Defender SPARTAN1 High Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision CCD Security Camera (Black)

For the price, this camera is really good. And it comes with cable too. The cable has the power in it also, so if you want to extend the run, you have to buy special cable, but enough is included so that's unlikely. The video is pretty good in both day and night. I have a different camera that has better video and an adjustable lens, but I paid almost 4 times as much. Can't go wrong at this price.

Lorex LW2311 Digital Wireless Video Recording Solution

First, I actually own a small IT/Telecom company in northwest Arkansas, and install much more expensive systems for customers. These systems are way more complicated to set up, and usually require some training to be able to use.

This setup is actually as good as, if not better than some of those systems. It's also a fraction of the price of any of them. Good resolution, good frame rate, and VERY easy to setup and use. I actually ran power through my attic so I could mount this on the edge of my roof where I have a blind spot of the house (no windows or way to see out) and it still only took a couple hours to install and have up and running. Comes with a 2GB SD card which isn't really big enough, but an 8-16GB (which you can buy fairly cheap) is plenty. I've gotten over 3 days of motion detect recording onto 11GB, and that's with this camera being triggered by traffic on a semi-busy street. Also, to answer a few questions I've seen, and to elaborate on a few other reviews I've seen. I have this thing mounted on the side of my roof with nothing over it. As I said, I live in Arkansas, so it's been rained on, blown by strong wind, and went from sitting in 100+ degree weather this summer, to sitting in below freezing weather this winter, and the only thing I've had to do to it since I put it up was take a broom and wipe cobwebs and stuff off of the front of it now and then. It's been on and functioning since I bought it in May, it never gets turned off.

Here is a tip though. If you intend to set this up using a TV for the monitor, and an SD card to record, my review ends here.

If you want to get more out of this system search for iSpy software. It's free but with a subscription you get more features. I use the free version with this system, and have the receiver hooked up to a PC. The iSpy software allows you to record to your hard drive on your PC instead of having to use an SD card. It takes snapshots and provides much better motion detect recording than otherwise, since you can select actual areas in the camera's view that you want to motion detect while leaving others not to be worried about. Rather than using Skype which is actually kind of a pain, you can use iSpy on your own network to view from any PC in it, or you can purchase a subscription and view your cameras live from anywhere, even your smartphone, using a browser. I highly recommend checking out iSpy for any surveillance system since, from my experience, the software that comes with them is usually terrible. I've used iSpy for a while now even with other systems and always been a fan. There's a lot of other software out there too that's free, but I can't vouch for any of it. So for those of you who are looking at this system thinking it won't function as well as a more expensive DVR setup, there's how.

We had an issue with a pre-teen neighbor boy liking to destroy property for no apparent reason, so we looked into getting security cameras. I didn't know they were this affordable. It was important that there was a storage option included as we really didn't have a DVR or anything we could hook up to it. The picture is okay, it's not awesome but I didn't expect awesome at this price. The night vision is good, you can still see quite well. I like that it has a motion-save function so it doesn't fill up the SD card super quick.

Also, an important note... it says its meant for outdoors, which is what we wanted but when you open it up it says it can't be put in direct rain. Um.. isn't that what outdoors means? We put it under our overhang, hopefully that will suffice, we've only had it up about a week so far. I figure if you advertise something to be an outdoor product, one should expect for it to come in contact with direct rain.

If you need something small just to keep an eye out, this does the job. Don't expect it to be crystal clear, though.

**UPDATE AFTER USING IT FOR 4 MONTHS**

It's still working quite well! The motion sensor seems a little finicky, especially at night. It doesn't catch ALL motion ALL the time, but I'd say it catches it about 80% of the time. I think it's the way it's pointed or something... honestly, haven't investigated it thoroughly enough to determine the cause there. Also, a note about the weatherproof/no direct rain issue... it works just fine under our overhang, even in the rain/snow.. so I guess that means it's out of direct rain. :)

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Samll and light, easy setup, strong signal through the walls. But really not designed for outdoors for the following reasons:

1. Not wide-angle lens. I ended up monitoring a samll spot on my drive way.

2. It does not really sense movement (meaning it does not compare frames) and rely on the IR sensor, I have to get really close to the camera to trigger recording.

3. Because the short range (unless it's a larger object) and narrow field of view, by the time it starts recording, there's very little to be captured anymore.

4. The IR sensor does not seems to be pointing at the same area the camera is pointing to, but it's not adjustable (it's triggered by cars going by, which is not seen by the camera).

5. It only captures "after" the trigger point, unlike the Logitech 700e that I also installed, which record 5 seconds before the trigger and 5 seconds after the trigger. (If you wonder, this can be done by continuously retaining the last 5 seconds of video, if there's a trigger, this "history" becomes part of the recording).

These shortcomings is not a problem if I only do continuous recording or remote viewing. In this case, my only complaint is the picture quality on the TV. 640x480 video should look better than what I see.

Read Best Reviews of Lorex LW2311 Digital Wireless Video Recording Solution Here

I just received this system and after reviewing the manual and inspecting the equipment I've decided to return it. NOTE: I did not install it or plug it into power.

It came nicely packaged and looks like it would be a good purchase for a small business with one room to observe or for installation on a front porch.

I will return it for several reasons:

1. It is designed primarily to be used with a television monitor as a stand-alone system. There IS a way to hook it up to your computer via a supplied USB cable, but you need to use Skype & their supplied software. After reviewing the instructions, I decided the system is too restrictive. Another reviewer suggested using iSpy software instead of the supplied software to increase its capabilities, which may work for you. I researched the iSpy service and it is $8/month for full remote access. I decided I did not have the time to investigate that option any further.

2. The camera appears to have a built in microphone AND speaker, but there are no instructions on how to use a speaker. A diagram in the manual labels a speaker on the camera but there are no inputs for a microphone on the base. The manual even states "speaker for two way audio" but there are no other references to that in the entire manual. I don't have the time to figure out if it actually has that capability or not.

3. The manual states that motion activated recording will only work within 21 feet of the camera. I need a camera that will be activated by motion further away. This is the main reason I am returning it.

If this last limitation were clearly stated in the "item description" I would not have purchased it. Thus, 2 stars for having to purchase it to determine its capabilities and for time therein wasted.

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Honestly, I should have known better -these systems are extremely complex -to expect anything but abysmal performance from this product at a cost of $170 US D.

To make things worse, Lorex has chosen to build their products in China. The Chinese have the capability of making a quality product but the company in charge of manufacturing the item has to closely ride herd on their engineering and quality control down to the sub-component level or the customer ends up getting a piece of garbage like the Lorex LW 2311.

The images produced are very small, picture quality is atrocious, objects at virtually any distance are so blurry that positive identification of a particular individual, for example, would not be possible. The motion detection range (20 feet at best, despite their claim) is so limited it is useless. I had the unit aimed at our elevated back deck and walked directly next to the deck on the grass within the camera view but since my head was about a foot further away from the deck surface, the motion detection did not trigger even with the sensitivity set to 90%. Set any higher sensitivity, which does not necessarily increase the range, and the unit will start recording if a gnat flies by. I am not an entomologist.

Add all this to the fact the unit looks cheap and flimsy and the receiver starting acting erratically. When I powered the receiver on it would sometimes go through its diagnostics and sometimes not it would sometimes recognize the camera and sometimes not. My experience is when a complex product has intermittent problems when brand new, it's only down hill rapidly from there you won't be waiting long.

The final straw was the receiver would not respond to either the remote control OR the input buttons directly on the receiver itself. I called Lorex tech support who put me in an electronic queue and then an Indian gentleman, Marish, called me back about an hour later only to explain HE was not tech support, his job was only to ask what the issue was. Tech support would call me back. That was 48 hours ago and no call.

Bottom line, I deemed the product defective and I'm returning it for a refund what a huge waste of time: buying, setting up, testing, trouble shooting and now... returning. Anyway, it's always a craps shoot when buying electronics that you may get a bad sample but as I stated earlier the likelihood goes way, way up with Chinese products that are not stringently engineered and manufactured.

The harsh reality is in order to get a good, reliable system capable of reasonably good quality images; A. it will not be wireless and B. you will have to spend in the order of $ 5-600.00 or more to get one.

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Fujifilm FinePix XP60 16 MP Digital Camera with 2.7-Inch LCD (Yellow)

It's a great time to be in the market for underwater cameras. Because so many people have good cell phone cameras, camera manufacturers have had to step up their game and offer point-and-shoots with more functionality than the phones that everybody already has in their pockets. Underwater/shock-proof/dust-proof/freeze-proof cameras are for those times when we're having fun in environments that would typically ruin a regular camera or phone.

Here's what I like about this camera in general:

1. You can take it in the pool. Last summer, some of my best shots were of my kids underwater in our swimming pool. We have so many great memories of our pool, but until we got an underwater camera, we didn't have these captured. Another thing that we've really enjoyed is the ability to take video underwater. For fun, I get in the pool, have the kids dive in and then swim up to me while I video the whole thing. There's something really amazing about starting a video above the water with all the sound and water reflections and then going under when they break through the water and hear the muted underwater sounds as they swim up to me. More importantly, the smiles on their faces are bigger/more authentic than when we're just standing in the back yard and I ask them to smile.

2. You can bring it to the beach and just throw it in the sand. When my kids are at the beach, we like to build huge sand castles. In the past I have brought my non-sandproof camera and spent most of the time a)protecting the camera from flying sand; and b)getting angry with my kids for flinging the sand in the direction of the camera. Now, I actually get in the line-of-fire as they're digging because the flying sand in the foreground makes for some great pictures.

To sum it up, the best camera for the job is always the one you have with you. If you're scared your camera is going to get wet, sandy, or freeze, you'll leave it at home where it won't do you any good. With this Fujifilm FinePix XP60, you'll have *no worries*

---

As far as this type of rugged camera goes, I have owned Canons, Nikons, and Olymupus' offerings. Currently, my favorite of all is the Olympus TG-1iHS 12 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (you can see my review there as well) (*also note there is also a new model for this, which is here: Olympus Stylus TG-2 iHS Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (Red))

This Fuji proudly sits in second place in my opinion. That being said, it is also nearly $200 less than my beloved Olympus, so it is definitely a great value.

Here's some specifics:

The camera is built well. It's sturdy and has a solid feel. BUT, the biggest selling point for it's build-quality may be it's biggest problem for some: it's pretty small like the size of two iPhones pressed together. This is great because you can just throw it in your pocket or purse and it won't take up much room. The problem this presents is that the buttons on it are pretty small, which will mean you might press the wrong buttons once in a while, especially when using it underwater. I'm an average size guy and it didn't offer me too much trouble, but if you're larger-than-average, you might want to look elsewhere.

The photo quality is great. The pictures look good in and out of the water. Because I only use it for messy, sandy, watery situations, I can't report on how good it does indoors or in extreme low-light situations.

There are a ton of features, and many of them are useful. In fact, it shares many of the features with the Fujifilm X20 Silver 12 Digital Camera with 2.8-Inch LCD (Silver). If you check my review there, you'll see that I love:

SR is an advance auto mode that determines the best settings based on the scene. It even shows its predictions, so you can see if it is accurately assessing the situation. From my experience, it's startlingly accurate. It chooses from: landscape, night, tripod, beach, sunset, snow, sky, greenery, and sky & greenery. Having these settings on a camera is old news, but having the camera predict the scene itself and do so with great accuracy is a pretty exciting advancement.

Also, there is a NATURAL setting which I love. What it does is takes one picture with flash and one without continuously and then let's you decide later which worked best in the situtation. Being a pro photographer, I am usually pretty good at choosing, but this is really helpful to my wife. Let me give you an example: If you're taking pictures in a darkened room of your child blowing out their birthday candles, your camera is going to choose flash to lighten things up. The problem with this is that it kills all the beautiful candle light. Using the natural-mode on the camera will give you both. It's actually a great learning tool.

As far as video quality goes, this camera does a great job with that as well. Don't expect it to look like and HD movie you've rented from Nexflix, but you can expect it to capture great detail that your phone just can't see.

--

In conclusion, I think this is an excellent choice for a rugged underwater camera. Buying this (or another model) to capture the fun you have this summer is a no-brainer. The pictures you get will be priceless before you know it.

...If you found this review helpful, let me know! If there are any questions you'd like answered, I'll do my best to help. Have fun!

I have a problem. I buy cameras like every year to every other year. I do have valid reasons for upgrading. Trying to find the perfect camera for the use. For me, this is my cruising camera. I needed something that can go deeper. That I can use on a boss excursions (think a scooter and sub combined), snorkling, and free diving while under water. I need an underwater camera that can take great underwater pictures and video and not have it look all green or blurry. I needed something with an optical zoom rather than digital only. I got this little baby on ebay for $140 with case, underwater strap, and a 8gb sd card. For the price I paid it is worth it. This camera is neat, but there are some minor flaws as well as pluses. I still think you can do better on underwater cameras, but even the nikon aw100 that is similar priced has nearly the same flaws. I think it has more to do with limitations with it being an underwater camera and the glass they use.

This camera is waterproof. It goes down to 20 feet. Although their are cameras that go deeper, why spend $300 on one. Even the ones that go 30-36 feet are not universal. I almost bought one since I like to scuba dive, but that's rare and only on select cruises since I am not certified. Scuba diving you will go 30-60 feet underwater with a discover class. If you go deeper than 30 feet you risk your camera. Why get a $300 camera when it may not even work for basic scuba diving. I know the depth varies on where you go, but it helped know that the $300 still may not be able to go that deep for scuba. Boss you go down about 12 feet and this camera can easily do that. It is about 8 feet to the top of the helmet. I haven't tested this camera in deep water. Just the bath tub. It stayed sealed and the pictures were pretty good for underwater, but that's not a great test. I know from the videos on youtube with the xp50 the underwater pictures and video are superb. They rank right next to $300 underwater cameras. For me, this is an underwater and on water use camera only.

This camera has some great pictures modes like 3d, panorama, selective color, underwater, landscape, etc. The auto in general is great, but you will need to go to picture mode underwater for the best under water pics. I talked with fuji about that since I was going to try staying in auto on trips.

One thing I like about this camera is like my slr, you can snap pictures while recording video. Great for family functions. Just know you will hear clicks on the video from the shutter.

I have a caribbean cruise coming in March. I wanted to use this on the trip exclusively since most of the excursions are on or around water. Problem is, the picture quality is somewhat lacking. Not awful. When you zoom in on the pictures they get fuzzy really quick. The picture quality zoomed in is the worst I've seen on any of my recent cameras in the past 5 years. The good news is this is a 16mp camera so unless you are making a movie size poster, when will stretch it past 100%? I messed with settings and if you lower the picture quality to 12mp or 14mp the picture quality greatly improves. You still get big pictures, but zooming in they look better by shrinking them slightly. I guess the sensor they used is not ready for prime time. Or better yet, maybe a firmware update will fix it. Within the settings you want to change your pictures to "fine" instead of the default standard. It gives a little more detail. Because of the picture quality, I'm going to use my budget pocket point and shoot. That way my slr is safe on the waves and only break out the xp60 for in the water pictures. Also, because of the picture quality issue, make sure you zoom in while taking pictures rather than trying to edit them on your computer. That way you get the best pictures. I'm not saying the pictures are that bad. Without being resized they look great. Let's say you want an 8x10. That is shrinking the image by a good half. When you shrink down the image while printing you get just as good if not better picture quality. For most people that's great. Just if you don't plan ahead on what you will print and use something like photoshop to zoom in you start to see a bit a blurring at around 120%. Unless you use photoshop or need to blow up a small 1/8th chuck of your photo you will never have a problem. This camera doesn't do great in low light. It loses a lot of detail. Avoid using at night in the house or when there's not a lot of light in the room. Outdoors it is great though.

This is a really snappy camera and fun to use. Underwater this camera is the bomb. I love how the latch clicks into place and you should be sealed against water. Just watch the strap doesn't keep the door unlocked. Be careful handing this to others while in water. That latch looks like a camera knob and the last thing you want is someone popping out your battery under water and frying the camera. The latch has to be turned and the middle button pushed in to unlock it, so it does make it harder to accidently open the camera. For kids, this is a great and versatile camera. However, if you are cruising you are better off using a point and shoot as much as you can and using this camera where it is risky like around water. Even a nice underwater camera like from Nikon has image quality issues when zoomed in. I think it has a lot to do with the glass they use to protect the lenses. For 95% of the people out there you won't blow up the images before you print. With it being able to handle 16mp or even with my recommended 14mp to address picture quality issues you have more than enough mp to print what you need. In the end this is the best budget underwater camera I've found. Awesome snorkeling pictures and video. Land pictures are very good, but know you are limited in zoom.

Personally, I would only recommend this camera for kids that need a camera that can take a beating or using this around extreme outdoors. For general indoor and sight seeing by land you want to keep your existing camera that probably has better zoom, better in low light, and hopefully better picture quality when blown up on the computer.

Buy Fujifilm FinePix XP60 16 MP Digital Camera with 2.7-Inch LCD (Yellow) Now

PROS:

I went diving in Florida up to 20 feet underwater and it did stayed dry thanks to the awesome dial that you have to turn to close the door tightly.

Good underwater photos

9 out of 10 high def videos played back fine on my pc.

The floating strap

I was not afraid to bring it with me to the beach in sand and saltwater.

Amazing 5X optical zoom in a little camera, although when I was underwater, taking shots at 5X zoom was very difficult to get the subject in the screen so I mostly shot zoomed out. The Amazing 5X optical zoom was better used for when I was standing on the beach and shooting.

CONS:

Video is saved in Quicktime .MOV format so when I tried to stream it from my pc with TVersity software to my Microsoft XBOX, it would not play.

When I played the video on my pc, one of the 10 videos played back in slow motion even though I did not do that.

Kind of weird that both photos and movies are saved in the photo folder on the memory card instead of separate folders (photo and video) like my SONY and PANASONIC cameras.

SUMMARY:

I would prefer the videos in AVCHD format like my SONY and PANSONIC cameras. In the meantime, to stream from my pc using TVersity software, I'll have to convert Quicktime to AVCHD format using Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD.

6/25 update: I installed a different codec for TVersity and now the Quicktime format plays (but it looks horrible like the days of standard analog tv) but my other zillion movies in AVCHD format stopped working. I guess I have to keep searching for a codec that plays all formats.

Read Best Reviews of Fujifilm FinePix XP60 16 MP Digital Camera with 2.7-Inch LCD (Yellow) Here

This is a nice camera. It is durable, waterproof to shallow depths, and takes excellent photos.

The photos are excellent, particularly with the image stabilization. Unlike so many others, you can actually zoom in on a subject without camera shake ruining most of the photos. The burst mode works well too, though it takes a while to save afterward. The panaramic option in burst is really cool, allowing you to easily take panaramic shots by sweeping accross a landscape while in burst mode.

The video quality is surprisingly excellent as well, particularly the sound. This camera could easily replace a mid-level camcorder for most uses.

There is an option to sysc the camera to directly upload to your preferred social media, though I admit not trying this out as I have no desire to do upload photos that way.

The camera is waterproof to 20 feet, which would be great for swimming pools and basic snorkeling, though I wouldnt recommend for SCUBA as that depth is too easily passed. I have tested this in the pool and the river, it takes great photos and stays completely waterproof.

Fujifilm claims the camera is shockproof to 5 feet, though I did not feel compelled to drop it from 5 feet to test this. Ill take their word on it and report back if my kids ever knock it off the counter or something.

Overall, this is an amazing camera for the price. To top it off, it even comes with a "real" memory card so you dont have to immediately run out and buy a bigger one.

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So far this camera is taking great pictures and is fairly simple to operate. Pictures are clear and full of color.

Haven't put it to the water test yet but will be soon. With the 32GB memory card it's more than fast enough to take the action shots we wanted. So Far the battery life is pretty good. It will last all day on for pictures. Haven't tested battery life on videos yet.

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Canon PowerShot SX500 IS Digital Camera (Black) with 32GB Card + Battery + Case + Flex Tripod + Acc

Excelente producto y de buena calidad. el vendedor es muy responsable se los recomiendo. es confiable y atento con sus clientes. el kit llego completo con todos sus accesorios. es bastante util.

BuyCheapCables (10 Feet) Mini DisplayPort (Male) to HDMI (Male) 10'

I had other DP to HDMI cables that were bigger on the DP end so I couldn't use 2 cables on my video card at the same time.

These cable must have the converter on the HDMI end so I was able to use 2 of these on my card.

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Ikan Corporation 7-Inch HDMI LCD Monitor with Loop Out and Tally (VK7-P)

I am admittedly not an expert on field monitors but I can say with a fair degree of certainty that I am happy with this purchase. Pulling critical focus is still going to continue to be a challenge due to the size of this monitor and the lower resolution feed coming off my Canon 5DMKll but this unit does help and it does deliver as promised. If you can afford to spend about twice the amount you might consider the VX9 but for my purposes this will do for now.

With false color exposure assistance, DSLR scaling and monochrome peaking this beats the heck out of trying to get good video using the 3" camera monitor, even with Magic Lantern installed.

Panasonic VDR-D200 DVD Camcorder with 30x Optical Zoom

This camcorder is only good for outdoor recording. In indoor recording or recording in little bit low light, picture quality is very bad. I tried to record in my living room where I have two 100 watt bulbs but recorded picture was very blurred. In outdoor recording in a sunny day, picture quality is quite good with sharp colors. Zoom works well.

I purchased this camcorder with the express intention of capturing every single football game that my sons' have played. This fulfilled that, what sold me on this particular model was the 30x optical zoom and the fact that it recorded directly to dvd and could be played back on a regular dvd player.

The only drawback to this system was the editing. The software is very limited, and if you use anything but a dvdram disc you cannot use this editing software, nor can you use any outside software to edit the movies to a greater degree as most software does not support the VRO format most dvd camcorders record in.

So in short if you are merely looking for a camcorder to record moments directly to dvd and have no aspirations of doing alot of editing, clipping and splicing different scenes together than this is a suitable camcorder, by far one of the best deals for a dvd camcorder as far as ability picture and price. But if you are looking for a device that lets you have more options for editing afterwards I suggest looking at the true digital camcorders available that have their own hard drives as those record in formats that are compatible with the editing software that is on the market right now.

Currently I am still doing my homework trying to decide which digital camera would be the best for me to use, but this was a viable camera to use for their games and came in handy on other occasions as well.

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So far I am quite satisfied with the camera's performance. I have taken many still shots with satisfactory results. Video footage of sporting events with very good results. Also I found it pretty easy to transfer videos to my PC.

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We have used this for a few years. It is a good quality camera and does well filming my daughter and other family. The editing software that comes with it is low end. The porcess needed to get it on the PC is time consuming and a pain. The video quality is lowered when put on the PC for editing. I ended up using an Adobe editor that is great but as stated above editing on a PC lowers the quailty in the transfer. Happy with the camera not happy with output options.

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The product was in very good condition, it work properly, take still picture, came with 2 spare bateries, and so on. Also it came with a black case.

Panasonic PV-GS36 MiniDV Digital Camcorder 2.5" LCD, 30x Optical & 1000x Digital Zoom

I was looking for a basic mini dv camcorder to learn editing and video techniques. Picture quality was certainly important but, having strong photographic knowledge, also wanted something that would allow manual control. That limited the search quite a bit, especially in the single CCD class. The Panasonics in general seem to be well reviewed and offer a good ratio of features to cost.

I've had the camcorder for one week but have explored it quite a bit. In short, it easily meets if not exceeds my expectation. Video quality is very nice. The 30X optical zoom is impressive, but demands a tripod when zooming out in the higher range of the zoom. Color accuracy is very good, assuming a proper white balance. The LCD panel can be rotated which is ecpecially nice when using the camcorder to transfer video to a computer. Battery life is very good, with some power saving features that can be enabled optionally. Unlike most competing models, this camcorder has a more horizontal orientation which makes it very ergonomic to use. Most operations can be carried out with one hand. It is compact and easy to handle, even without the digital stabilizer which it also has. There is even a 16:9 mode that appears to be true widescreen, not just letterboxed 4:3 mode.

For its very reasonable cost, it holds its own very nicely and offers very nice performance. The only feature missing that would be nice is a mic input, but almost none of the entry level camcorders offer this. Other than that, it is very fuill featured and is bettered in this regard only when stepping into the prosumer class. To reach the next level of video performance, the logical step would be to go to Panasonic's 3 CCD models as opposed to a competing Canon or Sony single chip model.

Be aware that the still capability, which I have yet to try, is not meant to replace a stand alone digital camera. The resolution is only VGA 640x480 which is where digital cameras were about 10 years ago. The intent of including this feature on this camcorder is as a convenience. Such images could be acceptable for web posting, but don't expect true digital camera performance here. That's not what this camcorder is for.

This camcorder is a very good model for someone looking to get involved with digital video at a nominal cost. The video quality and feature set are excellent. Naturally, in this camcorder class there are some limitations relative to professional level usage, but with a good understanding of photography and video technique, this can be a surprisingly capable camera.

I'm a video professional and I love my Panasonic PV-GS36. I've used tons of high end $10k+ cameras and I know a good little camcorder when I see one. This summer I got married in Thailand and didn't want to take a ton of video stuff, just a nice little camcorder that wouldn't breakdown on my big day. This one came through with flying colors.

I did weeks of research and this is the one that had the best value for the money.

Not only are the controls easy to operate and very intuitive but this little baby withstood the extreme heat and even more extreme humidity of Thailand.

The lens goes nice and wide for small areas where you have to get very close to the subject and still be in focus (depth of field). I'd stay away from the digital zoom, they're not very good on any of the palm/camcorders.

Also none of the small camcorders are particularly good in low light.

What do you expect for a few hundred dollars?

That said, this one is nice and small, is easy to operate and is tough in rough conditions. I'm very happy I bought this camcorder.

Buy Panasonic PV-GS36 MiniDV Digital Camcorder 2.5" LCD, 30x Optical & 1000x Digital Zoom Now

I've been using camcorders professionally and recreationally since 1986, and this little camcorder is the best deal out there period.

DV technology is proven, been around for a long time, if you want a reliable, simple to operate, and very GOOD camcorder, look no further. Picture quality is excellent, one of Panasonic's strong points, color accuracy very good, and autofocus laser accurate.

The joystick driven menu is very simple to use, most features you'll need are readily available without it's use, and it operates intuitively.

Again, this is an entry level camcorder, that means it's best used in fully auto mode, point and shoot, for taping you kids, vacations, etc. That being said, you can still get very creative once you have downloaded the clips to you computer for editing.

Another review mentions firewire, saying it wont work on a PC. I'm surprised this user can actually surf the web. All you need to do is connect the firewire cable to the camcorder, windows finds it, install whatever drivers it needs (as with any other peripheral), and away you go.

I purchased mine at Costco, they have excellent policies, if you're not satisfied with the product, return it.

I recommend this product to all my friends and family and for the average user, who wants a simple, good product.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic PV-GS36 MiniDV Digital Camcorder 2.5" LCD, 30x Optical & 1000x Digital Zoom Here

My wife and I love to travel & our favorite place to go and relax is Walt Disney World. One of the things we love to do there is take our cameras and run around looking like the dopey tourists we are.

My wife focuses solely on still photography, I do stills and video. In my youth I played around with Super 8 film cameras, later graduated to a VHS camcorder, then a Hitachi 8mm camcorder, then for years used my favorite camcorders: the Sony Digital 8 series. I have had 4 of them, going all the way up to the TRV-720 with its awesome 4" LCD screen a really nice camera. The problem I ran into though was not with the cameras per say, but my arm. I get a bit obsessive with videotaping; like I never stop I have to film everything every minute of every show, etc. I could easily fill 40 hours of video on a just a short vacation. You know that you spend too much time with your eye stuck to the view finder when after the vacation is over you are still trying to zoom things in with your bare eye. Steve Austin I aint.

Anyway, from where I worked I developed a nasty case of tendinitis in my elbow; the consequence being that I could no longer comfortably hold the heavier cameras up for a long period of time. Add to this the fact that I looked like a pack mule schlepping around with the camera, its bag, and a ample supply of tapes and accessories for the day and you can understand why I had to find a smaller camera.

I read decent things about the Panasonics, Costco carried this one, so I decided to give it a try.

No, it is not as versatile as my old D8's, but it is a nice little camera. I really like the small footprint; I can quickly tuck it into my fanny packs large front pocket. Which sure beats having the heavier D8 hanging from my neck. The tapes are nice and small, and you can get a extended life battery for it as well.

In some places I had read some folks angst about using the joystick to maneuver through the menus; really, it is not that difficult at all. I would like a larger LCD, but only because it just makes viewing the videos more pleasant, being 'old school' I prefer to use the viewfinder when filming. Which brings me to the one gripe I have the viewfinder does not extend out enough to compensate for the extra depth of the higher capacity battery's.

As many have said before me ignore the digital zoom; useless is overstating its usefulness. On the other hand the 30x optical zoom works very well; of course unless you have the camera supported on a tripod or such your viewers are going to get sea sick watching your masterpiece when you have it zoomed all the way in to some distant object. Some in other places had stated that the zoom works too fast. Nonsense, with gentile pressure you can get nice smooth zooms in and out.

The camera also has a nice quick start function which allows you to leave the power switch in the ON position and the camera will quickly turn on and shut off when you either open and close the LCD screen or extend the viewfinder. Note though that the camera is still using a minimal amount of power in this mode when it is off so you might not want to use it with a short capacity battery.

If, like us, you like taking a gazillion still photos as well, get a nice camera dedicated to that purpose (the Canon PowerShot SD950IS 12.1MP is a nice one). This camera will take stills, but they are really only good for quick shots you want to email or post on facebook, not high resolution photography. A nice feature is that the pics can be stored on SD card so it is easy to swap the card out of the camera and into a reader for quick uploads.

As far as I know there is not any small camera in this class that has great low light abilities, it could be better, but it is not terrible.

I couple of accessories you might want to get are a wide angle lens and a filter kit. The lens will help when filming shows, like those at WDW, which cover a wide area, it will bring so much more into view without having to pan right and left or up and down constantly. The filters will help clear up or enhance you images. The thread size on the lens for these accessories is 30.5mm. If you need to you can get a step ring to make a larger accessory fit this small size.

Most folks are not as anal about their filming as I am and I still like this camera; you can have a lot of fun with it as well.

Give yourself ample time to familiarize yourself with its functions before your trip and you will have some great memories to cherish.

If you are a parent with a small child you owe it to yourself and your children to get a camcorder to archive all the wonderful things you do together; the days that pass will never come back and this is a nice little camera to capture them with.

K

Want Panasonic PV-GS36 MiniDV Digital Camcorder 2.5" LCD, 30x Optical & 1000x Digital Zoom Discount?

Beware of the warranty. Ours had a defect that manifested under certain conditions. However, the labor warranty expires after 3 months so they wanted $200 plus 2-way shipping to repair their defect! We barely had the thing out of the box at 3 months.

Canon EOS M 18.0 MP Compact Systems Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-M18-55mm IS STM Lens

I've been weighing the mirrorless option heavy and finally made the plunge to keep it in the Canon family. I Received this camera and have been playing with it and enjoying it for it's purpose. Let me state this, I own a Canon 5D Mark III as well, so I can only speak on my intentions and reasoning for wanting the Eos-M. I had no intentions of buying this camera as a back up body, nor would this be the camera I would recommend for others who are in the market for one. However, image quality wise, it could be. If you've made the Canon investment in gear, and could use something a little more light weight, sort of pocket friendly, and portable that has the capability to be used with your other canon gear.. It's a no brainer. This camera to me is the Hobbyist/enthusiast Canon gear owners good, to best friend.

The Good: I love the image quality, size, and build quality of the camera and even the 22mm itself is a much better build then expected. It doesn't feel cheap. The touchscreen is pretty good and responsive, if you don't mind a few prints on the screen trying to assist the focusing. Also I love the relief of not carrying my battery gripped 5D around with me for all of the smallest things, and missing something worth capturing because of it. This camera has been a blast, and I've worn it around my neck on several occasions and even the people with me haven't noticed.

The Bad: Slow maneuvering around the menus, as there are limited physical buttons and no turn dial (But this may get faster as you get use to the touchscreen). No built in flash (When this camera is said to target those coming from point and shoot cameras), No view finder (But after a couple of shots.. I wasn't missing it), And no direct lens mount Ef-s or EF (and mainly this is because of the outrageous price for the adapter). But all of this is tolerable... Sort of. I wont complain about the auto focus speed as to me, it's really not that bad. I have seen faster, and even faster focus speeds on this camera alone. But then again, I use a 85mm 1.2L quite a bit on my Mark III and that lens can almost make any focus speed seem fast.

I did purchased the 16GB Eye-Fi card and use it to transfer images straight to my cellphone for quick editing if needed, and uploading to any social network services I use. I have no idea why it did not cross someones mind at Canon, to include wifi and/or Gps, when I've have heard time and time again about one of the excuses for not having a built in EVF was that this camera should attract those who are familiar with taking cellphone images.

In the end, a built in Viewfinder, wifi, gps, flash and a cheaper if not free lens adapter would have been nice. But even so, I am happy with my purchase, and I've read enough to understand its purpose or my reasoning for wanting one, and have actually been more impressed then what I've originally expected. I do not think anyone would be in their right mind to purchase this camera for sports photography, and if you've taking pictures with almost any modern smart phone today, the focus speed may never be a issue to you. If you already own or are familiar with a Canon DSLR, this camera will feel right at home with the options and setup. And if this is a new world to you, you might want to read the manual, or watch a video to get yourself familiar first. Great buy for me!!!

I really really really really really wanted to love this camera.

**UPDATE**

I am a professional. When I saw the EOS M and I was excited that it's a small portable multi-use camera that I could use as a carry-around as well as for work as a back-up camera using the lens coupler. The perfect addition to a mobile rig, the EOS M would be great as a second camera for shooting interviews when attached to my lenses.

When I bought it and held it, I was even more excited. It's built EXTREMELY well, feels solid, great finish. It's a camera I really like to touch.

Once I turned it on, this was the first Canon that didn't quite feel like a Canon. The interface felt rough. Just finding how to set it in manual focus mode required reading the user's manual (and multiple menu pages as mentioned by other reviewers). The LCD touch-screen interface and lack of physical dials (especially for AF/M focusing) makes it more difficult to add an LCD loupe to the camera which would be amazing.

Snapped a couple of photos and they looked beautiful (Hey, the 3-year old 7D sensor is still magnificent) and the lens looked sharp with beautiful bokeh. Color was well rendered.

But what's this... Brrrrzzzzzzzz..... YUP. I can clearly and loudly hear the autofocus motor while shooting a movie, especially during quiet scenes. Yeah ok, you're supposed to use manual focus for movies. Agreed. But not when the camera specs claim it has continuos focus for movies. The motor is LOUD. This is a strange first entry by canon. I REALLY WANT TO LIKE IT.... Not happy face. Not sad face. More a perplexed face. After flipping through the manual I saw a mention about this. Canon suggests using an external mic rather than the built-in stereo mics.

I loved seeing photos of a 70-200mm lens attached to this thing. Then I thought... wait, I can't press this camera against my face to balance its weight. Holding that big lens 6 inches away from my face to shoot would set my whole center of gravity off. I really do miss having a viewfinder so I can stabilize the camera.

Main disappointment was at night, casually shooting in a restaurant, where the focusing speed was beyond unacceptable. A full 3-4 seconds of focus hunting, WITH focus assist on, before it would fire the shutter. On my second night of ownership, I left the camera at home and that's a pretty bad sign as I love really diving into new gear. The terrible low light focus of the Fuji X100 seemed acceptable compared to the EOS M. Back when I got the X100, I loved using it so much I practically went to bed with it. As much as I hate to admit it, the EOS M felt like it fired more slowly than my S100, even during the day. That shouldn't be so. Not at $800.

Then... $70 for a tiny battery? $200 for the coupler? These are Pro prices... without Pro performance. Me: perplexed face.

I ended up returning the camera. Some of these issues may be fixed with a firmware update, others will need Canon to really study their competition.

A bit bummedmy first real disappointment in a Canon product.

Buy Canon EOS M 18.0 MP Compact Systems Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-M18-55mm IS STM Lens Now

I picked this camera up on my last trip to Japan 3 days after it came out there. In Japan they only sold a kitchen sink bundle for the first few weeks which included the body, 22m lens, 18-55m lens, EF Lens adapter and the Speedlite 90EX flash.

This camera takes fantastic pictures! But there are two shortcomings that are incredibly annoying. First of all the camera takes a good second (or more) to focus for a camera this expensive this is almost unacceptable. My Canon G11 was focusing faster... Second there is a (beautiful) touch screen on the back of the camera. This touchscreen can also be used as a shutter as in: touch the touchscreen to take a picture. Now the product manager/developer who decided it was a good idea to put the control to enable/disable the touch shutter onto the touchscreen needs to be fired. When I walked around various Japanese cities with the camera around my neck it happened with regularity that the camera would bump up against my body, turn the touch shutter on and then continue to take pictures every time it bumped against my body. SERIOUSLY ANNOYING with no way to disable. I really hope there will be a firmware update to fix this (there is a menu setting to enable/disable the touch screen shutter I have no idea why the additional control on the screen itself).

When doing post processing of my photos I did notice that I had quite a few of them with the focus slightly off. Guess the automatic metering didn't always pick the right spot to focus on but then again I could have easily fixed that by using spot metering.

Now various other reviews (e.g. on Engadget) mentioned the missing mode dial compared to DSLRs or even G-series cameras. To be honest I haven't missed it that much during two weeks of intense shooting.

Also I haven't scratched the surface on what this camera can actually do but I did find that for taking HDR pictures the built-in mode only really works for static scenes. With moving objects the camera can't really build a great HDR so if there are people in a scene it's definitely better to process manually on the computer.

There really isn't much to say about the two lenses or the flash that came with the camera they do the trick. And I have no EF lenses to try the converter with.

Added 2013/05/08:

I just returned from another trip to Asia and after this trip I would no longer recommend this camera. It simply doesn't focus fast enough to capture things quickly e.g. when driving in a car and trying to take photos of the outside. Also I can't tell you how often my wife (or anyone else) ended up in my frame because it took more than 1 second to focus and take the shot. I know that's more "snapshot" photography but nevertheless I'd like to have that option.

Added 2013/06/27

Canon just released a firmware update 2.02 that claims to increase focusing times 2x 3x in OneShot AF mode. I just applied it and within the room I'm in it seems to do what it says. Now I'll have to test the new firmware in the wild to see if it makes this camera more suited to my style of photography.

Read Best Reviews of Canon EOS M 18.0 MP Compact Systems Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-M18-55mm IS STM Lens Here

Here are my two cents on the EOS M + 22mm f/2 STM kit lens. I'll point out that I'm a semi-pro, and I bought this camera as a more casual/portable alternative to my 5D Mark III and heavier L glass.

The main thing I will say about the EOS M is that it's just plain fun. It's portable, it takes great pictures, and has all the pro features I need to give me the confidence that, in a bind, I could leave my big camera at home and come back with perfectly usable shots. Plus, there's just something liberating about using a more casual camera...I love my 5D III, but I seem to set higher expectations for myself when using that camera and it's nice to be able to just get out and have fun.

Anyway, here are some thoughts on the EOS M:

1. Auto-focus If any one thing could be blamed for the less-than-stellar reviews of the EOS-M, this is it. When I first heard about how slow the AF was, I immediately decided that this camera wasn't for me. It made me think of my crummy old cellphone camera, which would hunt for a few seconds in low light then finally take a blurry shot. I'll say that while the AF can be slow, when it *does* lock -unlike the cell camera -you WILL get a great shot. Furthermore, you can maximize AF performance by using the "FlexiZone Single" mode, setting the AF Operation to "ONE SHOT AF", and disabling Continuous AF. I'd also suggest leaving the "Touch Shutter" option disabled, but that may just be a personal preference. [Note: Supposedly the MagicLantern folks are working on homebrew firmware that will fix some of the AF issues, but I would not recommend buying any camera based on the vague promise of some future update.]

2. Image Quality Image quality is great, but it's no 5D Mark III. If you're expecting 5D3 level images from this then you're in the wrong place, but with some care it can produce shots a pro would be proud of. What I noticed most when compared against the higher end cameras would be contrast range and saturation. Some of this could just be the lens, but I haven't yet had a chance to put on something like my 24-70 f/2.8L or 50mm f/1.2L. I plan to do that soon and will update the review with my results. If you shoot in RAW you'll be able to overcome a good portion of the contrast/saturation problems with Photoshop and CameraRaw, but even so I've had to be more careful with blown highlights (particularly specular highlights) on the EOS M.

3. Video Quality I'm generally impressed with the video performance. That said, expect to use manual focus if you want anything near professional-level video. I haven't tried this with a focus peaking monitor yet, but I'm not even sure the camera would be fully functional after losing the touchscreen.

4. ISO Performance The ISO performance is pretty good. Again, it's no 5D Mark III but up to at least ISO 1600 it's not something you can't fix in Photoshop. My biggest complaint with ISO is the fact that you can't seem to use anything finer than full stop increments. Am I missing something?

5. Touch screen I had mixed feelings about losing the majority of my physical buttons and switches in favor of a touch screen, but it is growing on me. The settings I use the most are all easily available via the screen (shooting mode, aperture/shutter speed/ISO, exposure compensation) or through physical buttons (menu, quick menu, exposure lock, drive mode, etc.). One thing that took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out was how to zoom on the image preview screen...using my fingers to pinch and zoom seemed completely foreign coming from the 5D3, but it works well.

6. No view finder This doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, but I do embarrass myself by occasionally lifting the M to my eye.

7. Features I love the fact that, feature wise, this is very similar to Canon's high-end DSLRs. I had this little camera attached to a wireless strobe system in my home studio, and it just worked. The user interface was familiar, the settings and options were similar, and the results were fantastic. It's also got all the shooting modes (M/Av/Tv/P) that a pro would expect, plus the full auto and "scene intelligent auto" settings that allow you to hand the camera off to a random passerby to get a family shot for you while on vacation.

8. Ergonomics The camera is small and light, and I can stick it in my jacket pocket and "almost" forget that it's there. That said, the small size makes me wonder how easy it will be to hold with heavier glass attached via the EF/EF-S adapter. I'll provide info on that when I get around to it as well.

In short, as long as you don't come into the game expecting pro-level performance and quality, you will not be disappointed. It does exactly what I got it for: it gives me a way to leave my 25 lbs. camera bag at home on occasion, while still delivering great shots that I'm not embarrassed to share online. Plus, for someone who's already invested a great deal of money on Canon glass this makes even more sense. Sure the AF is slow, there aren't many dedicated lenses for the M mount (yet), and it's not a replacement for a high-end camera...but I didn't go in expecting any of that, and so I came out happy.

UPDATE

I've had a chance to use some of my EF lenses on this camera, and here are my results:

1. Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L Good focal length range for a cropped sensor, AF speed comparable to the 22mm f/2 STM.

2. Canon 50mm f/1.2 AF speed comparable to the 22mm f/2 STM, aperture opens all the way to f/1.2 if you were wondering.

3. Tamron 18-270 Di II VC PZD AF is unusably slow, don't bother.

4. Canon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS STM A great pairing with the EOS M, this is on my camera 90% of the time.

5. Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro The EOS M is great for macro. The cropped sensor gives you that extra bit of reach, and the small size and light weight make it easier to maneuver into tight spaces. I'm having a bunch of fun walking around outside my house with this setup.

Want Canon EOS M 18.0 MP Compact Systems Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-M18-55mm IS STM Lens Discount?

I'm new to the mirror-less camera party, but Canon is even later. I have learned a lot since I bought the camera and thought it worth while to share. First off, I'm a pro photographer and was looking for something compact that delivered high quality RAW images without pulling out my DSLR. I had the Canon G1x and found it to fall short and read that the EOS M delivered. True enough, image for image the EOS-M delivers higher quality results and that is where it ends. I fear Canon did not think this one thru. It falls way short of the other mirror less cameras on the market. The LCD screen is fixed and impossible to see in the sunlight and it dose not have a view finder. Those are the two biggest drawbacks, both I hear will be fixed in the next update. If your in the market for a mirror less camera Sony is years ahead of the curve, that would be my first choice if I was to buy today. If you already own Canon Lenses there is an advantage to the EOS because with an adapter you can use many of the canon lenses. I have put the EOS on a Canon 600mm f4 and it works, but really why would you? TIP if you looking to buy soon: Wait! Canon is updating the EOS-M in the next few months and I expect big changes, also Sony is updating there NEX-7 in the next month or so as well. I expect both to offer at least 24mpx sensors. Hope that helps.

Remanufactured Minolta Dimage Xt 3.2 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

I've been looking for something to replace/augment my giant three-year-old Sony, which I love but is just too big and heavy to cart all over Europe and around town. Plus the shutter lag drives me nuts. I needed something that was shirt-pocket small, fast, but with enough features to be useful for more than the most basic snapshots.

Specifically, I wanted a bit of optical zoom. When I travel, I find I'm using the zoom constantly to frame up the shots a little better. Frankly, I don't care about resolution; 2 megapixels is plenty for me, and that's what I'll use my Xt for most of the time.

I compared all of the leading contenders (as of July 2003) -various Canon ELPHs, Casio Exilim, Pentax Optio S, and even the new "lipstick" Sony DSC-U30. Everybody loves to rag on Memory Sticks, but if you already have a Sony camera and a Sony laptop and a good supply of big Sticks, they're a plus, not a minus; going with SD or CF was going to cost me a lot extra. But the Sony dropped out early because of the lack of zoom. The others, well, people like to pretend that making a decision like this is science, but it's not. I read everything I could and took a stab at it. Frankly, from what I've seen I would have rated the others just as high because they are all AMAZING. But I chose the Minolta. And I love it.

In short: Optio too slow, ELPH too heavy, Casio has no TV-out (and was out of stock in my local shop, or I might very well have bought it instead).

One thing I noted to my great relief with all of these, and which is usually stated nowhere on any of the manufacturer's pages even, is that they all have battery chargers that are small and 110-240 volt, which means you can charge batteries in Europe without a bulky converter -just the right-size plug adapter, which you can get anywhere for almost nothing. So the problem with the battery isn't a problem at all -buy a second battery and keep them both charged up overnight and you can snap all day with any of these cameras in any country in the world (unless you're camping or something).

What sold me on the Xt was the folded prism lens. Less mechanicals is always good with miniature things, and less fragile things poking out of the front is good too. The Minolta's not as small as the Optio (which is the clear frontrunner in the micro-coolness stakes -that phrase "fits in an Altoids tin" is very tempting. But the Minolta STAYS small even when you're shooting, and because it doesn't have to run a motor so much, it takes faster pictures. Which was probably my #2 criteria after size.

I haven't had any trouble at all with the small controls; they're extremely well-designed and you can figure out 90% of what it does just by fiddling with it -I read the manual but I don't have to carry it with me! If anything, and this is a general complaint with all cameras in this range (and others), there's TOO MANY features, most of which can be found in PhotoShop later. "Digital zoom" is a con and could be left out, and who really uses the "sepia" setting? But the stuff I DO want is all there, within reason (no f stops, but ISO and Exposure Level controls). I do like the many presets in the Casio, but realistically I know I'll never use them. I'm pretty adept in PhotoShop/PaintShopPro. Note that I have horrible eyesight, thick specs, and big stubby fingers and have no trouble. You might want to trim those nails, though; fortunately I don't have any.

Picture quality is excellent. I believe it's a little better than the contenders. The flash is very good, better than I expected; in fact it's a little TOO good if you're at the close end of the scale; I'm going to try the "square of white paper" trick on it. Is it the best camera on earth? No. But it's better than the other sub-micros.

The coolness factor isn't as high as the Pentax, but then how could it be? But it's faster-shooting. And, really, if the Pentax is a "10" for coolness, the Minolta is a 9.6. It doesn't fit in a tin, but it's smaller than you can believe, and the engineering is just as amazing (just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not amazing -quite the opposite, I'd say). And, of course, I have a friend with an Optio (and another with an ELPH), so you'll understand I had to have a different one!

One unanswered question: is it "DIMM udjge" (like "image") or "dim AJZH" (like "DiMaggio")? Another one: why does Amazon "recommend" batteries that don't work in this camera?

Bottom line: it does everything my big camera does and more, and when I put it in my shirt pocket it doesn't even sag. Comes on fast, shoots fast, enough for no-look street candids. Easy to use. Flat-out amazing. What else are you looking for?

the Dimage Xt is the third generation of minolta's X-series ultracompact cameras. the first X was a hit because it was ahead of its competition. but that competition has not stood still and today, there are other (better) cameras at the same price point with the same capabilities.

pros:

3MP resolution, 3x optical zoom.

smaller size than the Xi (this camera's predecessor) with dimensions of 3.4 x 2.6 x 0.8 in, weighing in at 4.2oz.

colors are vivid and natural-looking.

automatic white balance performs well.

has spot metering.

AF locks rapidly and decisively in good light.

short shutter lag in good light.

fast startup.

fast shot-to-shot speeds.

ability to record in movie mode until memory card is full.

supports TIFF mode.

cons:

above average noise at ISO 400.

frequent underexposures.

some purple fringing.

corners are soft.

some vignetting.

above average barrel distortion.

some redeye occurrence.

no manual controls.

RAW format not supported.

no AF illuminator this would really help shutter lag when using this camera in low light.

so-so battery life.

16MB SD card provided is inadequate so add $$ to your budget to buy more memory.

uses proprietary batteries so again, more $$ for a spare.

the Xt is a great looking ultracompact camera but the quality of the images you take could be better. as already mentioned, there's more competition for the dimage X-series these days. i would recommend the optio s or casio ex-z3 over the dimage Xt. for even better image quality (in a slightly bigger package), also consider canon's sd100.

i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.

Buy Remanufactured Minolta Dimage Xt 3.2 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom Now

If your looking for a tiny digital for the average "point and shoot" person (and let's face it....if your a pro...stick to film and a 35mm) then the XT is your camera. Here's the breakdown:

Pros:

Size.....believe what you hear....this camera fits in your shirt pocket, pants, small purse (for you ladies) without weighing or pulling on your pockets. I carried it in my dress shirt and slacks at New Years and it didn't seem bulky or noticeable to me or my girlfriend !! The buttons are all useable by both men and women....its tiny without feeling ridiculous or too delicate....its got a durable feel to it....very solid without being heavy !!

Battery....I was worried about the battery lasting throughout the night but it never let me down.....all night we snapped pix and of course had to look and show them to everyone on the viewer and it never conked out !!!

Tons of features with easy to navigate menus....the ability to take movies and patch them into the tv is a really cool feature !!

Cons:

The 16MB memory is a joke....do yourself a favor and buy a 256 sd card right away !!! This will allow you to approximately 6 rolls of pix (comparably speaking)...instead of 5 or 6 pix !!

You will have to practice with it to become proficient....but assuming you took my advice on the memory upgrade...this won't be a problem....its your new toy so play with it !! Practice, practice, practice and you will get good pix. Snap pictures in all types of lighting.....it doesn't take long. I practiced at home before going out on New Years and even after several drinks (or maybe because of them...haha) I was able to take tons of great nighttime pix !!

Lastly...you'll have to train your subjects to hold their poses a little longer at night...due to the redeye reduction "spraying" effect. Tell them to hold until the second flash !!

Tips:

1.Practice (can't stress this enough)

2.Use the redeye nighttime setting for all night pix....inside or out !! IT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE !!

3.The auto flash mode is great for all other pix

4.Set the camera to the FINE setting (just below TIFF)

5.Use the highest resolution for all pix

6.Save the pix you want to cd or take the memory card to a professional film developer...you could develop your shots at home but the beauty of digital is that you see all the shots you have as you take them. BE SELECTIVE !!! I've found that with old film type cameras...not every shot was a keeper....even with digital....not every shot you take is worth putting on paper...so be selective then for mere pennys on the dollar you can have a pro develop your more memorable shots !! Don't waste your money on software...put it into the memory uprade!!

7. Hold the shutter button down until you hear the "click" !! Many folks used to 35mm cameras (namely my girlfriend) seem to want to press the button down half way or press it and let up before the "click"....this seems to cause the pix to blur more often !!

ENJOY !!!

Read Best Reviews of Remanufactured Minolta Dimage Xt 3.2 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom Here

First, the bad news:

1) The plastic tab on the handstrap of the XT can stratch the LCD DON'T use the strap if you are going to keep the camera in a confined space, such as a pocket the strap will drift over the LCD and the damage will be done. This is clearly a design defect. If you must use a strap, make your own, one without the power to abrade the LCD.

2) The optical viewfinder shows far less than what the camera sees I understand about 35% of the image is not visible in the optical viewfinder. This problem, however, is much easier to deal with than a scratched LCD.

3) Shutter lag all digicams shutters seem to suffer slow response time. This makes it tough to photograph people or pets on the move the continuous shooting option on the Xt helps, so does pre-focusing.

That said, this camera has just about perfect, at least for my purposes: on-the-go nature and travel photography. There are just enough controls for unusual conditions exposure compensation, choice of ISO, white balance, etc but not so many that they get in the way of simply making a quick or well thought out photograph.

True, manual control of f/stops and shutter speeds and focus is lacking but there are other cameras out there with this option. Again, exposure compensation, continuous shooting mode, and pre-focusing help.

In particular, I like the east of operation what controls there are can easily be accessed via the few menus, and the dial and/or various buttons that adorn the camera. Recourse to the manual printed or on-line was, for me, not necessary.

My primary purpose for the camera is to use it on bike rides but it's also a great camera for hiking, as well as for travel where you don't want to be burdened with a lot of photo gear (and I have way too much photo gear). For use at social gatherings in large, dark rooms, this might not be the camera of choice, because the on-camera flash is not very powerful but it does work, particularly if people are fairly close to the camera, rather than across the room.

This camera cries out for one accessory an extra battery. And perhaps two extra batteries. Maybe I like to take A LOT of pictures because I'm a part time professional, but if film is no longer an issue and I can shoot all the pictures I want (subject to the amount of memory I have), why should I be limited by a lack of battery power? And trust me, if you make a lot of photographs, you will run out of battery power! (My extra battery fits in my bike's little patch kit.)

I've found that there are generic batteries that will work in the camera ...

By the same token, I spent a little more money on storage I have 256 and a 128 memory cards and, with a 3 megapixel camera, this is more than enough for a at least a few day's of normal photography. (I usually bring a laptop with me, whether or not I have a camera, so I can always download pics from my memory cards to make room for more pictures).

To sum up: except for the plastic tab on the strap that can scratch the screen, and a viewfinder that shows less than what the camera sees, and the shutter lag (which occurs with all digicams) I'm completely satisfied with the camera.

Oh, one more thing cameras this small are still a novelty it makes for a great conversation piece/ice breaker when I pull it out of my pocket.

...

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So small! (its smaller than most cellphones).

3.2 megapixels is just great clear picture; moreover, minolta has some cool technology that helps to correct the picture if needed.

Strong enough flash but in the dark, sometimes, pictures are grainy needed to change the ISO setting by hand a couple of times. 128 mb sd card definitely recommended. (can take fine quality pictures at a low compression rate = better picture quality!).

Love the cool feature of being able to record your own sounds. The LCD is super clear, so when viewing pictures (esp. when showing it to others just after having taken a picture) its really good. The compactness, I cannot emphasize enough. Its smaller than a nokia 3595, and lighter too (with battery). I'm scared that I'll forget it sometimes, & not realize if I have it or not!

The internal zoom rocks!!!! and that causes the startup time to be so fast! I barely turn it on, & its on unlike most other digital cameras.

Good, clear pictures. Easy to use for both video, & pictures. What else do you want?

Might not be as good as cannon s400, but almosst as good definitely in the same league. You cannot make out the difference 99 times of 100.

Oh yes, I've used this as webcam to videoconference too, & it works flawlessly. muchh clearer than most webcams out there! (of course, this should not be your sole critereon when buying this camera ;))

A con --

A couple of times, it gives a picture a blue'ish tinge with some pictures, but never anything that I cant fix in ACD Foto Canvas (good software free download go get it, if you have ANY digital camera).

I love this camera, and I still have to read through most of the manual!

Aqua - Vu AV740 7 inch LCD Underwater Camera System

What a awesome camera. I saw so much on it the first time i took it out. Not to mention how much i learned about the lake. Loving everything about it. Amazon is the best.

One day, I dropped down the fishy looking camera down the edge of a dropoff, and BAM! a musky took it. I should have installed a hook on it and maybe some fireline.

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I'm definitely happy with my new camera. Upgraded from the Aqua Vu scout 2. The picture is clear, function keys are in a good spot. Allows you to adjust the picture with easy visibility of the terrain below. The plug in's are in an area that causes concern due to the distance they stick out. I will be very careful with them. Top notch quality!

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Nikon D5200 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens (Bronze) with 32GB Card + Backp

I absolutely love this bundle. It is an amazing camera and accessories. Only downfall was I had to wait for an additional shipment to receive some on the accessories. But once I received them all was fine. I was frustrated that the nikon remote shutter didn't come with instructions. I had to go online to a completely separate site to fine out from another manufacturer how to work it. Overall I am pleased with my purchase.

Avermedia NV5000 120 Frames Per Second Video Capture Card with Surveillance Software

I bought this card after a terrible experience with the NV3000. I am writing this review to state that, contrary to my review on the NV3000, this card really does what it says. It will produce a true 30fps on each channel at 740X480 resolution with the highest available video quality setting.

The software for the NV5000 is the same as the NV3000, and I like it. After using for a while, I find it to be easy and quite polished.

IF you are thinking about putting together a surveillance system around this card, you should realize that this card is fairly picky about the hardware. For the most part, it is compatible with Intel chipsets only, and only older ones at that. It won't work with my new Sandy Bridge setup. It won't work with anything with a VIA chipset, which means pretty much all of AMD products. There is a document available from Avermedia that details the compatible hardware that has been tested. It is a grab-bag of motherboards and chipsets from a handful of different companies, but the most recent motherboards that they support are those that first came out to support the Pentium D series. Maybe it will work with other motherboards, or maybe not. This is why it doesn't get the whole 5 stars. My plan of running my DVR on older motherboards I had laying around is not panning out because none of them are compatible.

As I also discussed in my NV3000 review, the Avermedia website is horrible. You will never find what you are looking for there. Fortunately, I found another surveillance website that had links to the Avermedia software and docs. If you search around for it, you'll probably find it too.

I bought this card to capture feeds from two surveillance cameras. Setup was straightforward even though the software and install is a little dated. The card needs to be installed into the PC and was detected and setup without any issues.

I was surprised by the colors and accuracy of the video footage. In general card seems to do well and the software advanced features like email alerts etc. work well. Only gripe is that despite reducing motion sensitivity to a minimum and blocking out areas of the video that don't need monitoring the frequency of email alerts is significant.

Outside of that very happy with this purchase.

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FYI: To configure remote viewing I found the following FAQ at"

1. Make sure the DVR system is connected to the network and able to connect to the internet.

2. Go into the NV software.

3. Click on Setup, then Network.

4. Enable the cameras to make them viewable over the internet.

5. Remember the Server IP and remote console Port that is currently being used.

6. Remember the Web Viewer Port. ( Default is 80, but you can change this if your network has any restrictions on ports.)

7. Click Ok, then OK again

8. In order for PCs to access your DVR, the Network option must be enabled. Click on the Network button shown on the window. The button should change color, which will indicate that the option has been turned on."

The card has worked fine for over a year on several evolutions of mother boards and windows op. systems. When you get the instillation CD for the Avermedia DVR software copy the installation code as future software revisions require the original code. The software has been updated twice since I purchase the card...

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this product is all you will need to have to have a great security system tried others this one has everything and it runs flawlessly easy to use

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS25 16.1 MP Tough Digital Camera with 8x Intelligent Zoom (White)

I bought this camera to replace an older Panasonic that was lost. I bought the camera for its ruggedness and weather resistance. Too many times in the past I've had cameras that stopped working after one drop, or after getting a little wet. But the main thing I like about the Panasonics is their very fast shutter response. Like the film cameras, it takes a picture when you press the shutter button, not half a second later. That lag occures in too many newer digital cameras, making it difficult to take good pictures, especially of moving objects.

One thing I don't like about this camera, is that there's a message about waterproof use every time you turn it on. You must click past this message before using the camera. If anybody knows how to disable this message, please let me know. I docked one star because this slows things down too much.

Update: A commenter helpfully showed how to turn off the warning message. Now I can turn on the camera and take pictures pretty much immediately. This, along with the fast shutter response, makes it very to take shots quickly. I changed the rating to five stars. Note: I bought this camera for "all-weather" use. I don't take underwater pictures so cannot comment on how watertight it is.

UPDATE 2: Just noticed another issue. The flash sometimes causes a bit of reflection the color of my finger along the right side of the imate, evidently becuase my fingers are too close (to the flash). This isn't an issue, I just move my fingers a bit. Good thing I preview work-pictures, though. I can't tell you how much I am appreciating the water and dust-proofing in this SE Florida monsoon season! No change in the rating.

UPDATE 1: Since purchasing I've used this quite a bit for work and personal photos. I still love the camera I've been able to take pics in rain, around water and with a 4 year old hanging all over me without worrying about dust, water or dropping it. However, there are a couple of issues I haven't seen in other reviews: (1) the lens is easily "dirtied" by a finger print when you take this out of your pocket (no cover), and (2) I have to be more careful about taking photos in the direction of the sun or I sometimes get a big glare-streak... don't know why my other cameras didn't have this problem but it sometimes requires two hands (one to block the sun). These issues have not changed my rating.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Lots of camera-geek analysis here, and from what I read Panasonic meets my criteria fast cycle after shooting, wide angle, durable and mainstream ("reliable") manufacturer. I mostly take photos for work, and any modern camera is satisfactory for family use.

This has a wider angle than my Canon PowerShot, which I am replacing, and no moving parts. I can shoot in the rain and carry it in my shirt pocket, neither of which are feasible with the Canon. The unit is "closed" so that I won't get construction dust or lint inside the lenses, which is why I need to replace my Canon.

Other than that, it's just a nice camera that I can get wet or drop, with all the usual bells and whistles (90% of which I'll never use). The price:value ratio is very good for my needs.

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I bought this camera to take on my honeymoon to the caribbean. I love it. The instructions are clear, it is very easy to use and I am delighted with how my pictures turned outabove water and under water. Only con is that I wish it would zoom a little more. For the price, I'm super happy with this camera.

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Im satisfied with the pictures it takes under water, as a point and shoot camera is ok as well, if used a lot of zoom since it's digital the pictures dont look so great, but that is expected. Overall the camera works for what is intended water activities pictures.

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I took this camera to Mexico with us on vacation. The camera worked well and took some good pictures in and out of the water, as long as you used the normal optical zoom. My only complaint would be that the Intelligent zoom does not work very well, it's a bit grainy, especially in low light and under water. Saying that it has an 8X zoom is a bit misleading, since it is not a true optical zoom. Had no problems with leakage and we snorkeled for a couple of hours. My husband has an older model that has manual modes and a lot more picture options. Next time I would go with a higher end model to have those options. This camera is very small which can make it a bit hard to hold on to and the movie mode button is so small it is hard to push, especially if you had larger fingers. All in all I like the camera, but some small changes could make it much better.

SWANN SW-C-BLACKK Black Knight Wireless CCD Color Camera

If you or a neighbor has a wireless Internet connection, and few purchasing this item would not, or a wireless phone using the 2.4Ghz spectrum, skip this product. Even with multiple channel capability the interference renders this product useless. Further, an e-mail on a driver issue for the video capture board took nearly a week for a terse response. Spend the extra money for a wired solution and save yourself from disappointment.

The camera is very easy to install. However, in order to find the right spot for the receiver to get the best signal, you have to move the receiver around. When the cables that come with the cam are too short, you don't have much choice but move the TV along with the receiver or take the VCR out your TV shelf. It's too bad that I found no place to buy a longer digital and sound cable, neither on Swann's web site. Then finally I found a spot that get the best reception, my VCR that connects to the receiver with that provided short cable is 2 feet away from the TV shelf. Other than that, the picture is clear and sound is fine. Night vision is amazingly clear. Not a bad cam.

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Installing this wireless camera is very easy compared to wired cameras and the image quality is decent for a wireless cam (about on par for a camera touting 420TVL). However, as with most wireless cameras, you may see noise and interference in the video feed while viewing it on your TV/monitor which may render this camera non-ideal for certain security applications. Further, this wireless camera tends to have some difficulty broadcasting its signal through one wall and door (obvious interference at about 50 ft away).

I would only install this cam if you really, really need a wireless solution with night-vision. For a true security solution though, I would definitely seek a wired cam, which in most cases will feature more-or-less the same resolution but at a cheaper price albeit requiring some installation time.

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We found the video quality to be excellent both day (color) and night (black and white). We have a 802.11G system (2.4GHz), and so do many of our neighbors, and interference has not been a problem at all. Moving around the camera and receiver a bit does help me find an optimal location during setup. The only interference we have noticed is when we turn on the microwave, there will be horizontal lines streaming across, but you can still see the video quite well.

The only thing I find lacking is audio. Signal to noise ratio is much lower than say any generic baby monitor.

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JVC GZHM450BUS Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD Screen (Black)

bought this in June 2011, went to Europe in September 2011. My husband was trying to replay our gondola ride which he had recorded and put his thumb through the touch screen. We are attempting to have our Europe recordings recovered from the device. Had bought extra batteries and media cards for this model so to justify our investment we are buying another recorder just like the first one.

it worked great, easy to use, small and easy to carry you just need to be careful with the pressure you use when touching the touch screen---it will break.