Showing posts with label video monitor switch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video monitor switch. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Sony DCR-SR100 3MP 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

Sony DCR-SR100 3MP 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical ZoomAdvantages:

1. No tapes or mini-DVD's; record straight onto hard drive

2. Many hours on the hard drive, even in HQ

3. Beautiful colors & resolution

4. Easy to delete and edit clips

5. Records standard MPEG video (easily edited/manipulated)

Disadvantages:

1. No firewire output to computer (USB only; see below.)

2. No headphone output

3. Included software easy, but not powerful

4. Comes with cheap composite video cable; premium S-video cable addn'l cost

I've sorely needed a camcorder for some time now, but I also wanted to avoid a future of buying and storing and fiddling with drawers full of tapes or mini-DVs... so I looked into hard-drive camcorders. Reviews of the exisiting hard-drive camcorders out there were quite mixed, at best problems with image quality, compression, adaptability to video editing software, etc. So I held on, (unfortunately missing the opportunity to film my kid's first birthday and first steps, etc.) and I bought this machine as soon as it was finally released (initially only to Sony stores) in mid-April. It is surpassing my expectations thus far.

I really do like shooting video directly onto a hard drive. I don't have to worry about wasting tape/miniDVD space, running out of tape, or finding the right spot on the right tape, etc., so I find that it really frees me up to shoot video whenever I'm inspired and just delete (immediately or later) if the clip isn't interesting. Very liberating. Deleting segments is very easy, just as easy as on a typical digital camera. The clips are organized automatically into folders based on date/time, and within each folder, clips are selected for viewing on the touch screen (or via included remote control), referenced graphically by the first frame of each clip. Simple. One can watch/listen to clips on the 2.7" screen (and speaker) integrated into the camcorder, or hook the camcorder up to TV or computer for playback/preview of unedited footage resolution is excellent on my 40" LCD TV. I was wondering if I'd be disappointed in the resolution on my big screen, especially considering that nice compact high-def camcorders are now in the $1500 and less range (none with hard disk drives, though), but I'm not disappointed at all; video looks great and crisp straight out of the camcorder especially since using the "premium" S-video cable I bought for about $35 (which should really be included in the package, I think.)

Creating quality DVDs was my real goal, though, ie. sharing the results with family/friends, and creating a long-lasting archive. Using the included software, I've created a first DVD of about 25 minutes of various length segments of video, mostly of my 15-month old daughter running around and being extremely cute. The DVD looks and sounds surprisingly clear and colorful and vibrant, even on my 40" LCD. The included software makes it fairly straightforward to import video from the camcorder's hard drive onto my computer's hard drive, for editing and authoring DVDs of video. It knows which clips have been imported already, and imports only those that are new. One you've decided what you want on the DVD, it comes out with menus and all, very cool. I haven't yet tried the even simpler "easy-DVD" burn feature, as I've been into editing the clips somewhat before putting them on DVD; I don't know what those results look like. Also, for Mac users, the instructions do include some comments about using the footage with Macintosh computers (I haven't tried that yet.)

Shooting with the camcorder is a breeze. Nice slow smooth zooms are possible, and become easy once you get the hang of it. I was worried that there would be a lag time to initiate recording (after pressing the "record" button) but there is none really. It feels pretty good in my hand. I haven't dropped it, and don't plan to, so I can't comment on whether the hard drive fails with trauma.

Some comments:

1. My computer doesn't have USB 2.0 input (which is the standard for the past three yrs or so), and I've had no luck with various adapters, so the lack of firewire output is rather annoying to me personally, and causes importing of clips to my computer to be rather time-consuming (though easy). It seems silly that Sony is abandoning firewire output on this machine, just like Apple has abandoned it on the newest Ipods. Sucks for me; though my computer is a great but oldish HP with fast Pentium 4 processing, it only has USB 1.1 support. For most of you, though, importing via USB 2.0, it should be quite fast.

2. Sound recording is very good, but I wish the camcorder had a headphone port. Oh, well. Perhaps it's a blessing, as now I have no reason to plug my head into headphones all the time.

3. The included software is really nice for getting the video from camcorder to computer, but editing is primitive at best. I'm waiting for my video editing software suite to arrive at my door (I chose Sony Vegas Platinum, based on reviews); I hope it works well. Compatibility should not be a problem, as the video files are saved, on my computer, as MPEG video files, which are a fairly standard platform.

4. You'll be tempted (like me) to start buying software and accessories (mic, extra battery, new computer with superfast processing speeds, etc.) so save a few hundred (or thousand) for those. Included battery lasts for almost 2 hours of use.

Overall a very nice machine, with a lot going for it. I'm very happy to own it, and I'm using it frequently with minimal problems thus far. I wish it had firewire output and a headphone jack, but it's great even without it.

My seven year old Sony DCR-PC100 miniDV camcorder is beginning to show signs of wear, so I figured it was time to buy a backup unit. I didn't want to relive the miniDV tape experience for two reasons: the multi-step and time consuming DVD transfer process and the inability to instantly access particular portions of the tape. I briefly considered DVD camcorders, but I don't trust their reliability (I'd hate to spend all day on a wedding video and then lose my footage to "finalization failure"). I also don't like the limited and tedious DVD editing process and I can't live with 30-minute recording times (I occasionally like to set my camcorder up for long-term unattended recording). The Sony SR100 appears to be the perfect solution. I can burn footage to DVD with the click of a button, or I can edit and then burn (the supplied "ImageMixer" software is pretty basic, but adequate for my needs). I can also access any of my clips instantly, as is the case with any hard drive. Of course I don't know yet how reliable the HD will be, but I've put a lot of mileage on a lot of hard drives and haven't had one fail yet. With the optional NP-FP90 battery, the Sony will record (unattended) for 7.5 hours in HQ mode! You could actually use it as a baby monitor cam. The NP-FP60 battery that came with the unit is providing about 2.5 hours of operating time. In terms of video resolution, sound and color, the SR100 is exceptional...clearly superior to my DCR-PC100. I would label still picture quality as "very good", but I won't be using that feature much. The zoom rocker is smooth and easy to use. The viewfinder is bright and clear. The menus are intuitive. I didn't think I'd like the touch screen, but I do. One nice feature is being able to designate which area of the scene you want to spot meter (or focus) on by simply touching that part of the screen. So far, I love this camcorder and would recommend it without reservation.

Addendum: The battery times I gave earlier are for "playback", not record. The supplied battery (NP-FP60) should provide about 1.5 hours of recording time and the NP-FP90, about 4.5 hours.

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I am very happy with the new camcorder. Buy one. I had first ordered a Panasonic VDR-D300 Mini DVD camcorder. It used the small DVDs and only stored 18 minutes on each one. Reading the manual told me I did not want that camera, so I returned it for Amazon (I love their service) and purchased the Sony-SR100

I took practice shots outside and inside, zoomed in and out, took close ups of flowers both in wide angle where you can get to 1/2 inch away and telephoto that you must be 2 feet away. Everything was always in perfect focus.

Each scene shows up on the LCD as a thumbnail. You can play time all or anyone of them, you can play the last scene instantly after you take it and delete if you want. You can make a play list by selecting only those scenes you want to play, and if you want you can rearrange the scenes in any order you want. Still pictures also are shown as thumbnails. You select which one you want to see.

This is all done on the LCD screen, which is a touch screen.

I then plugged into my 60 inch TV and played the pictures. They were crystal clear. MUCH better than those still pictures I took in Africa with my 6 Mega pixel Minolta. Those look good on computer, or printed, but not so hot on TV.

I then plugged the camera into laptop and made a DVD of all the scenes on the hard drive without loading them into the computer first. I then played the DVD on the TV and it was the same as when directly from the camera

I then imported all the images camcorder hard drive into the computer and edited them. You can delete or edit them as you wish. Each scene shows as a thumbnail and you can play each one. You can also cut out frames or a group of frames.

Great camera and easy to use. I figured out all of the above in about an hour.

If a person does not wish to edit, then you just point and shoot and put all the unedited pictures on a DVD and that is it.

The 30 gig hard drive will hold 7 hours of pictures, so that is more than enough for a long trip. I have two lithium batteries that each last about 120 minutes. They recharge in two hours. As you take pictures the readout is always showing you how much time you have left on the battery.

I am sure on my travels I will be taking mostly video and also still pictures with my 6 megapixle camera but a lot less of those than before.

This camera also takes still pictures and it also has a flash. They seem to be good quality when viewed on the TV.

For pictures when it is very dark, it has an infrared light. I have not tested that.

This is an amazing product, and I find dealing with Amazon to be the best. I had one price for this camera $300 less, but when I tried to buy it, they called and asked if I wanted the parts other than the body. They tried to offer it to me complete for $100 less then Amazon, but after that sad experience, I did not want to do business with them.

Read Best Reviews of Sony DCR-SR100 3MP 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Here

I found this camcorder works great with a Mac -but you have to download and install two pieces of software first: (1) MPEG Streamclip for Mac OS X, which is free. Do an Internet search for the URL. (2) the MPEG-2 codeck for Quicktime form the Apple online store ($20); Quicktime Pro ($30) might also be required--not sure. I already have it. After installing both pieces of software, connect to the camcorder through the USB connection. The camcorder will show up as a hard drive "No Name." Find your video files on "No Name" and drag them to your Mac. Then use Steamclip to open your movie files. I use these settings: compressor h264 when converting to either .mov or mpeg-4. I get beautiful results.

The camcorder itself is great to use. Video is high quality. Even the 120 X digital zoom was not really so bad. The sound is terrific. Menus are easy to navigate, but I tend to forget where some settings are. Am getting better with practice.

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I am more than satisfied with my new DCR-SR100. It has exceeded my expectations. It is very easy to use and the video quality is very good. The still camera quality is not as good, but I didn't buy this camera to take still photos. I highly recommend this camera.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Sony DPF-D810 8-Inch SVGA LCD (4:3) Digital Photo Frame -Black

Sony DPF-D810 8-Inch SVGA LCD Digital Photo Frame -BlackThe main reason I decided to buy a digital photo frame is because printing out photos from my Sony DSC-H5 on an Epson PictureMate to share with the family got pretty tiresome. Sure, the prints looked good, but printing them took a long time, they cost about 35 cents apiece and some of the older relatives couldn't see them very well. I figured a digital photo frame would improve the whole process. My requirements were simple: the frame must have very high resolution, be small and lightweight (for packing in a carry-on suitcase), and accept images via a Memory Stick and also via a standard USB interface (which many, I found, do not).

The Sony DPF-D810 meets all of my requirements with flying colors. The 800-by-600-pixel 8-inch-diagonal display is clear, crisp, bright and saturated. Photos display instantly, either singly, until you manually advance them, or in a slideshow with your choice of 10 time intervals from three seconds to 24 hours and with your choice of six transition effects. You can show the full image or crop it to fit the screen. If the aspect ratio of the picture is wider than 4:3, thin black bars appear at the top and bottom of the screen--the image itself is undistorted. You can display image information such as the time and date taken, camera type, shutter speed and aperture, EV compensation and more. The unit will show photos directly from an SD memory card, Memory Stick Duo or USB flash drive, or you can copy them to the internal memory, which holds about 150 high-resolution images. A mini-USB connector lets you transfer photos directly from your computer. You can choose from 14 different full-screen clock and calendar displays, or integrate a clock and/or calendar with six of the 10 different slideshow display options. Thus you can place this frame on a desk or mantel and run it all the time as a useful item of room decor. You can even choose whether or not to display the bright "Sony" logo on the lower part of the frame. All in all, this is a very impressive device that should satisfy the most demanding user. Plus, it is small (roughly 9 inches by 7 inches by 1 inch) and lightweight (less than 1-1/2 pounds, including the AC transformer and the remote control).

Speaking of which, the remote control is a great bonus. When I first set up the DPF-D810, I found it difficult to see the on-screen menus while manipulating tiny buttons with minuscule labels on the back of the unit. Then I used the remote. What a difference! You can access all of the frame's well-designed and logically arranged setup and functional menus with ease. Not all frames in this price category offer remotes. I didn't care about it when I selected this frame, but now I wouldn't be without it.

Even though I wanted a digital photo frame for just one simple purpose, I was pleased to find that this one far exceeded my expectations and offered much more than I needed for a reasonable price. If you're considering taking the next logical evolutionary step in digital photography by displaying your pictures on a photo frame rather than printing them, I highly recommend you consider the Sony DPF-D810.

I'm the one in the family...and extended family...that does the shopping for electronics/digital products. You know me, many of you have that guy in your own families or group of friends.

When I decided to buy digital frames for my parents and my wife for this Christmas, I did a lot of research and looked at a lot of digital frames. I read a lot of reviews as well and compared many of the features available. Here's what I liked about the Sony DPF-D810 8-inch SVGA Frame:

Simply to use, yet has advanced features that you don't get in this price range

Sturdy, well thought-out design (even the remote is sturdy...many have flimsy remotes that are useless)

4:3 format...standard photo size, so it doesn't undesirably crop your precious photos

Allows the use of all standard memory cards to include USB thumb drives -great for anyone that might be technically challenged

It's not a knock-off brand and was obviously well tested..I didn't have to wonder how long it would reliably work

It's not the biggest frame on the market...it's not the most expensive (by far)

It is a great buy for $79!

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I just loaded this frame up with pictures of the kids for grandma, and can say that this frame is a much better choice for the price than other brands.

I really wanted to offer a contrast to the only review (so far) for this product, since I had a far different experience.

There are many menu options to customize the viewing experience, including a setting to change the delay between pictures from 3 seconds to 24 hours. There are also nine different types of slideshows, plus a random mix of those types available.

Also in the menu options is a Shuffle option to randomize the order of your pictures.

I chose to resize the photos to match the display resolution of the frame (800X480). This dropped the size from 2+ mb per picture to around 50 kb per picture, and they are virtually indistinguishable from a regular viewing distance. At the moment, there are 500+ pictures in the internal memory, with more than half of the room left.

The picture quality is great especially compared to other brands in this price range.

Read Best Reviews of Sony DPF-D810 8-Inch SVGA LCD (4:3) Digital Photo Frame -Black Here

Bought this due to Sony's quality in imaging space and 10-in diagonal screen. After loading photos, am amazed at how great the pictures look and how nice the photo frame is. Had not bought a digital photo frame previously due to cost and small screen size, am glad I waited until now.

Anyway, great product with excellent viewing from all angles and lots of configurable options (interval settings, random, clock, etc.). Did not find any of the limitations or issues that earlier reviewer noted, thankfully went ahead and bought it.

Here is my summary:

high quality screen

good viewing angles

very nice frame for use in living room etc.

easy to configure

good price

One suggestion if you use Picasa or any other photo editing program. You can crop your photos using the "5:3 Widescreen Photo Frame" crop option and they will fit perfectly in the 800x480 frame when you do a File->Export (option Resize to 800). Or if you prefer, you can let the Sony resize/crop for you.

Anyway, great product and in my personal opinion, definitely worth recommending to others.

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I bought a couple of digital frames from another company for my parents and in-laws a few years ago, but they just didn't use them much. There were two principal reasons why: no auto on-off mechanism and no shuffle function. This frame takes care of both issues nicely. The shuffle function is truly random, so you're constantly seeing new pictures. The auto on-off feature is quite sophisticated. It allows you to choose a different on and off schedule for each day of the week. Plus you can have it turn on and off multiple times in each day. So, I have my frame turning on at 6am everyday. On Monday through Friday it turns off at 9am when I leave for work and then back on at 3pm when my kids get home. On Saturdays and Sundays it stays on the whole day. Then every night it turns off at 10pm. It's great having it on the whole time we're home, but then not wasting electricity at night or when we're away from home.

I've been very impressed by the frame in addition to these features. It's very easy to set up and picture quality is great. The remote makes navigating the menus to adjust settings or skipping pictures easy and convenient.

I wanted to also mention a couple of limitations that I would have like to have known when I was buying my frame. They don't change my rating of the frame, but are just useful to know ahead of time.

A few reviewers mentioned that the screen was smaller than they would have liked, based on where they were going to use it. The same happened to me. My frame is in the living room in a place where you can see it from a pretty good distance. Although the picture quality is good enough to see from far away, the size of the screen means that your pictures just aren't that big. As a result, I find myself invariably walking up to the frame to get a better look at whatever picture's showing. So before you decide, it might be good for you to know the actual dimensions of the screen and frame, since the 8" diagonal measurement is hard to decipher and the frame measurement listed on Amazon is wrong. The screen is 4.75" x 6.5" and the frame is 9.2" x 7".

The one other caveat I discovered is that the frame can handle only 5000 pictures at a time. I bought a 8GB SD card and just filled it up with as many digital pictures I could fit. Well as it turned out, that came out to more than 5600 pictures. Now, every time I turn the frame on, it reminds me that the max is 4999 and that it won't be showing me some of my pictures. It's not a big deal since 4999 is plenty to see, but it's good to know. I had considered buying a larger SD card to have even more photos loaded on the frame, but now I realize that it wouldn't be able to show them, so why bother.

All in all, this is an excellent frame that I'm glad I bought. It has a couple of limitations based on the way I'm using it, but that doesn't detract from its quality and utility for others.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

PTC Premium Mini-DVI to HDMI adapter with 10 ft White Premium HDMI cable VALUED PACK - white - for

PTC Premium Mini-DVI to HDMI adapter with 10 ft White Premium HDMI cable VALUED PACK - white - for iMac, MacBook, and 12-inch PowerBook G4It's a good deal to get everything in one package for you to connect to an HDMI compatible tv for 20$...but it should work most of the time too. If I take my computer off my table and put it on my lap, jostling the connection between the mini-DVI male and female connectors while I type and use the mouse, I lose connection. Unless the mini-DVI female plug is white gold plated, they failed at gold plating all the connections as they claim they have. Overall, it's usable if you leave it be on a stable countertop and don't disturb the wires, but if you're like me and want to work off your lap, tough luck. Go find some better cables.

The internet TV system is here to stay and will be BIG! It's great to see shows and movies anytime you want on the internet in hidef on your large screen TV. You may want to get a bluetooth mouse Logitech V470 Bluetooth Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks (Blue) so you can stay seated while watching your lap top driven shows. Make sure your laptop will handle it. I have a Macbook and everything works great even with wireless internet connection. Set up was automatic and picture quality is superb.

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I felt that the best way to share my experience with the item was to show on video. The product does work and it works fantastic ... just not all the time. The MINI-DVI connection is very touchy and with even a seeming wrong breath will lose connection to the television. Moving the laptop around while connected is a big no no as things will go bad.

When it does work, the picture is really nice.

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connection is crappy and shorts out. treated w care but it's just bad quality. have to buy a new one now. really annoying! buy a better one.

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The product just doesn't work. I attempted to contact the company to return the item; however they have not responded. It has been over two weeks. Very disappointed.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Zmodo CM-I11123BK Wireless WiFi IR Night Vision Pan Tilt IP Network Camera

Zmodo CM-I11123BK Wireless WiFi IR Night Vision Pan Tilt IP Network CameraGreat Camera, swivels 270 degrees tilts 180 degrees.

Requires a reasonable technical knowledge of networking to setup. Youtube videos help.

No Audio for remote access.

I bought it to check on my kids when they are home alone after school. I love the remote access and the ability to pan around the room. It took me about 3 hours to setup. User manual helps but there are videos on you tube to set up locally on network and remotely that helped alot. Now that it is up and working I love it. The only thing that would make it better is audio.

Cons: One camera shipped with a missing part to mount it with. One camera stops panning after 1st round. The other's infrared lights don't show but it still works go figure... Both have a seriously flawed software add on, which shuts down or requires you to download a browser control each and every time. Works better with Google Chrome than IE9 but has less control with Chrome. It always forgets the setup and usually I find it pointed at the ceiling and shut down when I return each week. One time one of the cameras went brain dead and would not power up until I reset it, got serious with the power source not sure why it would not power up but after several tries it woke up. Never tried my cell phone. Has a seperate software add on for each type of browser (Push or Pull not sure whats the difference but 2 types still require a load each time). Maybe its Windows Seven....or the ocx code is junk or the browser cannot trust it.

Plus: Price. Pan, Auto night vision and can be used locally via wireless LAN. DOES NOT REQUIRE A YEARLY SERVICE!

Setup is slow but with a direct connection to my laptop and a couple resets I got it to stick to my own setup.

I removed the default DDNS setup (China watching?) and left it as locally named for the areas they are in. I still will use them as I am growing tired of trying to find better motion wireless cameras this inexpensive. I just remote into a server on the premises each time I want to view. If I enabled my own DDNS it probably would still have the same software problems anyway. Since it stops for no reason and aims at the sky its always a 5 minute setup for 5 minutes of viewing so having the local computer to knock it up side the head is ok. Just cannot depend on it still working when I leave. Always forgets the daylight setting and brightness/contrast numbers and the saved locations never work.

I will try a more expensive Wireless Night vision (but fixed position) system like Lorex next.

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Great IP wireless camera. Easy installation. Wireless setup is not for a novice computer person, but is ok if you follow manuals on included CD. I original bought one camera and then bought a second camera to monitor young kids in their bedroom.

Web-based interface is good, but we use a free app on our iPhones as the primary viewer.

Baby Monitor for IP Camera by Tiny SolutionsWould give five tars if wireless setup was simpler.

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This is a much better product overall than my Megacam 4200, but the audio does require a direct connection to the camera. I expected for it to work over the network, as with the Megacam.

The user manual is almost unintelligible, do yourself a favor and go the the Zmodo site (or Youtube) and watch the product video. Setup is a snap after that.

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I can't speak highly enough about this device... so nice I bought it twice! I recommend this ip pan/tilt wireless camera to anyone that wants to setup a home security system on a budget... I have two and they upload motion sensor detected images to a server off-site that costs $10 a month.

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Monday, May 12, 2014

JOBY GorillaPod Original

Joby JB01235-CAM GorillaPod Original TripodThis is my very first GorillaPod! I make YouTube videos ("wwjoshdew") and the only tripod I have is my huge manfrotto tripod. I wanted something small to put my iStabalizer phone mount on, and this works perfect!

I put my Canon PowerShot ELPH 330 HS on it, and then wrapped it over my cars headrest and it worked pretty good! This little thing comes in handy for those times where you need a small tripod. You would wrap it around almost anything. I freaking love it and will be ordering more of them! Even the one that will hold my 60D! :)

I got this compact, flexible, grippy tripod along with the i. Trek tripod adapter .....match made in heaven. I love being able to get insane angles with my lovely S3 . The adapter I bought will go with any tab or smart phone....paired with this tripod you will use it a ton trust me!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy it!

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It was a great little tripod, we took a few photos with it wrapped around a tree but I lost it the first day on a trail run. I guess it's so lite I didn't even notice it was gone.

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Although the tripod itself is a bit wiggly, i guess thats just a feature of the original product. The package arrived in good condition and all hinges work. Great product

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I used with with my GOpro 2 and the tripod mound and it was perfect. Wrapped it around my wrist and used the third leg like a pistol grip

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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W650 16.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (2012

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W650 16.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCDCamera is compact and light weight. It has all the basic features you would need for great pictures and it is fairly easy to use. I was able to play with it for less than 5 minutes and have all the controls figured out without looking at a manual. The battery life seems great as I just got back from a week long vacation and after snapping over 150 photos I still have almost a full battery. I am also very impressed with how great my pictures turned out, vivid colors and great contrast.

I purchased this product as I planned a last-minute visit to the Niagara Falls and, being on a business trip, I had nothing else to immortalize this moment than my smartphone and its lousy camera. After unpacking it, I first tried it indoors and was not impressed at all: mediocre yellowish pictures, noisy and grainy. I tried to disable the (weak) flash and it got worse. I was tempted to return it immediately but decided to give it a try outdoors. When I started to shoot the falls, I became very quickly addicted to this litte gizmo. In most of the cases, the camera is able to deal with the subject, although I would recommend the usage of the advanced scene mode: facing violent contrasts, the camera shoots automatically twice with different exposure parameters, which increases the odds to get a good shot. Smart.

The exposure can be easily fixed manually, using the "manual" mode (in fact, an automatic mode that can be adjusted). In a matter of seconds, over-exposed white water on dark rocks takes texture, to the droplet. It is a bit of trial and error, but delivers quick results. The panorama function works very well, delivery much better pictures than the lousy prints available in the souvenir shop. I also gave it a chance to show how it works with video: better than average sound (if not too much wind), functional and silent zoom and again, surprising image quality. As the light changed due to overcast clouds, I adjusted the settings and the camera obediently followed, again delivering satisfying stills. The zoom works fine. It's not a super-zoom but the resolution is good enough to enable enlargement on the PC.

Happy with the outdoor quality, I decided to give it another try indoors, using the advanced mode P. To my surprise, the various settings, including several white balance modes, enabled to fix the initial issues and I got noise-free, decent-quality pictures under artificial lighting. I fumbled a bit with the flash and while I find it a bit rough, it's within expectations.

Outdoor picture quality is really great for the price I was really positively surprised by the sharpness and color quality, which is still far from SLR standards but surprising for a compact. The autofocus is decent, shutter speed good, transfer speed correct. The camera behaves predictably. It is more limited indoors but still very decent once one gets used to it. I was not disturbed by the lack of functionality to adjust speed or aperture as I'm using it for point-and-shoot, which it does pretty well in general. It's not a function-rich camera, but what's built in is useful and working well (the online manual may need some polishing though).

I'm giving it five stars because this Sony camera exceeds consistently my value-for-money expectations. It cannot be a substitute for more serious hardware (I own a Sony Alpha and my wife is a NEX user) but it is definitively the camera I will take on business trips or in my breast pocket for a casual walk in the park.

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So the image quality isn't perfectbut it's pretty darn close (the only reason this camera got 4 stars instead of 5). I like taking pictures with it. The menu features are really easy to figure out, so it's no trouble changing the settings to my liking. My favorite part of the camera? the Panorama viewI think Sony was genius with that addition! Definitely worth the moneyand Sony has a pretty good name in cameras so you know it's a good investment. Total bonusI love that my camera is rednot just boring black or silver.

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This is a fantastic camera in it's price class. I was surprised by it's size ( as small as a cell phone ) but with that said, it packs alot of punch. Takes great pictures and is easy to operate. The only drawback is low light pictures aren't as sharp as could be. All in all you get alot for the money with this Sony,

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This a wonderful camera. Camera is compact and light weight. 16 megapixels. You will get a GREAT camera for a little over $100.Very easy to use, takes amazing pictures for the price and size. I would highly recommend anyone buying this camera. it takes video, and panoramic pictures. fast shipping.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

GTMax 10FT Micro-HDMI to HDMI Cable (Black/Red) for Microsoft Surface with Windows RT and Other Tab

GTMax 10FT Micro-HDMI to HDMI Cable for Microsoft Surface with Windows RT and Other Tablet /CellPhone/Camera with *Neck Strap Lanyard*This cable lets me download to my laptop and my TV. I have used it to watch vidios on my TV from my phone. Never thought i would be able to do that. The lenth is just right to operate the phone from the couch. And the quality is just as good from the phone to the laptop and the TV. Thanks.

Good cable, plenty long enough for use with my ASUS Transformer Prime. Reason for 4 stars, is it does not hold in very well. Comes loose very easy. Granted this may only be because of my tablet though.

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Sunday, February 23, 2014

ViewSonic PJD6251 XGA DLP Projector

ViewSonic PJD6251 XGA DLP ProjectorI have have been a front projection home theater enthusiast for many years, going back to the old "3 gun" or 3 lens crt projectors.

Over the years I switched to LCD projectors. When it came time to replace the $500.00 lamp in my old Epson, I decided to look at the new generation of DLP projectors. I chose this model because it has a super bright 3700 lumens & is 3D ready. This projector also gets 4000 hours of lamp life, & the replacement is only about $250. at this time.I was not disappointed, the picture quality, brightness & contrast ratio make it a fine HD home theater projector. I shoot my own 3D movies in the HQFS format ( high quality field-sequential) & they look amazing on this projector. You can also find 3d DVDs in this format here on Amazon, & some bootleg copies of older films like "Creature from the black lagoon, House Of Wax, Dial M for Murder & others on Ebay which were copied from old Laserdiscs which were released in Japan in F.S.3D in the 80's & 90's.

The 3D in those dvds is good, however the resolution in only S-VHS quality at best. The HQFS dvds are quite good, unfortunately the selection of titles is limited. To view 3D on this projector you must have the Active Shutter DLP 3d glasses, the viewsonic models are available here at Amazon for about $89.00 each. Something you should be aware of in regard to 3D usage, these DLP projectors except only the shutter format ( projectors have no tuners) so you won't be able to watch 3D TV (like ESPN3D or Comcast3D) without going thru a PC & using a third party viewing software like stereoscopic player, or TriDef. It is also not compatable with the current generation of 3D BluRay players. There are external format converters coming out on the market which will convert the various formats (top over bottom, sise by side etc.) to the shutter format used by DLP projectors, but

for the moment, I know of none available for this model. Mistubishi makes one which works with there brand of DLP tvs, but I don't think they work with the projectors. So for now, your best bet for 3D content on thses projectors ids the HQFS & F.S. format dvds, or running your tv tuner & 3d Bluray thru a media center computer & using the afore mentioned software to convert to the 3D format accepted by this projector. 3D aside, it is a super-bright & super-clear projector for home theater use. It's 3700 lumens & high contrast ratio gives it a movie-theater like quality even in normal room light.

I bought two projectors for my church, and we are happy to have them. The projectors are bright enough for 300 people to watch slide-show or DVD. They are well worth the $$$, I highly recommend this model.

Two things that may need your attention:

The "text shot" feature does not work for me yet. The automatically report/email may also have problems. Well, my network may have problem, I do not need those features right now anyway, so did not debug further.

The mounting holes for this projectors are close enough. I bought ceiling mount brackets from Amazon, and I have to slightly modify the bracket to install them on ceiling.

BTW, the technical support response pretty quick too.

I give it 5 stars.

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The quality of the output is very good, clear, great throw distance. We hoped the 3800 lumins would be bright enough for our conference rooms, which have really bright new florescent lighting with reflectors to maximize the light. It's good enough for a PPT show, but not quite bright enough for a training session where seeing specific icons etc is required. We like the size, weight, etc. Very good buy. We would definately purchase again.

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We have 2 of these projectors and they look great, we also have the smaller 2500Lm but for the money this one definitely has a brighter more vibrant look.

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This projector has a great picture, network capability and enough lumens to work in a room with windows during the day.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Epson PowerLite 1770W Multimedia Projector, WXGA 3000 Lumens (V11H362020)

Epson PowerLite 1770W Multimedia Projector, WXGA 3000 LumensI should say that I love Epson projectors. I bought this for my office because I own a 8100 at home that I adore.

Pros:

-Cheap for office portable widescreen HD projector

-Light and portable

-USB video works well (although only in "Mirror" mode on a Mac).

-Pretty bright in non-eco mode.

-Widescreen

-Auto-keystone correction

Cons:

-Non-eco mode is VERY loud. Unusable for a conference room.

-Eco mode isn't that bright....

-Auto-keystone correction isn't perfect it often over compensates making the top narrower than the bottom.

-Image appears somewhat bowed when used at wide end of zoom.

The size and weight make this very practical. People are amazed when they see it. I did have a problem with it overheating and shutting down the first couple of times I tried it, and customer support felt there must be something wrong with it. But the problem went away after a few uses. One other point is that Epson touts the USB method of connecting to your computer because it has a lot of advantages over the old VGA connection approach, but the USB connection does not work if you have a Mac with Lion as your operating system. As of yesterday customer support had no information on how long it might be before Epson would have this software upgrade ready. The USB approach works fine on my PC it's just the new Mac OS that it can't handle.

So, nice performance, very portable, but a couple of little glitches make me rate it a 4 instead of a 5.

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The unit is very nice. Has a rather loud fan, compaired to other units I have had. It quickly and automaticly adjusted the video signal to match the computer output, which is great!!! Having owned several units (NEC, Infocus, etc.)this unit has the most for the money. The only issue I had was the unit was sent by Computer Brain, and it appears this unit was either a display unit or had been used in the store. The repacking of the unit was very obvious, and there was stuff on the lens and on the unit case. This was not listed in the discription of the unit. However, Computer Brain sent it very fast at a good shipping rate, and sold it at a good price. The unit works fine, I just needed to clean it.

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Runs quiet, bright images, simple to use. Light, slim and readily portable. Plug it in, connect to the computer and it's ready to go.

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This is an excellent projector overall, but it has a disappointingly poor audio speaker that is weak and has poor frequency response outside the mid (vocal) range. Except for this, it is an exceptional piece of gear. Just route your audio to some external speakers.

It is small, light, has all the basic hookups, multiple USB modes (computer, flash rive, device, camera, etc.), VGA, HDMI, RCA Video/Audio. Short throw, limited zoom, superb color out of the box, excellent sharpness, a great overall image, perfect for presentations and very good for movies/video in ECO/Theater mode.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Lorex LNE3003i Wireless Network Easy Connect Security Camera (White)

Lorex LNE3003i Wireless Network Easy Connect Security CameraI came to review the 3003 model which I purchased 2 of. I'm not sure if this is really different (3003i) or not, but wanted to outline my experience.

I'd been interested in getting some home surveillance cameras. Initially I tried an inexpensive wired Hawking camera. An old model with poor image quality, but it did what it was supposed to do. I read a lot of reviews, and decided I needed to spend more money to get a decent camera. I went with the Lorex 3003 model.

I tend to be pretty forgiving with products. I guess most consumers are, which is why quality is often very low. I'm not sure if a firmware upgrade would have helped me, but I never went that route with these cameras too many issues. The web interface was slow and intermittent. I tried using it on IE, Chrome, and Firefox ...and could never even get the default password changed. I'd hit the update button, and nothing would happen. On both cameras most of the LEDs burned out within 18 months (very bright and I'm sure were run with > 30mA ...I plan to dissect and find out). That certainly didn't help the 'night' vision. Like many cams, they would frequently freeze and need to be unplugged. To view them online, you need to use a 3rd party yoics service, which isn't very user friendly (awful iPhone interface), and of course if the cams freeze it's useless.

Since then I tried a couple DLink cameras (DCS-920) and was very pleasantly surprised. I got them on sale and wish they'd go on sale again. Better picture, no freezing, and smoother interface. I can use the mjpg stream with iCam software/app to view them from anywhere. I also purchased some very cheap wired Rosewill cameras ...also better than the Lorex (not picture quality, but at least they keep running). More recently I tried one of the budget pan/tilt Foscams ...and was again impressed. I also tried out the Loftek outdoor IP cam. It seemed very good ...but was incorrectly advertised as having 2-way audio so I returned it.

IP camera reviews are a difficult thing to sift through. Many cameras get bad marks because they often require a good deal of understanding to use ...and the average consumer will struggle with camera and router setup. Bottom line, I've tried a decent number of cams and nothing has been so poorly engineered and underwhelming as the Lorex. I wasted a lot of money on this product and regret it.

Lorex, if you read this, please feel free to respond. I'd love to get some feedback. Admittedly I didn't try to contact you ...but given my past luck with customer 'service' I don't generally waste my time contacting a company after the (1yr) warranty expires.

I bought one of these cameras to remotely monitor my business and I liked the results so much I just ordered two more! I didn't think it was too hard to install (on my PC not sure about the Mac tho), I just followed the directions. Word of caution though: if the name of your wireless network has spaces or special characters ("&" e.g.) in it, you will need to change it to something else that's all one word for the camera to be recognized. Luckily, I found this out through the support on their website. Once that was taken care of, I couldn't believe the images I was seeing! Then I got it hooked up through my iPhone and I was just floored. To the naysayers, no, it's not thirty frames per second over the internet and no, you can't hear the sound over the internet, BUT I still get crystal clear images at about once a second on my iPhone (or any other computer) from anywhere I am. And that's just fine by me peace of mind I tell you! I feel SO connected to my business when I'm not there now. And the yoics website is perfect for me they take care of all of the other stuff and I just get to view the video. For $117 bucks this is a steal of a deal, plus the shipping was free and it arrived on my doorstep in 2 days. One other thing don't use the lorex iPhone app (I couldn't get it to work), use the yoics app.

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This replaced a yoics camera. The night vision mode is not as good as expected, but daylight is good. It was supposed to work with the yoics interface, but has its own viewer when using windows, but works well with our iPad application.

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I purchased 4 Lorex LNE3003i which were installed in areas I can monitor my twin girls (2 nurseries, playroom, and kitchen). They gave both my wife and I the sense of comfort being able to monitor them when we're at work or on vacation. We were monitoring our nanny to ensure their feeding schedules were met as well as watching them play and sleep remotely wherever we are. When on vacation, I enabled the surveillance software installed on my computer to capture videos of all the cameras; engaged through their motion sensors. I would replay the video upon my return ... as required. I also have the apps installed on my laptop as well as iPhone to view live feeds when we vacationed.

The clarity of video images on the cameras are excellent. I showed my relatives the live feed off my iPhone of the kids playing in the playroom and they were amazed by the quality of the video ... we were on a cruise about to disembark Miami port. We would check up on the kids again whenever we arrive at the various ports

The only dislike I have of the cameras are the "ultra bright" light which I have disabled. I ended up buying a separate infrared LED in the nurseries.

I guess it is all dependent on the overall setup of the cameras and leveraging the smartphone apps and surveillance software. I'm very satisfied with the cameras.

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I did not have too much trouble setting this up on a Mac. First off, if you know how to use bonjour, you can set this up on a mac the same as (and easier than) a Windows computer. The box and some online info and an insert in the box all say you can't do the initial set up on a mac, but that was not true in my experience. (I did both ways, starting with the Mac).

HOWEVER, I was unable to set this up to connect to an ad-hoc network with my MacBookAir. In fact, the wireless system ONLY lets you click to connect to SSIDs that it sees. Since for some reason my ad-hoc computer to computer network was not seen, I could not type in the SSID, etc.

I WAS able to do this with the DLINK 923L. That now has a Mac native and very easy to use connection program, which worked well. And I was then able to get in to do advanced changes, type in my MacBookAir ad-hoc network and have the DLINK connect wirelessly to my MacBookAir directly. (Long story why I wanted to do this, but it works well).

When attached to my network, the Lorex did work ok, though I like the picture quality and refresh of the (cheaper) DLINK much better.

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