick' to exit the manual control menu

After doing this, my indoors video quality is MUCH better (no more noise/grainy video). The settings will be saved, even if the battery is removed or depleted; they will return even if you switch to AUTO mode then back to MANUAL.

I am really happy with this camcorder.

I chose JVC everio of course because of its ability to write video files on hard drive and then easily copy them to my PC ( don't forget to change .MOD extension to MPG to play it in any player. Also you may need MPEG-2 codec which you can find on internet). No tapes, disks, etc. Just calculate how much you will spend on these items of the past. I think they still exist just because of companies getting money for this on the regular basis. If you have a tape camera you are busted for all your life to feed producer of DV cassettes... But this is all just thoughts.

About the camera you can read a lot of reviews for other models which are almost exactly the same and get a lot of useful information. I just chose the cheapest model which is totally enough for my needs. Summary is that this camera is very convenient, battery life is less than 1 hour, video quality during the day is good, during the night is no quality at all and in low light you should play a little bit with the settings. I've read other reviews and just want to repeat this: try GAIN UP setting or follow this advise of one reviewer:

I came of a way to improve its indoors performance

significantly, use "M" mode with white balance set to

"Cloudy" and shutter speed set to 1/50 (in extreme

conditions 1/30)

The camera store these settings, so you just need to

set these once and switch to "M" whenever shooting indoors.

I think JVC should give more hints to people, not everyone can guess such things.

So 5 stars for the idea minus 1 star for battery, bad manual and average video quality.

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I recently purchased this product and have been very happy with the performance. It is very small and light and the recording quality is really good. I especially like the ability to record segments directly to the hard drive. It is very easy to delete the bad takes and just get the good stuff. The quality in dark places or at night is not very good (except for close-up subjects), but considering the size of the camera I am fine with limiting recording the well lit places.

I would highly recommend this purchase, especially for getting good video of kids or friends.

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I got this camera as a graduation gift, yet i had to pitch in 200 of my own, which was completely fine for me..

I use this very often, and my band does touring and I record everything that goes on, and make videos out of the clips.

The hard disk drive is very helpful, because all I need to do is plug into a power source, and I can record out whole show!!!

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THO TO TURN DEMO MODE OFF BEFORE RECORDING WITH THE CAMERA ON A TRIPOD WHEN IT IS STILL, my camera kept shutting off during out last show, and our show tonight will record smoothly..

I use this for documenting pretty much anything that happens, and I love it, cool features like "old reel-type film", black and white, strobe, sepia, and it shoots in 16X9 which is a cool feature to have, because I produce the videos in that format.

I love this camera and would definately tell everybody to buy this camera for any use.

the only negative thing is nightime recording isn't that great, so have an external light source... or don't record at night ;)

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This is a great product. I love the design, size, hard drive (no tapes!), 32X optical zoom, added convenience of an SD card, as well as excellent video quality. The format that it records videos on can be easily changed by changing the extension of the file. Downloads to PC without issues and easy to setup and watch recorded videos on TV. Now the Auto settings are not the best for indoor/low light conditions so try using it under Manual recording mode setting the AE to +3, the WB to Halogen, and the Shutter Speed (S.Sp) to 1/60 or in extreme conditions to 1/30. These settings worked really well for me and I am really happy with it. Also disbale the "Gain Up" feature which is makes video quality bad. I recommend to get a 5-hour spare battery is only like $25-35 online and worth every penny. I have not used the software that came with it though.

Nikon D7100 Digital SLR Camera & 18-105mm VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens (Black) with 64GB Card + Battery

Very good deal I got this one with the same that I got my D600, camera is good, lens is

Sharp and extra battery and 64 GB SD card is good, plus filter came on time and well packed.

75FT HDMI to HDMI 26AWG CL2 Rated Cable w/ built-in Equalizer (Gold Plated Connectors)

One of the male ends snapped off when I closed the sliding rear panel on my entertainment center. The entire doors weighs less then two pounds and I closed it very carefully because the cable was run through an opening in the door. There is no way the cable should have broken and I'm waiting to see if the seller will send a replacement.

Seller agreed to replace the broken cable. Hopefully this one will work well.

Lorex Digital Wireless Outdoor Security Camera with Audio LW2220

This is long, but you may soon be spending a good bit of money on these, so I hope that it helps. After using this for a month, I am impressed with the daytime picture quality, night image quality, wireless range and reliability, and build quality. First, this camera is large compared to most wired cameras. It will be noticed and seen which i think is a good thing. The IR illumination is bright and will reach the stated distance directly in front with a decent floodlight effect to see a wider area. I have 2 security DVR systems by another manufacturer (begins with S) which have wired cameras that are rated at 600 tvl and one 700 tvl ptz camera. This wireless camera has a slightly clearer picture with better detail than those wired cameras only slightly but since this is wireless I am very impressed. I would buy many more of these if I could but the cost is prohibitive you get what you pay for. I have tried other wireless security gadgets like driveway monitors and other cameras so I have learned to greatly reduce my expectations for the range, but this unit comes the closest to its advertised abilities. if you are having trouble with the wireless range because of several walls or a metal roof, put the receiver closer to the camera and purchase a long BNC cable (or RCA cable if only sending to a TV) to get the picture back to your DVR. You will need a female to female adapter if you use BNC cable. Using a cable like that may be what you want to avoid but I mainly wanted to avoid drilling a hole through a thick brick wall, so I didnt mind having some cable inside. You may only need a short amount of cable to get the receiver across the room to a window, instead of in a cabinet behind a bluray player, satellite dvr, large tv etc, which will really block your reception.

Installed top left of 2 story house. Reciever/Dvr is opposite side lower aft corner. Basically transmitting thru a large house. Reception signal is full almost constantly. Have a Dvr from another boxed set w/4 cameras and didnt feel like running the signal cables. The camera is about 30 ft above/right of front door / driveway. Fov allows me to see all the way to the street to the door in daytime. Nights not so much, although the area illuminated by the led 's is the primary area I wished to observe. About a 20-23 ft circle is very well illuninated, the the rest of the visible daytime area is black. I believe an identification of an individual could be positively confirme from the quality of the image. The only reason for not giving 5 stars is durability. The crimped mount spins where it shouldnt. Will update if any issues arise ****Update****Night vision quit after 7 days, Leds were still illuminated though, unplugged camera briefly and it started working again. Will keep updated.

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I have used several different wireless cameras in the past. This particular model is the best one so far. I have 2 of these cameras working flawlessly outside of my home. I have tried using similar cameras, the Lw2110 for instance, this is the best one. It costs twice as much as the Lw2110 but it actually works. I have them both going through a stucco wall and 2 interior walls and the reception is amazing. The cameras are about 80 feet from the DVR. Night vision is very clear and day vision is great, colors are great as well.

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I wont say this is the best camera out there, but picture quality is good. Nothing much more to say concerning a camera like this other than it is a solid product.

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working good, I use about 75 feet in my control room picture is clear No distortion My operator happy with it.

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Pentax Optio E80 10MP Digital Camera with 3x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 2.7-inch LCD (Black)

So I will start off by saying that cost was of major concern when I was shopping for my camera, and the price, honestly, is pretty good. But I'm here to tell you what you are and aren't getting for that money.

Value-

I admit, I was purely going by review ratings (kind of), capabilities, name brand and price when I was shopping. But the price was pretty good for what it is, and the video features of this camera were better than others that were in the price range. The positives are the included USB cable but on the other hand, since it takes AAs, no rechargable batteries were included, instead just two alkalines were packed. You'll have to get your own memory card too, but in this day and age, they're realtively cheap anyways.

Appearance-

The slick black design is really nice and the contrasting chrome lens framing is good balance. It is by far more attractive than my old Nikon 5200. The big screen is also really nice, and the buttons are simple, minimalistic and quite just how I like them.

Construction and Quality-

The camera is solid and balanced and the buttons have a nice feel to them. However, while excused by the low price, I have my doubts about the plastic housing and its durability. Will the glossy black shell lose its luster and color?

Also of concern is the trap door for the batteries and memory card. My old Nikon had a nice sturdy metallic housing, but its ultimate failing was the battery trap door that didn't sit flush after one of the tabs broke. The same design was used for this new Optio, and it worries me a bit more, since the Nikon had a latch holding back the battery while the trap door on this Optio has to do the work of holding back the two AA batteries.

Made in China. This was a negative for me, but discussing my reasons would be off topic. Decide for yourself. If I would have known and was made aware of competing products that weren't made in China, I would have probably gone with something else.

Practicality-

It fits in my pockets just fine, no protruding parts, so it slides in and out of jean pockets just fine. The use of AAs is a great concept, since you don't have to buy model specific batteries, instead just alkalines or AA rechargables. Great for a couple years down the line, if you want to keep the camera and the rechargables are shot. Cheaper and easier to find!

The filing system is quite handy, and instead of just one folder of all the pictures you've ever taken, it creates a new folder for every day and sorts the pictures by date. In playback mode, simply press the zoomout button 3 times, and it will show you a calendar with all the days that you took pictures. You can also disable this feature if you want to.

There is also an easy mode that turns off all the advanced information and just tells you the amount of pictures you still have room for, and the battery life, with larger text. This is useful if you don't want all the complexities or have a hard time seeing all the small text.

Performance-

The camera would be just fine for someone who wants a camera that will take decent looking pictures, nothing more. The focus, the colors, and the sharpness are all fine most of the time. But if you want manual settings, like to get close ups or have other performance requirements, that is where the camera falls short. I'm not talking about megapixels, so if thats the only thing you understand or want to hear about, skip this section.

Autofocus: The focus works great on subjects that are far away to an armslength away. But if you enjoy getting close to flowers or small, detailed things, you'll find yourself having to tell the camera to refocus a few times before you get a sharp image. My old Nikon was better in that respect, and I got really nice images of coins, flowers, and patterns, something that I'`m having more trouble doing. I find myself having to keep the camera a bit further away from the subject, even with macro. But of course, with twice the resolution, I can crop off the extra background and still have a high definition image.

Autofocus (cont.): In my old Nikon, you had the capability of defining which area of the picture you wanted autofocus to focus on, something lacking here. I miss that feature alot, but its not a complete deal breaker.

White balance: The WB is not user definable or atleast I haven't figured out how to force a WB setting. The auto WB works most of the time, but there have been times where the WB was completely off and it was refusing to make white look white. Unacceptable if you want that control over the consistency of color in camera.

Video: The video works fine, but the audio quality is not quite what I'd like it to be. But then again, I do alot of video work and probably have higher expectations than most and I usually just use this camera for still images and not so much video. But the quality is acceptable and presentable. No real zoom during recording.

Summary and concluding remarks-

This camera looks good, is built well and all at a great price point. The camera lacks a metal casing, but otherwise feels fine, but the battery trapdoor is of some concern. For normal, pedestrian uses, the picture quality is fine, but the camera lacks user-definable settings for more sophisticated and/or demanding users. The video quality is ok and will do just fine for a family video or your vlogs. It takes widely availabe and cheap AA batteries and SD memory cards, so no worries there.

Is this camera full of features and advanced capabilities? No.

Does it take good pictures/videos? Yes.

Are there better cameras? Yes.

Its it worth the price? At the Amazon discounted price w/ free shipping, yes.

I decided to buy this digital camera because of following three points: First, it's cheap; second, it can take full HD (1080p) picture; it's movie-taking (Half HD; 740p) ready. I'm just an amateur "photo-taker (I'm saying that I'd prefer to say "photo-taker" rather than photographer)," who just needs to take some pictures and movies for own blog posts or memories.

The taken pictures are almost too good for me; that's perfect although I haven't taken any picture outside at night. Full HD pics are pretty much better than the qualities of pictures that I took with my previous camera, Pentax Optio S30, which offers 3.2Megapixels.

For movie-taking, I think it's perfect for those amateurs who don't know much about how-to-take perfect movies; it just perfectly functions to take movies for life-logs. Although the resolution is 740p, Half HD, I don't expect that my movies are perfectly acceptable to watch with a full screen on 54 inch TV or something. (I just want to keep those movies for my memories; then, 740p is almost too good for movie-taking.)

It's also lightweight, much lighter than my previous camera, Optio S30. So, I always take it with Eneloop, rechargeable batteries from SANYO. I can totally recommend this camera for those who are looking for the one with a affordable price tag to take photos and movies for memories and personal blogs.

Buy Pentax Optio E80 10MP Digital Camera with 3x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 2.7-inch LCD (Black) Now

We have owned (and still own) two other Pentax compact cameras: an Optio 60 and an Optio P60. We have fallen in love with the simplicity of the menus, the quality of the photos, and the incredible battery life of the E80. This camera is so intelligent and quick that it is simply amazing. Even low light pictures, macros, and photos of fast objects come out looking spectacular. This camera offers performance which you would have paid $300+ for only a year or two ago. The small size means it fits in shirt pockets or pants pockets easily. We don't even keep track of battery life because basic rechargeable AA batteries last a very long time in this camera. We are so thrilled with the Optio E80 and we can see this coming along on every vacation, to every party, and to every special event where a bulky camera is not needed.

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I thought this would be a great camera I could carry around easily and catch those moments "I wish I had my camera" for but on my 3rd use and trip to the aquarium my camera would not work I got new batteries I got a new SD card and nothing. I dont recommend this camera!

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it's hard to find a true manual focus camera under $200, let alone under $100, so if you want to be able to take the occasional closeup photo (particularly without the flash) and what hobbyist doesn't, then you are hard pressed to find a cheaper way to do it than with this camera. other features you won't find on most sub $100 cameras are 2-second timers (most only do 10 second) and 720p video clip ability (most only do 460p). some tech notes for accessories; best to buy >2000ma rechargeable batteries, and class 6-10 memory cards to get the most capability out of this camera. the green "newbie" setting and simple large icons make this a perfect first camera for a pre-teen/teen, while hiding a lot of functionality to explore as their photographic education and sophistication grows.

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Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR DX Zoom Lenses and 3-Inch LCD Sc

For the cost of this camera, I don't think you can get anything better. The low light performance is off the charts. As a wedding photographer I regularly shoot with Nikon's high end professional equipment and I was amazed how close this camera is to a pro camera. Now let me get specific. In order to compare I took a look at 100% files out of each camera I own.

Which camera excels Nikon D3100($Cheap) VS. D300($1600) VS. D700 ($2,700):

* Lens = The D3100 is the only camera that comes with a lens at it's normal price

* ISO Performance = Tie between D3100 and D700! (It could be Nikon's new processing but the JPEG looks fantastic I was shooting D3100 on 6400iso with very little noise at all)

* Low Light Focusing = D700

* Focus Speed = D700

* External Buttons & Controls for Pros = D700

* Menu Navigation = D3100

* Ease of Use = D3100

* Megapixel = D3100 (14.2)

* Sensor size = D700 (Much more important than megapixels but I won't get into this)

* Can use older lenses with functionality = D700 & D300

* Video = D3100 of course! 1080P video looks amazing.

* Frame Rate = D300 at 6 photos a second

* Weight = D3100 (light as a feather)

* Ergonomics = D700 (big enough for all my finger)

Lens:

The lens is a kit lens, it will work outside but not so great in low light. The Vibration Reduction will help indoors but Vibration Reduction can't stop a child or pet in motion indoors. Consider buying a 35mm 1.8dx AFS for around $200 and you will be super happy with this camera.

Video:

I purchased the 3100 specifically to shoot video, so I put on Nikon's brand new 85mm 1.4g Nano lens and shot video with it. The lens costs more than double the camera but I wanted to see how the 1080P video looked. It has the look of a cinematic movie. After the 85mm, I put on Nikon's 50 1.2 manual focus lens and was able to take very cinematic video in manual mode. In order to make it brighter or darker you either need to use a really old lens like the 50mm 1.2 and hit the AE-L (auto exposure lock) and twist the aperture to change exposure. Or you can hit the AE-L button when you get the exposure you like. Its not a perfect system but it works well for me. Inside the menu options you can change the AE-L button to hold the setting until you reset which is helpful.

Jello Cam (What's not so great):

This camera still suffers from the "Jello Cam" look in video if it is not on a tripod and you are shaky. The video can look like jello if moved too quickly. Use a monopod or tripod when shooting to avoid this. I'm not sure if a faster video frame rate 60fps would help but at 24 and 30 it can suffer badly.

Conclusion:

This is an amazing deal! Unless you make most of your income from photography or have a stockpile of old lenses (this camera can only autofocus with AFS lenses) then this camera is the must have camera of the year. If you have good composition skills and an eye for light you can take photos worthy of a magazine with this. Seriously, you won't regret buying this camera. When you do, do yourself a favor and buy an additional Nikon AFS lens that has a maximum aperture of 2.8, 1.8 or 1.4. These lenses will take better portraits and deal better in low light than the kit lens.

I recently updated my DSLR collection to the Nikon D3100 from the Nikon D70. There are good reviews out there that you should check out. However, I would like to share some of my first impressions.

Pro:

-Better image quality and lower noise at high ISO with the D3100

-MUCH MUCH lighter, which will be nice when traveling

-Larger LCD screen

-11 focus points, including 3D focus which tracks the motion of the subject or camera.

-1080p Video

-14 megapixels

-2nd Generation DSLR

-Quiet, quiet, quiet

Cons:

-No bracketing option. Not a huge deal since I only bracket once a year

-Cannot use my old 50mm 1.8 lens. I knew this before purchasing the camera.

-As of 10/1/2010, Camera RAW for the D3100 is not supported in Photoshop or Lightroom. Need to shoot .jpg + RAW or use Nikon Capture NX2 for RAW files. That should be updated soon, so not a big deal.

-Can hear the lens focusing when recording video.

-No depth of field preview.

-Can't use wireless remote

I'm an amateur photographer and this camera meets my needs. I love the fact that it's small and light, with great quality images. If I were a serious photographer and had more money to spare, I would wait and check out the D7000, which appears to have phenomenal specs. I'm happy with my purchase and I highly recommend this camera.

Buy Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR DX Zoom Lenses and 3-Inch LCD Sc Now

This Nikon D3100 is a phenomenal deal for non professionals, the rest of us people that want to take family and travel shots. I've owned DSLRs since 2004, starting with a Nikon D70 and then moving to D40, D200 and Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black) and Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only). Those are all excellent cameras, but this Nikon D3100 is better than all of those in one crucial area, the area that matters: it takes excellent pictures without having to fiddle with the settings between shots. Yes, the other cameras are better in other respects: They have more buttons to change settings without delving into menus, they are bigger (is that a plus?), heavier (another plus?), and have better specs (1/500 flash sync speed for D70 and D40), but in the end I would have to fiddle with the settings to get the best results: change the white balance, fiddle with the ISO (my Canons would default to ISO 400 for flash shots, why? Who knows. That meant disabling auto ISO and choosing ISO settings manually), the exposure (+0.7 indoor, 0 outdoor), and so on. D200 was noisy at higher ISO, D70's pictures tended to be cool (i.e. not warm), 40D had cool custom buttons (C1, C2, C3, very cool), but I found its ergonomics worse than XSi or any Nikon; why place the on/off switch at the bottom of the body? Who knows. Fortunately, new Canons have fixed this).

This D3100 also makes the D3000 and D5000 obsolete. The D3000 is slow and noisy at high ISO. The D5000 only shoots 720p (not 1080p), no autofocus in movie mode, less resolution. Old technology.

What sets the D3100 apart from all the other cameras above is this: set the camera in P (program) mode, auto white balance, -0.3 exposure compensation, slow flash sync mode (for people shots), auto distortion correction on (great!), auto chromatic aberrations correction on (great!), and you are set; now you can concentrate on the only aspect of photography that matters: composition, i.e. framing your shot in the best possible way. There must be a photography mantra that says, "thou shalt buy the D3100, and the D3100 will set you free." Now this is if you shot jpeg. If you shoot raw, you can then use a program like DXO, Aperture 3, or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 to further play with the pictures. My workflow with the XSi was to shoot raw, then use DXO to batch process all the pics according to two settings: people (low contrast, no saturation added) and landscape (contrast, saturation, etc.). DXO would then batch-remove lens distortion, chromatic aberrations, vignetting, apply custom curves, change white balance when necessary, and apply its (almost magical) auto lighting settings to make the shots pop. For now DXO does not have a custom module for the D3100 (still too new of a camera), so I'm shooting jpeg for now. Once DXO adds the module for the D3100, I'll takes shots in both raw and jpeg fine and compare the jpegs straight out of the camera with the raw images processed with DXO. I'm curious to see the comparison.

This is great, not only for you, but also for your non-photographer spouse; my XSi took phenomenal shots, but I had to know how to set it. Can you imagine me going to my non-photographer wife and say, "okay, when you take indoor shots of our kids, set the camera on A mode (Canons expose for ambient light in A mode and adjust flash for fill, that's great), +0.7 exposure compensation, ISO 400 or 800, white balance on cloudy, and shoot." My wife was lost at "okay." Sure the custom modes on the 40D would have helped, but the 40D is old technology; can it take 1080p video? I didn't think so. Plus, what lens are you going to use with the 40D? The 17-55 IS? Great lens, but who wants to spend $1,000 for a non-weather sealed 17-55 dust collector (google Canon 17-55 and dust)? Will 17-55 be enough for your telephoto shots? Your kids' baseball games? Didn't think so. What about the Canon 18-200? Sub-par quality, noisy, overpriced.

Back to the D3100. Auto white balance (the second most important thing after composition) works great, even indoor (no cloudy setting necessary), the only changes are extreme situations (outdoor shade, or indoor fluorescent or tungsten lights at night, but that is true with every camera. Why that is is beyond me; can't they make smarter cameras that account for these situations as well?); movie mode is excellent; yes, the mic is mono, but that's okay for family use (and that's why you buy this camera; if you are pro, you landed on the wrong page); if you really want to push it, you can use this camera for video, your iphone/ipod touch for audio with an app like FourTrack, and then sync video and audio in post with the excellent Singular Software Dual Eyes program. Your choice. Matter is: DSLR video can look awesome if used the right way, but keep in mind its limitations: jerky camera horizontal panning will give you the infamous jello effect (courtesy of the CMOS sensor), so pan slowly. You'll also have to play with autofocus vs manual focus settings sometimes; I've used the camera in autofocus; it has worked great so far.

What lens(es) should you use with the D3100. You should sell the (excellent) 18-55 that ships with the camera. Quality is good, but not enough reach. You can sell it for $140 or so. Take the money and use it toward a more useful lens. What lens? The target market for this camera is moms and dads that want to take shots of their kids; even advanced amateurs like me don't want to travel with a camera bag full of primes and heavy zoom lenses that you have to swap every 10 minutes; this is 2010 (almost 2011), for crying out loud; choose a single zoom and enjoy life and photography; I would use the excellent but underrated Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras, the excellent (but expensive) Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR Nikkor Wide-Angle Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras, or my choice, the jack-of-all trades, the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II Nikkor Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DX-Format Digital SLR Cameras. Yes, yes, if you check sites like Photozone, they will tell you that the optical quality of the 18-200 is not as good (or consistent) as the 18-105 or the 16-85, but it's good enough for moms and dads bitten by the photography bug. A great shot of your kid at 200mm is better than no shot with either of the other two lenses. The optical superiority of the 16-85 disappears at 135mm or 200mm, simply because it can't do it. The 16-85 and the 18-200 are about the same price. The 18-200 will set you free. It won't help you if your kids play baseball at night (too slow), but you'll have to live with it, unless you are willing to drop $2,000 on a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens For Nikon Digital SLR Cameras. Sure, we'd all like a 16-300 VR VIII lens with a 20-stop VR reduction, constant 1.4 aperture, with optical perfection, weighing only 500 gr. and below $1,000, but alas our engineers are not as good as the random mutation and natural selection that gave us our eyes ;-0

My settings:

Display mode: detailed photo info > check RGB histogram and data > Done (why? You want to check if you are clipping the red, green, or blue channels)

Transition effects: OFF

Set picture control: portrait (for people shots)

Landscape: for, well, landscape shots: increase sharpness to 4 (D3100 shots are unsharpened by default)

Image quality: raw + jpeg fine (or jpeg fine, if you don't want to mess with raw)

White balance: auto (I played with the settings to A1, A2, A3, but images were to yellowish for my taste, as if my kids had jaundice). Auto works fine

Auto ISO: on

Min shutter speed: 1/30 (1/15 if you have steady hands)

Max ISO: I set 800, you can push to 1600 or even 3200 (your choice)

Standard ISO: 100

Active D-Lighting: on (it works well)

Auto distortion control: on (Great)

Movie settings: 1080 24p. You can also do 720 at 30p for less jerky movements

Info display format: i prefer classic black (your choice)

Auto info display: off

Image comment: your choice. I have my name, copyright (haha), and phone number

Beep: off (please)

AEL-AFL button: I only lock exposure, not focus.

My accessories:

67-to-77 ring adapter (if you have the 18-105 lens)

72-to-77 ring adapter (if you have the 18-200 lens)

77mm haze filter. I use the best, The B+W 77mm UVA (Ultra Violet) Haze MRC Filter #010 one. You don't want to use a cheap fIlter on top of a $350 or $650 lens.

77mm circular polarizer fliter; again I use the best, the B + W 77mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer Coated Glass Filter. This filter is for your travel shots. It will make blue skies bluer and will remove reflections from that gorgeous Maui ocean. This is an expensive filter at $180 or so; you don't have to get it right away, unless you are going to Maui soon.

Why 77mm filters? Because you don't want to go nuts buying filters of different sizes for your lenses. If buy the 67mm filter for your 18-105 lens and later decide to upgrade your lens to the 72mm 18-200, you are screwed. It's cheaper to buy a $5 lens ring adapter to 77mm and use 77mm filters. It'll keep you sane too.

Remember why you purchase this camera: you want to enjoy photography; enjoy it then.

Read Best Reviews of Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR DX Zoom Lenses and 3-Inch LCD Sc Here

Hurray! The long wait is over! Nikon had us wait for such a long time for its newer models (D3100 and D7000) and it was just when we started thinking if Nikon will ever have an answer, anytime soon, to Canon's T2i, 7D and 60D) they released these two wonderful cameras D3100 and D7000. Let's focus on D3100, shall we?

So I finally had a chance to get hold of this D-SLR at Best Buy today. I am not a pro by any means but I have used many different D-SLRs including Canon (40D, T2i, XSi) and Nikon (D90, D5000). When I picked-up the camera for the first time, my initial reaction was, "whoa this is so small and light weight"! It wasn't that I wasn't aware of the specs I knew them beforehand but I was still blown away by how small and light it felt when I held it in my hands. Then, I thought, the grip would not be very comfortable but I was wrong as holding and operating the camera is just fine thanks to Nikon's well-thought-out design and grip. For the size and feel, it's very similar to D3000 but has more goodies from the higher versions. So from an initial wow factor, I quickly moved on to focusing on features and capabilities.

I have just started using this camera so more update will follow but in the meantime my initial assessment of this camera is I am impressed! It is one heck of a camera which can certainly compete against the best in its class (Canon T1i, T2i, Nikon D5000). Check out detailed reviews at dpreview (.com) and cameralabs (.com) they should be added soon if not already there.

I love this camera because it:

+ has enough mega pixels for my needs (14.2).

+ captures crystal clear images (thanks to EXPEED2 processor & the CMOS sensor, the sensor is slightly smaller than the one used in D7000).

+ offers 1080p (HD) recording, AF subject tracking is awesome (10 min max is fine with me; it records outstanding videos even in low light and to me that's big).

+ offers ISO from 100-3200 (D90 starts at 200), it can go higher but I really don't think why I would need anything above that.

+ is small & light weight yet has good grip, easy to carry around in hands or neck.

+ supports SDXC cards on top of SD and SDHC now that's nice.

+ (25-Sep-2010): has buttons that are well organized especially the video recording mode with a lever so you cannot mistakenly activate recording. That video recording lever once unlocked, gets locked in 30 seconds if you do not record and the countdown begins as soon as you unlock the lever. Also you can record video while you're in any dial (imaging) mode (Auto, P, A, S, M, and so on) where as in Canon T2i, etc. you have to move the camera dial to movie mode. So this is a great convenience you can jump between taking pictures and recording videos with a simple unlocking of the lever. Additionally, you can be in a preferred dial (imaging) mode (Auto, P, A, S, M, and so on) and change the release mode to Single, Continuous, Self-timer or Quiet mode (this is located right underneath the main dial) another great convenient feature.

+ (04-Oct-2010): In-body photo and movie retouch menu. This is great as we don't need any special software to apply certain touches. I love it.

Could have been even better if:

it had the bracketing option (not too much to expect at this price point level but oh well I don't use that much but for some people this could be a big plus).

grid lines were available (I miss them in both in live view and in the view finder).

Active D Lighting was not limited to just ON or OFF (either you have it or not at all, instead of low, medium, high, etc.). Don't get me wrong the ON just worked fine (better than Canon T2i) but I can't compare with all other modes.

Recommendations (optional accessories):

* In my personal order of importance your preference may differ. *

1. Nikon UC-E4 USB Cable not included. (~$6)

2. UV filter a must for protecting your lens against accidental damage. (~10$)

3. Carrying case is a must to protect your investment. There are many cases to choose from and it's up to you to decide but I suggest getting something like Lowepro SlingShot 102 AW (all weather proof carrying case) so if it rains, you can pull out the weather guard and cover it up. ($90)

4. Additional rechargeable Lithium Ion EN-EL14 battery so you never run out the juice when you're traveling and do not want to miss capturing a moment for good. (~$35)

5. SB-600 Speedlight. Those who have used speed lights would know what difference it can make to an image with adjustments you can make to light for an image. (~$225)

6. 18-55 VR lens has its limitations so if you have extra $$$s, buy body only (if that even is an option) and get yourself a 18-105 VR lens. But at that point, you may want to consider D90 which still is a good camera and offers many more controls. (~$325 to $350)

Overall:

I give this camera 5 Stars because it takes excellent pictures in almost all conditions (bright or low-light) and that is exactly what I wanted this camera to do for me. Period.

I must commend Nikon for not getting into the mega pixel race (read marketing). They instead kept the photographer in mind and focused on delivering greater picture quality. Kudos to Nikon for having that courage.

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I am a photography teacher in NYC and online. (See my Amazon profile for my website.) I teach beginner and intermediate photography students every week. I've also been a professional photographer for the last five years with images published in The New York Times, GQ, New York Magazine, Women's Wear Daily, The New York Observer, The Village Voice and Time Out New York.

(This review is for beginner photographers.)

If you're a beginner, you're most likely asking yourself: Nikon or Canon? Really, I feel confident in saying that you can't go wrong with either. I've used both brand's cameras extensively and find that they both offer amazing image quality with well-built, solid cameras that, if taken care of, will last decades. There are two differences between the cameras, though, that can be taken into consideration.

The user-interface: If cameras were computers, Nikons would be PCs and Canons would be MACs. PCs are built for people not afraid of technology whereas Macs are built for people who want things super-easy. Nikons excel at customization options which means you'll see so many more options with the Advanced features of a Nikon than you will with a Canon. Canons, on the other hand, excel at ease-of-use for beginners. Canons offer less advanced options and can be easier to learn on. This can be frustrating down the line, though, once you've learned a lot about photography. At that point you may want all of the options that Nikon offers and be frustrated with your Canon. If you're someone who really likes to delve deep into your hobbies or if you're intent on becoming a professional photographer, I'd say a Nikon would be your best bet. If you're someone who wants to learn the basics of photography and only imagine yourself being a hobbyist, Canon would be a better option for you.

Where Nikon excels: Flash photography. I often find myself in situations where I'm shooting event photography (weddings, movie premiers, benefits and galas) where I need to use a lot of flash. For this kind of photography, I'll always prefer to be shooting with a Nikon. Nikon's flash metering (how the camera magically decides how much light to fire out of the flash) is much more consistent than Canon's. You can take a Canon and shoot the same scene three times in a row with flash and all three images will be at different brightness levels. You can do the same thing with a Nikon and all three images will be wonderfully the same. If you're somebody who plans on shooting a lot with flash (indoor photography, event photography, etc.) you'll want to consider going with Nikon.

Where Canon excels: Richness of colors. I've been in numerous situations where I've been on the red carpet taking the exact same picture as the photographer next to me. I'll have a Canon and the person next to me will have a Nikon. This has provided quite a few opportunities to compare the images side-by-side. What I've found is that the colors on the Canon's images look richer and make the image pop more. If I'm doing fine art photography (anything I'd like to someday hang in a gallery), I'll always want to be shooting with a Canon for this reason.

If you're set on Nikon, there are three cameras you should be considering and it all comes down to what your budget is:

D7000 $1,400 without lens

D5100 $750 without lens

D3100 $600 only available with lens

(current prices as of 2/19/11)

Here's what you get for spending extra money (each camera compared to the one below it):

D3100 vs. D5100:

The D3100 is an EXCELLENT camera so if you only have $550 to spend total on camera and lens then go out and buy this camera. You won't regret it. If you're considering spending more money, here's what you'll get from the D5100 in comparison:

-Better performance in low light situations.

-A higher resolution screen on the back of the camera so you can see your images more clearly and make out if they actually turned out well.

-An external mic jack. (If you're planning on shooting video with an external mic, you'll want the D5100 over the D3100.)

-A flip out screen (handy if you want to put your camera anywhere but at your eye level and be able to see what your camera is about to capture before you shoot it)

-Faster continuous shooting. If you're often shooting sports or any fast moving subject, continuous shooting allows you to capture multiple images in a single second. The D3100 shoots at three frames per second whereas the D5100 shoots at four frames per second.

-Higher ISO options. The D5100 offers one more stop of ISO than the D3100 does. If you don't know what ISO means (or what a stop is) just know that this allows you to more easily shoot images in low-light situations.

-Longer battery life. The D5100's battery will last 20% longer than the D3100

The two advantages of the D3100 over the D5100 are: less expensive and less weight. Whenever a camera is less expensive, it means you'll have more in your budget for the lens. The D3100 weighs 10% lighter and is 10% smaller than the D5100.

D5100 vs. D7000:

The D5100 is Nikon's latest and greatest and is even newer than the D7000. Phenomenal camera! If you're stuck, though, between the D5100 and the D7000, here's what you'll get by spending more money on the D7000:

-More focus points. When using auto-focus, the D7000 will have an easier time focusing on what you want it to focus on.

-60% longer lasting batteries.

-Faster continuous shooting. If you're often shooting sports or any fast moving subject, continuous shooting allows you to capture multiple images in a single second. The D5100 shoots at four frames per second whereas the D7000 shoots at six frames per second.

-Weather sealed. This means you can shoot with the D7000 in the rain.

-Two memory card slots. This is really a cool feature. The D7000 has two memory card slots which means you'll be less likely to find yourself standing in front of a gorgeous scene with no more memory left.

-Faster shutter speed. The fastest shutter speed on the D5100 is 1/4000th of a second; on the D7000: 1/8000th of a second. To be honest, I can't think of any practical reason why this would benefit you unless you're planning on shooting some really bright scenes like directly into the sun.

Advantages of the D5100 over the D7000:

-A flip out screen (handy if you want to put your camera anywhere but at your eye level and be able to see what your camera is about to capture before you shoot it)

-Smaller and lighter: The D5100 is 10% smaller and 30% lighter than the D7000. This is something to consider if you plan on carrying your camera around with you a lot.

-Less expensive so you can spend more on your lens!

If I can clarify any of this, please email me!

-JP Pullos, photography teacher, NYC and online (see my Amazon profile for my website)

JVC GR-DVM70U Digital Cybercam Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

After the birth of my son, I wanted a camcorder to shoot video of him and family events.

I tried the Canon ZR, Canon Vistura, and JVC DVM-70 The main reason I liked the JVC DVM-70 is the small size and relative low cost.

This camcorder is so small it fits in a pants pocket or even a shirt pocket! Size is very important for me because of my experience with 35 millimeter cameras. I have 2 cameras: one full size Canon SRL camera that cost about $1000.00, and one small Yashika T4 Super pocket size camera that cost $150.00. Guess where most of my good family photos come from the $150.00 pocket size camera! That's because this is the camera I carry most of the time. I just don't like to be "Joe Photographer Guy" or "Joe Camcorder Guy" lugging around a big piece of equipment. I can carry the DVM-70 in my pocket and quickly pull it out and start shooting when something interesting happens just the way I use my Yashika T4.

The DVM-70 is also very quick and easy to use. Once you turn a switch to the "Camera" position, the camcorder automatically turns itself on and off when you open or close the LCD panel, or eye piece. This is important because often the action you want to record happens quickly; you'll miss shots if you have to fumble with controls.

One problem with this camera is that the microphone is on the top. It picks up some motor noise from the camera, and you have to be careful not to let it pick up the sound of your own breathing. However, this is a problem with most of these very small camcorders, and I don't find it to be too big of a problem. I have also had problems with lots of wind noise when shooting outside in the wind.

I've had the DVM-70 for about a year now and I still don't see another camcorder I'd rather have for recording family events.

Overall, I've been very happy with this cam, but only after having spent quite a bit of additional money to add features that negate its flaws. It's solid & small enough to fit in a back pocket, but also very comfortable to use. I get comments and the cam gets admiring glances wherever I go. My problems with it are few, but important if you don't know how to get around them. The features & praise you can read elsewhere, and I'd echo most of that praise. But here are the flaws:

-The included apparati for transferring data to your computer are slow (serial cables) & lame (software). For transferring & editing video, Pinnacle Studios' Studio DV and its included FireWire cable is a must buy (...). Also, if you're serious about editing video on your computer, make sure you've got a great machine (fast processor, beefy video card, huge & fast hard drive, lots of RAM). Likewise, the included still camera software is a waste of bytes. Transferring still shots is much easier with the MultiMedia Card Reader from Sandisk ... . Just plug in the card like a floppy and there are your JPGs. It wouldn't hurt to invest in a bigger (16MB ...) MultiMedia Card, while you're at it.

-The on-board software is buggy. I suppose I need to take my cam in for servicing to see if it can be fixed, but trying to use the slideshow feature for the stills turns my entire screen green & I have no choice but to power off. You might expect JVC to have updated BIOS downloads on their web site so you could update it yourself, but one look at the JVC homepage and your expectations will be lowered.

END

Buy JVC GR-DVM70U Digital Cybercam Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode Now

I tried two units before giving up on the JVC. The video was OK (not great color) but the audio was fatally flawed. The camera itself generates a 'whine' which is then picked up by the microphone and recorded. Any quiet recordings, when played back, have this buzzing whining sound added; I found it completely unsatifactory. No provision for an external microphone (which would have been a satisfactory solution) is made! Were it not for this flaw I would have been happy with the camera.

Read Best Reviews of JVC GR-DVM70U Digital Cybercam Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode Here

I got the JVC DVM-70 from a large dept store. If you are buying the camera for the small size, then this is the one you want. However, after owning for 1.5 years the camera has been in for service multiple times due to a problem of dropping audio & video. Luckily for me I purchased a 3 year warranty at Circuit City, and the camera will get replaced after the 3rd time in service for the same problem. My next camera model will probably be a Sony.

Some other drawbacks: -whine sound while recording from zoom motor (as mentioned above) -audio/video dropping problem -MultiMediaCard reading software that comes with the camera isn't very friendly. I recommend getting SanDisk's MultiMediaCard reader from Circuit City or other computer store -Might not work 100% perfect with IEEE 1394 Firewire capture software (such as Ulead/Adobe Premier) (I still have to experiment more with this). However, I have made a few computer videos with the camera while it wasn't in the service shop.

Hard to find underwater casings except for the bag from ewa-marine. Sony has much more support for underwater filming.

Like I said, this is the camera you want if the small size is important to you. It takes great pics both stills and video. But if you want a workhorse that is very versatile, then this model is not the one.

Want JVC GR-DVM70U Digital Cybercam Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode Discount?

Ok, probably like you I thought this was a very cool camcorder. It's a great design, small with lots of features. The problem is that it has one fatal flaw. The left and right mic are on top and pick-up a high pich whine of the camcorder motor when you are recording. I tried to get used to it but after a few days returned the product with much regret. As an Engineer I couldn't help but be amazed how could such a simple and fatal flaw could have made it to market on such a great product.

CamRade WetSuit Camcorder Rain Cover for JVC GY - HM100 / HM150

J'ai été agréablement surpris par la rapidité de la livraison. Le produit est arrivé à la maison intact et en parfaite condition. Impeccable ! Un magasin que je recommande fortement.

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