Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Canon EOS Rebel T1i 15.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera Body with 3-Inch LCD + WSP Mini Tripod & Cleani
Monday, August 5, 2013
JVC Everio GZ-MG20 20 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder w/25x Optical Zoom
The battery life is advertised to be only an hour. This may seem short, but for making home videos, shooting an hour of footage in one go is quite a lot. I never ran out of battery on the cruise, but then whenever I wasn't shooting, I had my camera plugged in and the battery re-charging in my cabin.
My only complaint with this camera is the image stabilization. Its fine up to about 12X zoom, but once you get past this, the images become very shaky and virtually unusable. You would need a tripod to get zoom past 12X. This is annoying considering that this camcorder is advertised as a 25X optical zoom. Its basically useless past 12X.
All is all I definitely would recommend this camcorder for its ease of use and the fact that you no longer have to worry about tape.Just got this camera recently. I'd read a number of reviews suggesting the image quality wasn't too hot, but thought I'd give it a try as I'm really tired of trying to keep track of all the little tapes I've accumulated over the years. Out of the box, I shot some video of the family in the house using only overhead lighting. Then I converted it to DVD (included software is very easy to use, but I wanted to use Nero. The file extensions are .mod, but Nero recognized it just fine). Yep. It was grainy and the color was lackluster. THEN I read the manual. As it turns out, the camera comes from the factory with the GAIN setting turned on. This really boosts the signal in low light conditions, but can result in a slightly grainy image. So I turned it off. That helped alot. Then, realizing that none of the walls in my house are white, I manually set the white balance (very easy to do with this camera) and WOW. Big difference. Colors are just right. I even filmed my daughter in her pink room and it came out right. I'm liking this camera more and more everyday. Just be sure to read the manual and don't be afraid to tweak the settings to your situation.
So far, only two downsides: the VF707U battery it comes with is a wimp (about 50min record time) and the camera doesn't have a standard view-finder. However, this last point is mitigated somewhat by the fact that the camera is so small, it is a pleasure to carry it just about everywhere.
I recommend this camera if you don't mind a little learning curve, plan on buying another battery, and are tired of trying to keep track of little pieces of recording media. For me, It's making taking video fun again.
Buy JVC Everio GZ-MG20 20 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder w/25x Optical Zoom Now
Ok, I bought this for a Christmas present for my wife and she loves it. The first thing you notice is how small it is... I mean it's tiny!When I first heard about these I checked for reviews on them and the two sites I found reviews on both had mediocre scores. Much of the fuss on thse sites had to do with the video quality of the still images.
I think many felt mislead b/c in the description it says you can select from image sizes of 1152x864. 1024x768, and 640x480. What we've found out is that even though you can select the 1152x864, 1024x768, and 640x480 the digital stills are only 640x480 because the two higher sizes make the images look bad but the 640x480 size looks super.
Honestly, I didn't buy it for it's digital camera capabilities (we love our Fugi e510) although it's super convenient to have this available albeit only at 640x480 b/c you can switch back and forth between stills and video very easily.
I can't comment on the Mac capabilities other than it seems a little harsh to give the unit 2 stars b/c "you" didn't read the packaging correctly.
I really don't know what all the fuss is about where the video quality is concerned. We haven't owned a camcorder since our last vsh-c which we were happy with as well. The videos at the highest setting looks great with very rich and true colors. The camera is eXtremely easy to setup and use from the time you take it out of the box until your first transfer over the very fast USB 2.0 connection.
Another great feature of this very small camera is the internal SD Card slot and the camera's ability to record both stills and video to this excellent removable media. It's very fast, super cheap (compared to others like memory stick and xD cards), and they already come in capacities up to 4gb.
I thought the SD Card would be soley for stills but was hoping the HDD would be removable, so this was a very nice surprise b/c like most PCs now-a-days our computers have the internal memory card readers so you can just pull the SD Card and pop it in your PC for editing, emails, burn to dvd, etc.
As far as dislikes go the only issue I had, which is really nitpicking, is that the buttons on the LCD are a bit small for my liking. I'm a pretty big guy though so this may not even be an issue for many of you.
I'm totally happy with this purchase!
Read Best Reviews of JVC Everio GZ-MG20 20 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder w/25x Optical Zoom Here
A good camcorder but quality of video image not quite as good as DV tape, even in good light. Low light capabilities also not as good,, even with gain up the lenses in the better Everio units with the 15x zoom may be better in this regard. Yes, the files are ".MOD" extensions but just need to be changed to "MPG" and should then play in any media player with the MPEG-2 codec installed (if you computer can play DVD movies now, you should already have this codec installed). I play my videos on Windows Media Player. I didn't even install the supplied JVC software WIN XP recognized the camera and it functions just like a flash drive from there. Very easy. Once you files are changed to ".MPG" extension they should be editable in most, if not all, video programs. I have no problems with Adobe Premiere STD, which is generally considered the industry standard. Battery life is only 1 hour strongly recommend getting the 2 hours battery as an accessory. A very handy little camera that make it so much easier to work with your videos no more capturing from DV tape required. And the 4 hour storage beats hauling around extra tapes and wondering what may be on them, can I record over, etc.... Ignore comments about lack of Firewire/IEEE1394, this is irrelevant. I transfer all my video on a Sony laptop using USB2, even though Sony favors Firewire. Bottom line, a very handy little camcorder if you're willing to sacrifice a bit of video quality for much better convenience.Want JVC Everio GZ-MG20 20 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder w/25x Optical Zoom Discount?
I bought this camera and I just love it. Forget about the issues some people mention here about low quality video, the trick is to change the camera settings for the environment you are recoding in. Just leaving it to the default settings do create grainy video in some situations, but change the settings and you will get gorgeous video quality. There is nothing wrong with the camera, it is all about the operator.I love the internal harddrive. I did not want any disc or tape based systems, and this is perfect. Particularly convenient is it that this camera support SD cards, as my Casio digital camera uses that too --so I have a stack of them already that I now can use in both cameras.
The only thin missing is a nice case/bag for the camera. That and an extra battery or two is on top of my shopping list now.
I'll shoot my bride in my upcoming wedding, with this camera that is.... :-)
Toshiba Gigashot GSC-R30 30GB 2MP Hard Disc Drive Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
I really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to install additional software to download clips to my PC the USB cable, included, was inserted and drivers were automatically installed; the Gigashot then appeared as an external drive that I could drag and drop files to my desktop piece of cake. Although, there was software provided, it appeared as though they were only trial versions (leaving the only option to buy more software when the trial expired). Needless to say, I did not install either software bundle: ACDSee v7 (photo edit) or PowerProducer v3 (DVD editing and writing/authoring), but I'm sure this could be helpful for some who do not already own a DVD authoring program.
The only bad thing about this camcorder, in my opinion, was that it had a tendency during low-level sound (e.g., no one was speaking) to amplify the background noise. I didn't notice this very often, so probably nothing to worry about in fact, this may be normal for camcorders, but then again I don't have much experience. The problem with this, leads to what sounds like a few small rapid-fire clicks every so often (presumably as the Gigashot writes data to the hard-drive). It sounds just like a hard-drive, so may not even be noticeable to some, but it could be an annoyance for those who listen in great detail. I doubt this would be even audible at a party or event, but just thought others might like to know. Overall great product and I'm happy with my purchase (especially since it seems Amazon's price was the lowest at this time!)I did lot of comparisons with similar PRICED camcorders sony/Canon ($500) and here are my finding
The factors need to be considered in any digital photo/video are
1. CCD size
2. MP
3. Filter Size Lense dia big means more light goes in to CCD
4. Lense Quality
I like this camcorder because
1. Price 375 for a 30 GIG HDD camcorder
2. CCD size 1/3.6 compared to sony/Canon which has 1/6
3. Filter size is 30.5 sony/Canon 30 or 27
4. 2 Megapixel sony/canon 0.7 MP
5. No need to carry any media
6. Free case
Cons:
Spare battery is expensive $80 at bhphotovideo
Buy Toshiba Gigashot GSC-R30 30GB 2MP Hard Disc Drive Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Now
This is an amazing little camera. If you edit your movies on a computer you will LOVE this camera because it stores files on the built in hard disk drive instead of tapes. It can record for more than six (6) hours on the hard disk drive (at the HIGHEST quality setting). The videos are automatically saved as MPG2 files which are recognized by almost all video editing products inclding Adobe Premiere and Adobe Premiere Elements. MPG2 is also the current standard for DVD movies, so you can burn your movies onto a DVD. The audio and video quality is excellent.The camera has a bright white, built-in LED light which allows the auto focus to work in dim light. It also has a built in flash for still pictures. The still pictures can be stored on the built-in hard disk drive, or optionally on a small memory card. The camera supports WIDE SCREEN videos as well as standard video formats.
Downloading the movie files to your computer is amazingly simple. Just connect the USB cable and the camera is recognized as an "external storage deveice" so you can simply drag and drop the files from the camera to the computer.
The automatic mode for most settings like FOCUS, WHITE BALANCE, SCENE SELECTION, etc. works fine. When taking stills the camera will beep twice to indicate a clear focus. When the camera is charging the battery LED shows amber and later green (when fully charged).
While the built-in condenser microphone with multiple settings offers excellent sound quality, a plug-in microphone jack would have been preferred.I bought this camera through Amazon and antonline. Its a really nice camera, but it is completely unable to function in any meaningful way through imovie and has no value if you own an Apple Computer. This is because the camera records in mpeg-2 and apparently is inherently non-editable. DO NOT BUY IT UNLESS YOU OWN A PC!!!
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I just graduated from the 1min movies in my digital camera to this camera. I am impressed by the overall functionality of this camera.Positives:
1) Easy to shoot both Movies and Pictures. We think still pictures have their own value. So, taking good pictures was important for us.
2) supports wide screen recording and has 2MB CCD
3) For a HDD camera, I was surprised at the almost non-existent HDD noise. (I did not get any noise disturbance during zooming as some reviewers had mentioned)
4) Easy (as the digital camera) and fast USB2 downloads
Negatives:
1) In low light situations, the camera searched for focus for a few seconds. (But I understand that most of the video cameras do that.) It is annoying.
2) The camera needs to be mounted on its rechargable stand where the USB connection to the laptop is setup. Not a big issue, but if travelling without the base, you cannot download movies.
Overall a very nice camera to have.
Epson PowerLite S9 (V11H376020)
HIGHLY recommend this projector!
Belkin HDMI to HDMI Cable (4ft)
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Bought this cable to connect my PC to my tv. Connection was made, but cable coudn't even transfer standard res DVD without having the video skip. I checked the DVD playback on the PC and no problems there. Trying to stream standard def video was even worse. Video AND audio skipped. Very disappointing.So far so good. It works, it appears to be made of high-quality material, and I have no complaints. What can I say beyond that.Great price for an HDMI cord! It does the job! We haven't had any issues with it and it is a good length!Sunday, August 4, 2013
HP PhotoSmart 375B Compact Photo Printer with Battery
I bought this printer on the basis of a comparison study in The Wall Street Journal and have been more than satisfied. The editing is easy and thorough, the color rendition is excellent and the printing easy to set up for a series of pictures and more than acceptably fast. One word of caution the color rendition is honest and will show you if your camera is lacking my old camera was. With a new Nikon D70, the color comes out accurate and truly vivid. I cannot wait to take this little machine to our next family gathering or to the next wedding we are invited to attend. Imagine, being able to send the couple away on their honeymoon with a nice set of wedding pictures in hand!
Buy this printer and you will never regret it.This little printer is an absolute jewel! I had done extensive research on personal printers and decided on this one. It was the best decision I made all year! I am a long time amatuer photographer and very picky about getting good pictures in print. This printer spits out 4x6 prints in under a minute and the color reproduction and clarity is nothing short of amazing! Skin tones are PERFECT, whites are white, reds are red not orange, blacks are very black and the subtle tones that every picture has are just wonderful. I cannot say enough good about this printer. If you buy any other brand of personal printer, don't blame me! I told you to buy this one! :) At first when comparing prices, you will notice that you can get a regular printer for the same price, and even less. But, this is a COMPACT printer and if you go the extra $50.00 and get the 375B (battery) you can run it off a battery which I have been doing and not even hook it to an outlet. The battery charges fast and it accepts every form of memory media. The larger LCD on the (B) model is worth every penny. It is so lightweight that is can easily be carried anywhere. The quality surpasses any drugstore I have ever had prints made at, and even rivals WOLF CAMERA photo lab. If you want fast pictures, professional quality, and have the fun of doing them yourself, you better run to buy this printer! I only hope HP comes out with a personal printer that will print 5x7's and 8x10's. I will be first in line! Way to go HP!! :)
Buy HP PhotoSmart 375B Compact Photo Printer with Battery Now
Imagine printing photos where ever you are with this Photo Printer. It comes with a power cord to use it in a powered setup and that allows you to charge the re-chargeable battery. Unplugged and with the battery installed, prepare to get over 70 photos from a single charge... about the same number of photos from the tri-color ink cartridge that comes in the box. It's compact design makes it easy to carry along with you to get the instant results from taking photos.After looking at some of the other brands of 4 x 6 printers, I decided that this was the most flexible, easy-to-use and versatile printer among Epson's Picturemate (too bulky, very difficult to decipher screen instructions, no way to see your photos before printing, and leaky ink cartridge), Lexmark's 4 x 6 printer --(also bulky, confusing menus on the screen and misleading "count-down" clock when it begins to print a photo)and Canon's you-need-a-television-to-see-your-photos dye-sub printer or "battery-wasting" pict-bridge connection
Not only can you see the photo you're going to print on the HP PhotoSmart 375, you can edit (without a computer)it in ways that are impossible on the others mentioned above. Zoom all over the photo image from 1.0x to 5.0x ... the printer actually warns you if the image may not have enough file behind it to produce a quality photo. It allows you to print either with borders at 4 x 6 or borderless -a single 4 x 6 or two 4 x 3 photos or four 2 x 3 photos on a single sheet of photo paper... The results are great and allow you to print your own postcards to send to the folks back home when you take this little gem on your next vacation.
I brought this HP PhotoSmart printer along with me to a friend's house for Thanksgiving dinner. The festivities were captured on my digital camera and then printed on the spot. Everyone left with fond memories of Thanksgiving 2004... no waiting for developing or sending files via email.
Need a passport photo? The PhotoSmart 375 also will print various sizes of two on a page photos.
Want your color photos in black & white or sepia? just toggle a setting and hit the print key.
It also has 6 pre-installed "borders" / frames that you can select from 16 colors.
Buy TWO... one for you and give one to your best friend! And make sure you get the one with the rechargeable battery, 'cause you'll be taking this wherever you bring your camera.
Read Best Reviews of HP PhotoSmart 375B Compact Photo Printer with Battery Here
I am an IT professional (BSIT) and I bought this product because it is rated #1 by Consumer Reports and I own several HP printers that I really enjoy. However, I had the same experience as several other reviewers of this product. This printer simply does not work out of the box. After trying for 1 day I gave up and called HP customer service and they diagnosed the problem as a defective chip in the printer. They wanted to replace the printer with a refurbished one; I refused and threatened to return it back to Amazon. I was placed on hold and then told that I would receive a firmware upgrade via FedEx overnight. If this upgrade does not work I will be forced to return the printer to Amazon.Deeply disappointed,
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I had the same experience as another reviewer of the product. this printer does not work out of the box. After trying for 2 days I gave up and called HP customer service and they diagnosed the problem as a defective chip in the printer. They wanted to replace the printer with a refurbised one; I refused and returned it back to Amazon.Nikon D3200 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens (Red) + 55-200mm VR Lens + 16GB
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