Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical Wide Angle Manual Focus Lens with Filters + Tripod + Cleaning Kit for

I have been using this lens a fair amount for about 6 months now, and I have to say it rocks. Extremely fast and pretty damn sharp. Great for achieving that cinematic look, plus you get a few extra goodies with this bundle. Though I will say that the tripod that came with this kit was pretty crappy, but hey the lens is what counts!

I read other reviews before I bought this lens. They were correct. This a great lens for video. I have a Canon EOS 7D. In video mode what you see is what you get. This lens is full manual. The f/1.4s will not be seen by the camera. Not a problem in video mode. Having full control is great. In photo mode it works great in controlled situations. I would not be able to be fast enough in dynamic situations.

I bought this lens for videos. Yes!!! I love it. Great for low light videos. Takes the great pictures also.

I am new but had no problem using it to shoot videos.

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Pentax *istDL 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera with DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL Digital SLR Lens

I made the decision a few months ago that the time was right to buy a digital SLR. I considered a number of models. What sold me on this one was that I am able to use my very old, but very good, lenses.

I had 4 Pentax ME Super bodies from the 1980's. My lenses also date from that time.

The manual was not very helpful in figuring this out. It does require a setting change and one can shoot in only manual focus mode with aperture priority. It's very much like shooting with the old ME's but with a 6.3 megapixel digital image as the result.

From the menu, go to "Custom Setting," scroll down to "Using aperture ring," set to "Permitted."

I first tried out this camera at a local camera store, and was impressed with its heft, its handling, and its surprisingly simple and intuitive LCD menu. I decided to take the plunge, and haven't looked back!

The pictures are unfailingly good, and the camera performs just as capably as my old Canon (film) SLR. Better still, since it's digital, I can experiment, see the results immediately, and quickly delete my mistakes, and try again until I get it right.

I can't help but think this will be a great tool for learning more about photography, and sharpening my skills. And at this price, it can't be beat! It's easily the most affordable dSLR on the market -a terrific value for anyone, and an excellent piece of equipment for both beginners and advanced snapshooters eager to broaden their horizons.

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After reading the "Wired" magazine buyer's guide for digital cameras, wherein they rated the Pentax *ist-DL with 5 (out of 5) bars, the Canon Digital Rebel XT with 4.5 bars, the Nikon D50 with 4.0 bars and the Olympus e-volt E-300 with 3.5 bars, and awarded the Pentax the "Editor's Pick" award as the best of the bunch, I decided to give one a try. What an amazing little imaging machine. It is small, fast, and, although I have tried to fool the meter with strong backlights and partial frame lighting, I have been unsuccesful. For all those who have been fooled into thinking that Canon makes the best digital SLRs (they certainly spend the most on advertising), you should do your own research. Mine lead me to this Pentax.

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I decided that I needed to get on-board the digital wave beyond my Kycocera EVF digital camera, meaning I needed an SLR. I chose Pentax as several newer film cameras, lenses and flash units I own are all Pentax. The flash units, and lenses for Pentax autofocus, autoexposure (KAF mount) 35mm cameras are interchangeable on the *ist DL, a huge plus! I love knowing I can use AA batteries, CRV3 batteries or an AC adapter (on order).

The DL is a joy to hold, the weight is less than my ZX-Ls and the ergonomics are even better. A couple of competitors' cameras that I have handled afterwards actually felt clunky to me. The LCD viewfinder is great (please let it be known, to save battery life it will time out much sooner than many folks are accustomed to with digi pocket cameras). The multifunction dial for auto shooting, or manual settings is pretty muchthe same as other models I have, cutting down the time I needed to read the manual. The "slim" filter feature is a unique feature to Pentax units I believe.

The kit lens is sharp and clear, and the equivalent to a 28-80mm lens in 35mm format, which suits most of my needs. The DA lens does not have an aperture ring, so those of us so accustomed to having one must learn to use the electronic settings (or use an earlier lens, on aperture priority). A few drawbacks I have read about the DL is that for sports/action use the autofocus may not be fast enough for some guys, and the AF360FGZ flash (I have one)does not swivel. I can get around those items; to me a big plus is that's been reported that Pentax digitals have less noise than many competitors at higher ASA/ISO settings, enabling you to use it in low light situations with less noise (I still want to call it "grain") in your images. As soon as the weather improves, I am going to really see what this baby can do beyond the test pics I have taken indoors.

A great camera to learn digital SLR photography with, just as the old K1000 was for 35mm.

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I had researched this camera for about two weeks, and decided to buy one. It is my first SLR digital camera. I am very pleased with the size of the camera, the lcd screen, and menu (Very easy to use). It takes amazing pictures when printed on my Sony DPP-FP30 photo printer, I would recommend this camera to anyone thats on a budget and wants good quality.

TRENDnet ProView PoE Network Surveillance Camera with 16x Digital Zoom TV-IP512P (White)

Let me start by stating that I had to return this IP camera. The major reason is that it does not have exposure compensation and it has a manual focus. It is configured for indoor ambient light settings. Not too bright and not too dim. I also realized that the camera/CCD chip does not have a sufficient dynamic range to capure a scene with both bright and dard areas. If this is a requirement, then this camera will not perform for you.

The Trendnet software does provide image brightness controls but the controls appear to operate on the received image not setting the camera's exposure settings. Hence an over exposed image will remain overexposed.

TrendNet has Setup program on the CD which installs a setup program! This is rather confusing. Installation is clumsy but with patience, I got it configured. The Power over Ethernet worked perfectly.

Based on physical construction, including the pacement of the connectors, the TrendNet Camera appears to be a Dlink camera. In fact using Blue Iris Video Monitoring software, the camera responds as if it is a DLink DCS-3410 or 2102.

The focus is manual. A real PITA when you must mount it and then have someone monitor the video and keep farting with the focus. And given the 1-2 second delay in the video, its easy to keep missing the focus point.

Trendnet also provides a simple but good mounting bracket.

I also tried out their user support. I connected to a person relatively quickly. I offer them the opportunity to the tech support person to connect directly to the camera remotely which they declined (I configured port forwarding on my router). Their first fix for the over exposure was to place the camera in night mode!! What?? That would make it even more over exposed! They ignored my comment. Put me on hold and when they came back and she said it can't be used for viewing outside.

Perhaps I've been spoiled by the Toshiba line of IP cameras. They are a lot more expensive, but their engineering, software and hardware is top notch compared to TrendNet. So if your needs are for video where the lighting does not vary much from ambient indoor lighting, and you can only afford $200, this camera may work for you.

I have the 4x zoom model and it is easy to set up and use. I mounted mine in an outdoor camera housing to monitor the outside of my home. I have no trouble connecting to it from work and the picture is clear. The 4x zoom does cause the picture to get grainy (as expected), but I don't have much use for the zoom as I am looking for an overall view of the area. I had no trouble focusing the camera with my laptop connected to my home network any further and the delay would have made focusing a pain. The microphone works fine and I'm also satisfied with it's performance in low light. The low-watt bulb that I have in my porch light provides enough light for the camera to view the entire porch area late at night. When the motion flood lights are activated, there is more than enough light for the camera. This is a good choice for a basic internet security camera.

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The quality of this camera is what you would expect for the price, regular. The default settings are not ok for use outdoor, and you can't change that unless you update the firmware of the device, which is what we did and after that i worked ok indoor and outdoor (we didn't knew that the firmware fixed this problem since we didn't find anything that suggested it but thanks to that we didn't have to return it or use it only indoor).

You can access the camera from any navigator (we tried IE, FF and Opera), but some advanced functions are only available in IE.

The zoom is not that useful since its just digital and the image resolution is not very good.

The software detects the camera without problem even if you don't know it's IP so it save us a couple of times from rebooting it.

We've tried for a few days now and everything seems ok even when using it with ddns.

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Originally I purchased the TV-IP512P to use outside with an enclosure. It wasn't until AFTER I received it that the documentation states it's for indoor use. Indoors, it works great, though I use it to monitor remotely and picture quality isn't a big issue. I mounted the camera outside in the enclosure and as a few reviews have stated, the picture is blown out with outdoor light levels. I put a small piece of window tint over the enclosure window to reduce the light level and though it does take away from picture quality ever so slightly, the picture quality is still acceptable. I will be buying another for inside use in the near future.

****UPDATE****

After contacting Trendnet support about the light level for exterior use, I was told to do a firmware upgrade. After doing the upgrade, I had the option for indoor or outdoor use. Set on outdoor, I removed the tint I applied previously (to cut down the light level), and was pleased to find the picture is no longer washed out, and is FAR better than before. Next I'll be trying the IR500 infrared lens to see if visibility at night is increased.

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The good:

Easy to set up, works with standard POE switches. Mounts on top and bottom, comes with a right angle bracket. Web interface is nice and easy to use. Works with Zoneminder. JPG's upload to an FTP server just fine.

The bad:

Focus is a manual focus. I knew this going in, but i didn't realize how annoying it would be. My biggest gripe and the main reason for the low rating is that you can't browse the SD card through the camera interface. You have to take it out and put it in a pc to read it. To me this is unacceptable and had I known this I would never have purchased this camera.

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Konica Minolta Dimage Z2 4MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom

I've had my Z2 for about a week and I am very impressed with it. This is my fifth digital still camera (the last was a Sony DSC-S75). Other reviewers have complained of poor image quality and noisy zooming during videos. It almost seems as if they are talking about a different camera. My Z2 has produced very sharp and colorful images (flesh tones are a bit oversaturated even at the "natural" color setting) and the zoom is COMPLETELY silent in the videos I've taken. One reviewer said the videos cannot be edited, but that is not true. The camera comes with Arcsoft software to do some crude editing on the Quicktime (*.mov) files, but it also allows you to save the video in other formats such as MPEG, AVI, and WMV. In those other formats the Windows XP Windows Movie Maker will do additional editing. I recommend you use the AVI version since it seems to introduce the fewest compression artifacts. But you have to download the camera's firmware update (version 1.02, posted 04/23/04) at in order to get the sound to transfer along with the video. When you are at the site you have to navigate to the Z2 page and then select "software." Another virtue I've discovered -the camera is efficient in its use of energy.

The deficiencies I've found have to do mainly with downloading images and dealing with them once they are in my computer. The Windows XP download wizard cannot rotate images that were taken in vertical format (as it was able to do with my Sony) unless I first rotate the image in the camera's playback display. Images come in as JPEGS, with perhaps a bit more compression than I would like in the "fine" mode the file sizes for these 4-megapixel photos are about the same as they were with my 3-megapixel Sony. When I edit an image and then try to save it again as a jpeg, my Ulead PhotoImpact 6.0 software cannot compress the image as much as I may need. And my Printmaster 7.0 cannot see the image, though other JPEGS come in just fine. The workaround that I use is to save the Minolta's image as a Bitmap, close the bitmap file, then reopen it, and then save it as a JPEG at the desired level of compression -and then Printmaster can see it. Perhaps Minolta has done something with the EXIF data that these software applications cannot deal with.

With a camera that generates such widely differing reviews it might be a good idea to buy it where you can return it easily. I got mine at WalMart (Circuit City was out of them) for something like $50 more than the Amazon price, just so I could bring it back quickly. But I'm keeping mine.

Dimage Z2 feels good in your hands. The grip handle has well spaced and placed buttons. The neat LCD screen/viewfinder switcher option is very handy. The LCD screen does not fold out for odd-angle viewing. This camera will not fit into a pocket, but is surprisingly light.

The controls are pretty intuitive, but also extensive. They're a lot easier to understand than most VCR's. Of course, this might be faint praise...

Pictures look fine on my 17 inch laptop screen. Since I do not print out my pictures much, 4MP is more than enough. At half the price of the digital Rebel (and the like), I can live with half the megapixels of digital SLR's. The 16meg SD card that it comes with is completely inadequate. My 512 SD card might seem like overkill, unless you want to film movies. Then, the 512 seems just adequate.

The movie-mode is the best I've seen on a camera. If you pick your spots carefully, you can film a wedding in both still and movie modes, and be pleased by both results. However, the motor on the lense is very loud when employed during filming, and will be noticably picked up. In other words, DON'T zoom while filming. The 10X optical lense will make you forget the digital zoom. If you must go for the digital gusto, unless you've got nerves of steel and hands of granite, use a monopod. Z2's focus lock option allows you to properly compose your picture with your subject off center. The focus is fast (if not quiet) and pretty responsive. The flash is powerful (red-eye reduction), and there is a hot-shoe for a larger flash unit.

The 2 AA battery (with AC power option) allows a lot of flexibility. An optional battery unit is available that pretty much provides enough juice to run a small Irish village (excluding the pub).

If you can accept that it is what it is (a consumer camera with lots of neat features in a well-thought-out package), then Z2 deserves its 5 stars.

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I've had this camera for a little over a month and so far, I love it. It's got the full-auto (point-and-shoot) mode for the casual photographer/beginner, but it also has a variety of manual modes and advanced features like aperture priority, shutter priority, program mode, and full manual, as well as manual white balance for those interested in learning the art of (digital) photography.

The two built in macro modes (close and *really* close) allow for excellent close-up shots. Despite having almost no experience in photography beyond point-and-shoot cameras, I was taking pretty good macro shots my first day with it (at least that's what mom said ;). The 10x zoom is great for the long shots. The 16MB SD card is useless (pick up at least 256MB). I still carry the 16 for a spare, but at the highest image resolution, I doubt I could fit 10 pictures on it.

Do yourself a favor and buy the lens adapter ring and a UV filter for the camera. The UV filter can be had pretty cheap, won't affect picture quality, and will keep your built-in lens safe from scratches, dirt, and UV rays (evidently pretty damaging to camera equipment). And having the adapter, you'll be able to attach other filters as your need/skill grow. Oh, and get a couple of sets of rechargeable NIMH batteries too. They'll save you a lot of money. I briefly looked into the Konika-Minolta LI battery pack that's made for the camera, but being more than half the price of the camera, decided it was more expensive than I needed. At least for now.

So far, my only complaints are: the battery cover door seems pretty flimsy. I'd like to see something more substantial. And, I'm not sure the idea of the mechanical mirror used to select the view through the eyepiece or on the display screen is wise. It just seems like more mechanical parts to fail in the future. Also, the use of the eyepiece won't prolong battery life as it would in most digital cameras.

So, it's few faults aside, I give the KM Z2 a solid 5 star rating.

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I've been holding off buying a digital camera as I love my Olympus SLR camera but, whilst looking around my local camera store in February, I was introduced to the Z1 and was told that I should probably wait as new cameras were coming out soon. Well, the Z2 came out and I pre-ordered on the strength of what I'd seen from the Z1.

The Z2 has surpassed my expectations I have some very good quality print outs of my first few images. I even managed to get an excellent close up shot first time that I'd previously wasted at least 2 films trying to get on my regular SLR. Focus is fast and accurate and the camera is light and very comfortable to hold. Definitely recommended.

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This is the third digital camera I've gotten, to replace an aging 1 Megapixel Sony Mavica with a 16X optical zoom. I am VERY pleased with the results, having taken 1800+ pictures in the past three months with only a few minor glitches.

The pros:

This is the first digital camera I've used that can take a sunset picture equal to any film camera I've ever used.

Very speedy

Awesome zoom.

Good battery lifespan (Using Duracell Rechargable ACCU batteries w/ 1 hour recharger)

Fairly light

The Cons:

The camera has difficulties focusing if you use the zoom out on the water (if you go on a whale watch, don't use the zoom, or ignore the focus warnings whales move much faster than you think!)

A tendency to focus in on the 'wrong' things like a background when you're trying to capture a small thing (such as a bird) in the foreground.

-The battery door is awkward to use especially if you're rushing to change out batteries. Once the batteries are in place and the door is put back, it is solid. The best solution of course is to start out with fresh batteries.

Tips

-I have found that most of the 'jiggle' problems reported go away if you use the eyepiece of course the further the zoom goes out, the harder it is to keep stable. The digital zoom portion of it, like most digital cameras, is not very good, so try not to use it unless there is no other option.

I have gotten a 256 MB SD card for this it can hold 200 images, although if you're taking pictures along the seashore, you can get 300 images.

Keep in mind that this is good for outdoors indoors, a smaller camera with a wide-angle lens does better (I still tote my 2MP Canon Powershot A40 around when I'm our on a 'major' photo shoot to get the wider shots)

If you're looking for a camera with a great zoom I would have to say this is one of the best currently on the market at an affordable price.

TRENDnet SecurView Wireless Pan/Tilt/Zoom Internet Surveillance Camera TV-IP410W (White)

This is a pretty good camera for the price. My requirements were that I was looking for a camera to access remotely to check my home from time to time and to e-mail snapshots based on motion detection.

First, let me list the pros:

1. Initial setup is pretty good. Sets up quickly and is functioning in about 10 minutes.

2. Picture quality is impressive.

3. Camera has a multitude of setup options that allow for some serious fine tuning.

4. Accessing the camera remotely is easy even with dynamic ip addresses.

Now the one and only con:

1. Motion detect e-mail capability is non-existent, unless you're running your own SMTP server.

While the setup went well, I spent roughly a week configuring the camera excatly the way I wanted it to work. Trying different configurations and settings to see what the best combination was. Much of this time was spent trying to configure the motion detect e-mail alerting system to work. After going back and forth with tech support they verified that virtually all e-mail providers require secure authentication which the IP410W is not capable of. So after setting up my own local SMTP server, it's now working just not the way I had envisioned it when I purchase the camera. Thus I had to drop one star and give it only 4 of 5 stars.

Just a warning to anyone contemplating mixing this camera with the older Trendnet cameras (IP-100W or IP-400W). In investigating this, it turns out that the newer cameras use a new "chip", and require different software to monitor the cameras on your PC.

I have two Trendnet cameras, the IP-100W (fixed), and IP-400W (moveable) set up at my house. I wanted to add a third camera, and thought that the IP-410W (newer design) would be a good option.

I verified with tech support at the company, that the new software (SecureView) works only on the new cameras, and the old software (IPview) only works on the old cameras.

They do sell other software that can work for both, but that will cost $300-$400.

Thought others should know.

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This cam is a sort of stripped down model of the Trendnet IP422W.

The IP410 supports only a wired 10/100Mbit Ethernet connection (No WiFi) and doesn't feature audio recording or MPEG4 compression. Additionally there are no IR LEDs so there is no night vision mode as in the IP422 (Both are indoor cams). However it's cheaper and if you're running a wired camera network (which is more reliable than WiFi) this is a better option that the IP422, assuming you don't need the additional features (although I think they should have left in the MPEG4 feature since it's standard in most new IP cams). The capture resolution can be as high as 640x480 up to 30FPS (just like the IP422). See my review of the Trendnet IP422 for additional details.

JAN2012 UPDATE: The IP410/422 is now an older model, see my review of the TRENDnet TV-IP602WN ProView Wireless Pan/Tilt/Zoom Internet Surveillance Camera

FEB2012 UPDATE: If you have a TV-IP410 hardware revision 1.x your camera may have a critical firmware bug allowing live images to be viewed BYPASSING AUTHENTICATION. If you have a TV-IP410 with firmware lower than V1.1.1 build 50 your camera is INSECURE! There is a firmware update on Trendnet's support site to fix the problem (which affects many Trendnet cameras).

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Camera fairly easy to set up and use. The image clarity is not as sharp as I had hoped for.

Two major issues. First, after a couple of weeks issues developed with the camera dropping the wireless signal. After dropping the signal the camera needs to be rebooted. No problem if you are at home with the camera but if you are away and viewing remotely and the camera needs to be rebooted you're out of luck until you return home. After researching the problem I found that this is a common issue experienced by other users.

Secondly, after six weeks, the camera would not capture any image at all.....there was only a pure white screen. Tried rebooting, clean install, clean hardwired install on another computer, replaced cables, etc. Finally, submitted a help ticket to Trendnet.....waited a week, no answer. Submitted another ticket. After another week, still no answer. I'm afraid to send the camera back to Trendnet due to their lack of response so I'm getting ready to pack it up and send it back to Amazon. They can deal with Trendnet.

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I installed the camera in my livingroom as a security device. I tested all the functions including motion detection and automatic emailing and it works without a glitch. I even found how to make it work with Zoneminder.

The only minor issue is that you have to use IE to activate some functions like recording on demand, which don't work in Firefox.

Besides that, great little camera for the price.