Best Digital Camcorder

Audio-Technica ATR-35S Lavalier Microphone Review

2012-01-24T13:02:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)This mic was purchased for use with a Canon HV-20 camcorder. Primary purpose is for videotaping interviews with people who are sitting (not moving around). It comes with a 20' cable, which is more than enough for use in any room in the average size home.
Build quality: better than I expected for the price, the battery and pre-amp holder feel more like aluminum than plastic (it's hard to tell under the black paint). The mic element itself is tiny, and comes with a lapel clip and foam wind screen. The wind screen, like the mic element itself, is tiny and pretty easy to pull off, so keep an eye on it that it doesn't become lost. The battery is one of the "button" types, rather than a "AA" (which I would have preferred). One battery is supplied - I have no idea of how long it might last, so better have a spare. The mike is a condenser type, so it will not work at all if the battery is dead.
Performance: Very good! The sound quality is better than I had expected for the price of this product. Frequency response seems perfectly adequate for picking up voices - which is why you use a lavalier mike in the first place - and signal-to-noise ratio is excellent at the standard gain setting on the HV-20 camcorder. The frequency response in the user manual is 70 to 18,000 hz. This mic has an impedance of 1000 ohms, which places it a step down in performance from more expensive, professional mics which generally have 600ohm impedance (you get a better s/n ratio). I am very pleased with the results from this mic. The captured sound of a person's voice is as clear as it could be, with very little perceptible static. Using this lavalier mic also has the benefit of completely eliminating internal motor noise from the camera's tape mechanism.
SUMMARY: You can spend $200~$500 and get a wireless lavalier mic, or if you live with the 20' cable, get this one for $35. It's certainly good enough for most people's home videos, and the sound quality (for human voice) is excellent. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
NOTE: The ATR-35 is a monaural microphone: when connected to a Stereo mic input jack on a camcorder like the Canon HV-20, it will produce a signal only on the left audio channel. If this is a problem for you, an inexpensive Mono-to-Stereo adapter is available from Radio Shack (p/n 274-374, $3.99) that duplicates the output from the ATR-35 to both the left and right channels (this sounds better, at least to my ears).

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Engineered for intelligible, accurate voice reproduction, the Audio-Technica ATR-35S high-quality condenser lavalier microphone is ideal for video use, and its low-profile design assures minimum visibility. It's also a great choice for aerobics/dance/sports instructors.
It has an integrated 20-foot cable terminated with a 3.5mm mini-plug for use with most cameras and home recording systems. Its on/off switch provides convenient operation. This package also comes with a tie clip, a battery, a foam windscreen, and a 1/4-inch adapter.

Specifications
Element: Condenser
Polar Pattern: Omnidirectional
Frequency Response: 50 - 18,000 Hz
Open Circuit Sensitivity: -54 dBm ± 3 dB, 1 kHz at 1 Pa
Impedance: 1000 ohms ± 30 percent
Battery Type: LR44
Weight: 0.2 oz (6 g)
Cable: 20 feet (6.0 m)

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Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 3CCD AVCHD 24fps Camcorder Review

2012-01-24T11:12:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)Panasonic AG-HMC150
I shoot weddings and I have used The HMC150, the Canon AH1.
From the beginning let me first tell you where my opinion is coming from - price tag: $3500
First off, neither of these cameras are brilliant in low light. They have 1/3 imagers. I don't care if they are made of gold and there are ten of them.
1/3 imagers are too small to gather enough light, even if you attached the Hubbell telescope to them.
To put such tiny sensors in a $3500 is poor, cheap engineering especially when SLR have larger sensors, shoot HD and don't cost this much.
Who are these camera angled at?
Videographers and indie filmmakers.
As a videographer what are you most concerned with - Low light.
Why? Because you cannot control lights at weddings at parties, etc. So your camera has to be able to handle it.
As an Indie filmmaker what are you most concerned with - The ability to look like film. It does, with 24p and film gamma, it's about all you need. But you are paying a premium. But for me, equally important to film look as 24fps is lens choice. Here you get none. While 24fps is what is ingrained in the everyone's consciousness as what film should look like, they also don't realize that shallow depth of field and variety of lenses is too. With these camcorders you get no choice, a 13x zoom with extremely wide depth of field at most every focal distance, because it's a zoom and because the imagers are tiny.
Good news The AG-HMC150 can handle most lighting situations.
Bad news - AVCHD codec, is noisy in even bright sunlight afternoons. The image is made of blotch.
Measuring image integrity by zoom factor - at 100% AVCHD compression is clearly visible. 200% the image is a swarming, infected mess.
Although the Panny can holdup in low light. I shot in a dark club and there was still something to see.
It has a very weird auto iris mode, that brings in more light, even when you do exact settings in manual.
Don't know if there is a magic switch, didn't have it long enough to work everything out.
The Canon uses HDV and instead of compression codec noise, you get digital noise; unpleasant grain (not like film), and washed out video at 100%. At 200% it's like looking at a digital still from a 10 year old point and shoot. And trust me, once an image is washed out and grainy, there is very little you can do (Some gamma correction will bring the shadows back to life, but that noise is there to stay. And the drop down to SD doesn't do it any favors.
Bottom line the Canon sucks in low light, especially in anything other than auto mode. I shot in a low light room and the image was garbage. Despite some settings tweaking, which leads me to Canon's second biggest problem and a problem with these camcorders in general.
The LCD and the Viewfinder are too small to see how your image is holding up. Everything looked fabulous on the Canon's 2.7 LCD...and then when you get it back to edit. Noise city. So you can only use the LCD for just basic image checking.
The HMC150 has a 3.5 LCD, but the brilliant engineers made it a 4:3 ratio! You have black matting in the image! The camera can only shoot 16x9 and they put a 4x3 LCD on it...so in the end you only get about 2.7" of real estate and you see as much as on the Canon, unless you are in focus assist mode which zooms in and uses the whole LCD.
So you have to know your settings and be shutter/iris paranoid, hoping for the best image. What you see is not what you get, you have to know what you want, like with film and set the camera accordingly, knowing which settings will get you want in the END, not what you are looking at through the camera.
The HMC150 definitely benefits from the higher rez. The Canon is 1440x1080. You can see the difference.
The Canon is more professionally built. Both plastic, but the canon feels more professional, and weirdly the HMC feels like a Tonka Toy, hard textured plastic, but like a light and chunky toy. I can hear the optical stabilizer clunking around in it. The Canon aesthetically looks more professional.
Audio on the Canon is better, it has much better limiter, I don't even think the HMC's is useful, but if you plug one xlr mic into the Canon...the onboard becomes unusable. HMC lets you assign channels for the onboard. Bad news is the onboard mic on both sucks, the Canon sounds better because the HDV format has higher rez than the compressed AVCHD codec.
The HMC and it's tapeless/AVCHD codec does not save much time, the transcoding takes almost as long if not longer than real time (HDV tape) and sometimes there are errors, especially transferring from camera, the footage speeds up, the audio remains constant and you have shorter clips. Happened constantly. My guess, USB and it's non constant data rate. Another cheap short cut by Panasonic. The Canon has a firewire, which speed is constant, and they need it for the HDV tapes.
The HMC wins out with higher rez, native progressive imagers, resulting in two true progressive modes, 24fps, the other mode/rez are wrapped in pulldowns. The Canon's 24f, etc modes are fake and you can tell. Everything is interlaced on the Canon. I hate interlaced.
This review isn't structured very well, but I don't have the energy, since I'm so unenthusiastic about both, so they're not worth more time. But I thought I would let potential buyers know, the ones who think these two cameras are the Holy Grail. They aren't, and they aren't worth the high price tag, they are worth $2000 not a penny more. But the problem is, what else is there?
I returned the HMC, and I didn't the Canon wasn't mine, but would have returned it too.
I'm going to try the Canon SLR route. The closest thing you can get to film without shooting it.
Annoyingly these two manufacturers and Sony...are all sticking it to us. Instead of advancing things, they are taking baby steps, giving us one desired function at a time for a price.
If Canon can put a full frame sensor in their 5d II and can give it 1920x1080 30fps shooting, why can't they put that sensor in a camcorder, with a SLR interchangeable lens mount, with XLR inputs?
Because they want to sell camcorders AND slr cameras.
These camcorders are just big consumer cams. They don't have enough image improvement to warrant $2500+ more in cost. You are paying for features, limited manual adjustments, not image upgrade.
But of course I didn't have it for very long, two weeks.
I just couldn't get over the price versus video quality, and workflow.
They don't justify the price, especially when I think we are very close to getting some real breakthroughs in HD imaging.

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The AG-HMC150 handheld incorporates three 1/3-inch progressive CCD imagers to produce stunning 1920 x 1080 resolution picture quality far exceeding older Long GOP formats like HDV. It s equipped with a high-performance wide-angle Leica Dicomar 13x zoom lens and 24- and 30-frame progressive capture in a full range of HD formats, making it well suited for all types of projects. With an exciting range of professional video and audio features and a compact, well-balanced design, the HMC150 is amust havefor video professionals and enthusiasts looking for the best in affordable HD. Includes: AG-HMC150 AVCHD Camcorder, AC adapter/charger, 2640mAh battery pack, AC cord, DC cord, Wireless remote controller with button-type battery, Microphone holder, Eye cup, Shoulder Belt, Component video cable, PIN-BNC conversion plugs, Ferrite core, Binder, CD-ROM, The following accessories are attached to the unit. Lens hood cap and INPUT 1/2 terminal cover

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One Spare BP511 Battery + Charger For The Canon ZR90, ZR85, ZR80, ZR70, ZR65, ZR60, ZR50, ZR45, ZR40, ZR20, ZR10 Mini DV Camcorders Review

2012-01-24T08:30:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)Just what I needed when I needed it. Amazon makes acquring the things I need easy.

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ION Audio VCR 2 PC USB VHS Video to Computer Converter Review

2012-01-24T05:54:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this unit after trying various other methods of getting my old family VHS tapes onto my computer to make DVD's. I was not happy with anything I had tried so this was my last resort. Truthfully, I hated to spend the $ on another VCR. I read the reviews on this product after I purchased it and immediately second-guessed my reasons for purchasing. I planned to return it due to the dismal reviews but it ended up sitting in the box for a month. Finally I decided I might as well try it. I'm so glad I did!
This product is easy to use out of the box. Plug it into the wall, plug the USB into the computer, install the software, put in a tape and press record. I like that you can leave it recording and go do something else. I found the software installation very quick and easy. The documentation with the unit is not very detailed but it is a very simple program to figure out. I like that you can edit the video within the program before burning to DVD. I like that it saves the files onto computer in JPEG files so I can further edit and play with them in MovieMaker or another program. This unit/program can not be faulted for poor quality from old VHS tapes. I feel that some reviewers blame this unit for that. I have not yet tried this with my vhs-c tapes and adapter. If any problems are encountered I will report.
The software burns DVD's very nicely, has a menu format and different choices of menu designs. It also will print DVD jewel case inserts to match. Someone's review also seemed to blame this unit for their machine not having enough memory for video. It's fairly common knowledge that video eats up memory. Each of my 2 hr. vhs tapes is hogging up to 4 GB's on my harddrive. My solution was to purchase a portable external hard drive that I will put all family video on and that takes care of that!
I've had no problems with dropped frames but do occasionally have some problems with tracking that I feel are not the fault of this machine but due to the fact that most of my tapes are a quarter of a century old! The only fault I can find so far with this unit is that the tracking buttons don't make much difference in quality when I do have a problem. During these times, I take the tape and put in another VCR in my house and tweak it as much as I can. I expect to lose some video after all this time in storage and so far, out of 15 tapes, I'd say I've only had to edit out about 15 minutes due to tracking problems.
This unit, in my opinion, has already paid for itself. The cost of someone else converting these was expensive. I am very happy with this product; it's doing exactly what I needed it to do!
Update: All vhs tapes copied fine to pc. I then moved onto vhs-c and mini-dv tapes. I did not use the adapters and instead used the cables that came with each camera. I used the video cameras as the vcr to play the tapes and then ran them through the Ion VCR 2 PC. (The video and audio cables plug easily into the front of the unit) Set the tape/other switch to other and you're good to go. Everything went off without a hitch. I am very happy with this machine and the software. The instructional manual can be accessed while running the program by pressing the F1 key on your keyboard. This is very helpful with the software.

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Hand Strap for Cameras or Camcorders Review

2012-01-23T09:25:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)This wrist strap is very similar to the Optecka strap. It has the same tripod mount, and a similar cushioned pad. However, one huge drawback for me. It smells horrible! It's made out of some material that emits a very strong odor similar to a car tire. After trying it in the tripod mount I had to quickly put it back in it's box, I started to feel nauseous.
If you can get past that, the tripod mount doesn't really fit the Nikon D90 very well. It doesn't sit quite flush to the bottom of the camera because of a small tab that sticks out. The Opteka strap has the same problem.

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SanDisk 4GB Extreme SDHC Class 6 Memory Card Review

2012-01-23T08:07:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)I bought this photo card for my Canon SD 1100 is.
I am very happy with the card. I test the card against a regular SD card and there was little differance but the Extreme III was Slightly faster
recording the image and getting to the next shot.

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SSE Best Value 8GB, Lens, Battery and Tripod Complete Accessory Package For The Sony HDR-CX110 HDR-CX150 HDR-CX300 HDR-CX550V HDR-XR350V HDR-XR550V Camcorders Review

2012-01-23T05:30:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)I purchased for $80 and the bag, battery and tripod alone cost more if purchased separately. Plus you get wide angle lens' and filter lens, battery wall charger, 8GB memory card, memory card reader and a light. The only issue I had (which doesn't affect my review) is the light is poorly made, and very dim. i threw it away after the batteries came flying out the bottom. Also, the filter lens are all 37mm and the camera is 30mm. purchased an adapter and that fixed that. BAG, TRIPOD AND BATTERY. Worth it!!!

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Sharp VLAH50U Hi8 Viewcam Camcorder Review

2012-01-23T04:15:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)A few weeks ago I was shopping around for a a new camcorder to replace my sony video recorder from 1985. Since it had been so long since I had done any shopping I carefully weighed my options. Hi8 creates an almost 40% clearer and sharper image than regular 8mm. I don't have the equipment to connect my pc to a dv camcorder.After careful consideration and a few visits to my closest electronics shop I realized that this product was the easiest, most affordable Hi8 and I love using it. I would recommend this to anyone on a budget that has a desire to create quality video with ease and precision.

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Opteka Platinum Series 43mm 0.3X HD Ultra Fisheye Lens for Digital Video Camcorders (43mm Mount) Review

2012-01-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)This lens is absolutely incredible. It is amazingly wide, with alot of distortion, not alot of vig, and the quality is superb. I use this lens primarily for filming skating and action sports. The only thing I did not like about this lens was the lens shade, even if you put it on correctly, the left side of it gets in the shot. You can easily unscrew the lens shade, or do what I did, and shave it down with a power sander. Overall amazing lens for the price. If you have a camera with a 43mm thread mount, buy this lens.

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Hand Strap for Cameras or Camcorders Review

2012-01-22T09:04:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)This item did the job i needed it to do. Basically I wanted to keep the camera in my hand. I dont like the neck strap I have too much. So it did that pretty well.
I would say there was one drawback. Even after adjusting this thing for about an hour or so, i would have to push my hand in pretty far to get a snug, secure fit. By that point, its sorta difficult to get to the shutter button. Thats my only gripe about the grip. When i put my battery grip on I cant really use this anymore.

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5 Hour Replacement Battery For Panasonic VW-VBG260 Battery + Rapid Charger For Panasonic HDC,SD9,HDC, HS9,HDC-SX5,HDC-DX1(XPVP260) Review

2012-01-22T05:22:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)5hr battery time is probably theoretical max; for me this battery lasted about 3 hr with the combination of leaving it on and recording videos. Bad thing is that you have to take the charger with you when you travel, one extra charger if you use the supplied battery and charger since you cannot charger with the propitiatory charger supplied by Panasonic. It charges quickly. This will not show you how many hr left on the screen because this is the replacement battery not supplied by Panasonic. I am happy with this; so far works the way it should.

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Battery Charger for Sony NP-FH40, NPFH40, NP-FH50, NPFH50, NP-FH60, NPFH60, NP-FH70, NPFH70, NP-FH100, NPFH100 Review

2012-01-22T03:16:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)Charger works fine as a replacement charger for my Sony CamCarder battery. Easy to use-would buy again.

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Canon NB-4L Compatible Battery Charger for Canon PowerShot SD780 IS / PowerShot SD940 IS / PowerShot SD1400 IS Digital Camera Review

2012-01-21T10:03:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)my friend has the charger that came with his camera and it seems to work a little faster... maybe by 30 minutes... but his battery might not have needed as much charging... comes with a cigarette-lighter cable... either way it's a good replacement.

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CA-590 CA590 Replacement Compact AC Power Supply Adapter Charger for Canon FS10 / FS11 / FS100 / VIXIA HF R10 / HF R11 / HF R100 Review

2012-01-21T08:39:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)Lost my charger that came with my camera in my move.
Cannon wanted $71 dollars to replace it with the same old model...
Went to Amazon to see what they could do and for 2/3 the price I bought Cannon's updated version (not even offered on their site)that also charges most of the Cannon camera line. Great little unit... You won't be sorry...
Hare

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Panasonic PV-GS80 MiniDV Camcorder with 32x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Review

2012-01-21T06:57:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)This camera is a wonderful option to someone new to videography and filmaking. It offers basic features, while packing a mighty punch in performance.

Heres the GOOD:
1.)GREAT video quality for a camera in this price range
2.)Firewire compatible
3.)very useful Optical Image Stabalizer(O.I.S.)
4.)VERY easy and SIMPLE to use
5.)comfortable "one touch" joystick navagation
6.)feels sturdy and fits in palm nicely
7.)Mini DV tape loads from the TOP of the unit(helps with use of tripod)
8.)Crystal clear 2.7 inch LCD screen
9.)you don't hear motor noise.(which tends to be a problem with cameras in this price range.)
10.)Small design which makes it easy to travel with
Heres the BAD:
1.) Battery isnt very good..only about 1-2 hours max recordong time with the LCD flipped open(however, compensating for use of the eyepiece will significantly save battery.)
2.)At Max zoom O.I.S. isnt 100% effective
3.)Removable Lens cap..(they say if you don't remove the cap before powering the camera on, then that will mess up the white balance sensor..although i havent tested that claim)
4.)You have to remove the battery to have access to the fireiwre port, thus needing to plug another adapter into the camera to recive power from the wall.
5.) Eyepiece does not flip up at an angle, insted it only pulls out about 1/2 inch( also, to use the eyepiece, the LCD has to be closed and it isnt diffucult to lean in too close to the eyepice and accidentally push it back in, which will power off the camera, which tends to get annoying.)
6.)Low light performance isnt very impressive( but it still does a decent job.)
My Thoughts:
This Camcorder is deffinatly something to consider if you are a begginer in filmakking(me), or if you just want something inexpensive to record those speacial moments with. I REALLY like this camera, and right now it goes everywhere with me(almost! lol) and the deisgn is wonderful! At a glance, one would never imagine that this is a "lower end" camera. By "lower end" I simply mean "Entry Level." There really is nothing significantly bad with this camera's performance. I highly reccomend it. But there is one catch for those PC users out there. YOU NEED FIREWIRE!!(if you want to edit your footage) Get a firewire card from Amazon. I bought one here for 23 bucks and it came with a cable!! I saw the same card at best buy for 35$( Cable not included, which runs another 20$-50$!! that's ridiculous!!) So go ahead. For the price of this camera, and all you get, you really cant go wrong.

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Item #: PANPVGS80. Mini DV Palmcorder Camcorder features Optical Image Stabilizer and 32x Optical Zoom, and records to Mini DV tape. Optical Image Stabilizer minimizes the effect of any hand-shake in situations where it is most often a problem, such as with zoom shots or on a moving vehicle. The system is optical to ensure quality, and images look clear and beautiful on a big-screen TV. Camcorder offers 2.7" LCD, One-Touch Navigation and Joy Stick Control, 680K pixel CCD, Zoom Microphone. Includes AC battery charger, Lithium-Ion battery, AV cable, CD-ROM and lens cap. Customers also search for: Panasonic ,Video Camcorders,Cameras,Opti Comp Digital Cam,30X Optical

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JVC Everio GZMC200 2MP 4GB Microdrive Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-21T05:51:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)While there is much I really like about this camera, its short comings prevent me from recommending it to people who want just one video camera. The problems I am experiencing deal mostly with the camera's POOR performance in medium to low light conditions. While many camcorders excel at producing images in standard room lighting, this camera does a dismal job. In normal room lighting the auto focus will occasionally fail and even at the best of the times the images lack adequate saturation. The manual white balance settings improve the situation only marginally. If you are going to be shooting inside your house, use another camcorder.
Now the upside - the camcorder delivers good quality images when shooting outside. Motion artifacts are occasionally detectable when objects in the scene move quickly but not annoying at all. The zoom is quite satisfying and the auto focus only lags slightly behind when quickly zooming in the 10x optical zoom range. The compact size is spectacular! The standard tripod mount socket is a welcome addition.
And, of course, the whole video editing experience is greatly enhanced by the direct transfer of the camera's hard drive to your editing station's hard drive. (I recommend you get a card reader or PCMCIA adapter, so the camera isn't involved in the video transfer. You can be charging the camera while you are working with the saved video - something you'll do often as the battery only lasts an hour).
The saved video files have a .mod extension. The manual says you should only use the supplied software to edit/play the video files. The supplied software is from Cyberlink and it is adequate. I have found that by renaming the files to .mpg after I have copied them to my editing station, I can edit/play the video files with software not supplied with the camera. Don't know if this will work in all cases, but so far so good.
The still camera images are actually quite nice for a 2 mega pixel camera. They are always saved as JPEG files. I have found no option to save as a lossless TIFF. A real shame since the supplied 4GB microdrive really has enough room to store these big files.
The audio quality is excellent, no complaints what so ever.
One last disappointment - the camera limits maximum file size to 4GB, even if you have a compact flash card that can hold more. As a result it shall forever be impossible for this camera to record more than 60 continuous minutes using the highest quality video setting. Sure, an 8GB card can hold 2 of these 60 minute recordings but something will be missed when the first file hits the 4GB wall and the recording is stopped and the camera waits for you to manually start a new recording session.

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Still images or video--capture either 60 minutes of DVD-quality MPEG-2 movies or thousands of super-high resolution UXGA-size JPEG pictures with the Everio--the first camera to use Microdrive technology. The included 4GB Microdrive card, though it is the same size as Compact Flash card, has such unprecedented capacity because it is has its own built-in HDD (hard disk drive).

Until now, tapeless formats have been severely limited in the length and quality of video capacity, but the Everio's Microdrive lets you shoot up to 60 minutes of high quality MPEG-2 video--and even more in lower resolution modes.A selection of recording modes lets you choose more quality or more shooting time. The highest quality ULTRA mode records at a constant bit rate of 8.88 Mbps with AC 3 audio -- comparable to the DVD data rate (average 4 Mbps video/9.8 Mbps maximum). Essentially what you get is DVD quality, with the same video and audio format as a movie DVD. And the number of still photos that will fit on the Microdrive card is nothing less than awe-inspiring: More than 5000 of the highest resolution images (1600x1200 fine).
2.12 Megapixel CCD This 1/3.6" CCD with a total of 2.12 million pixels (effective: 1.23 million for moving pictures, 2 million for still pictures) offers the high resolution capabilities needed for high quality digital videography and photography. And the Megabrid Engine applies separate, optimized processing to moving and still images, for videos with a high signal-to-noise ratio, and high-resolution still pictures.
Versatile, Lossless Data Store what you've shot on the provided Microdrive card, optional CompactFlash or SD Memory Cards. size as a CompactFlash card, but with many Gigabytes of capacity. You can eject the Microdrive card, just as you would a CompactFlash or SD Memory Card, and load data into your PC via optional card adapter. Or simply connect the camera via its USB2.0 interface for quick downloading to a PC. All transfer is digital-to-digital, so you won't lose any quality in the process.
DVD Creation & Sharing
Multi-Format Support In addition to making it easy to create DVDs, the supplied software converts to a variety of file formats for distribution via the Web or by e-mail. Supported formats include DV-AVI, Windows-AVI, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, as well as Windows Media Video and RealVideo that can be streamed over the Internet.

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Olympus FE-100 4MP Digital Camera with 2.8x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-20T11:14:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This camera works like a dream. Would recommend it for the average person who wants a good camera for family, vacation photos etc. Takes very good indoor flash photos. Colors and resolution are excellent.
Has a good feel and easy operation. Lens retracts and lens cover closes when you turn it off.
At 4 megapixels you get more than enough resolution for 8 X 10 blowups.
Uses "XD" format picture (memory) cards. Would recommend you buy the 256 MB card or a 512 MB for a few more bucks. I purchased a Fuji 256 MB card and it works fine. Holds about 260 photos.
Can use two ordinary "AA" alkaline batteries. However would recommend the NiMh rechargeable batteries. Bought the Energizer 15 minute charger from Amazon which comes with four Energizer "AA" NiMh batteries. Long lasting batteries and most pleased. I shot a whole day of photos including many flash ones and did not have to replace them 'till late at night. Great charger and batteries. It's at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DIIAS/103-2880875-1151054?v=glance&n=172282&n=507846&s=electronics&v=glance
As with any camera, a case for it is advisable. But buy a case at Circuity City or BestBuy rather than online. That way you can walk with your camera and see how it actually fits into the case and how much stuff you want the case to hold e.g. spare batteries , charger etc.
All in all, a good reliable product. Congrats to Olympus.
If you buy it, you wont be disappointed.

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Capture those special moments forever in crystal-clear digital quality. Ideal as your first digital camera, the Olympus FE 100 is packed with tons of easy-to-use features.
Features:
4.0 Megapixel CCD: Capture your images in all their detail; then print them without loss of clarity
2.8x Optical, 11x Total Zoom: Together with precision-crafted lenses, this handy zoom lets you move in on the action without moving a step
Built-in Help Guide: Brief in-camera descriptions and tips help you choose the ideal setting for each situation and purpose - no stopping to consult the manual
Effortless Printing: Connect to any Pictbridge-enabled printer (like the Olympus P-11) and in one touch gives, you'll have photo-lab quality pictures (no computer necessary)Simple Connection to PC: Quickly transfer images and movies to almost any computer using a simple USB connection (no software required)
One-Touch Design: Quickly access individual buttons to shoot, review and delete images
Six Shooting Modes: To find the right light and mode, just turn the dial on the back to one of six options including landscape, portrait and night scene
Olympus Master Software: Includes an easy-to-use bundle providing online support, templates, firmware upgrades and one-click editing tools like red-eye reduction so you can touch up images before you print or e-mail them

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Sakar 32072 Crayola Digital Camcorder Purple Review

2012-01-20T08:52:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My parents bought this camera for my six-year old niece, who is autistic and loves to take pictures and videos of herself playing (or have a family member do it) and watch them on the computer. This digital camera is ruggedly built and is ideal for little ones as it can be dropped many times and will still function. There is an attached wrist strap to minimize the likelihood of such accidents. There is a fold-out view screen that shows exactly what is being filmed which is great for kids or anyone else who hates to use the traditional monocular scope. I would definitely buy rechargeable batteries simply because it will be cheaper in the long run (get a battery charger, if you don't have one). The cover for the batteries is attached using screws, so it stays on during any unforeseen drop.
Alas, there is one big detractor. The camera has a slot that accommodates one SD card. This is a great feature as it expands greatly the amount of films that can be recorded and stored on the camera. The problem is that this slot is on the bottom of the camera and the cards can and do readily slip out and get lost. I am ordering the second SD card since this camera was purchased two weeks ago. To me, this seems to be an odd engineering/structural flaw. They design a digital camcorder for kids that can readily handle the abuse children can dish out on something like this, yet they provide a memory card slot that is in the most vulnerable place imaginable. Considering the price and the structrual integrity of the camera this seems to be a gross oversight.
My advice is to buy it for that young photographer/cinematographer in your life, but if you get an SD card for it, put some duct tape or other adhesive over the card slot and spare yourself the grief of looking for a lost SD card and/or the expense of buying new ones.

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Lenmar LIC315 Lithium-ion Camcorder Battery Equivelent to the Canon BP-315 Battery Review

2012-01-20T07:23:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)If you bought the Canon HV10 like I did, you'll soon find that the 15 minute BP-310 battery it came with just isn't going to cut it. Oh the other hand, I've gotten almost 2 hours from the Lenmar BP-315. It's approximately twice as thick as the BP-310, but not a problem when installed on the camera. I bought two BP-315 batteries along with the Canon CG-300 charger which I also recommend.

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Hello Kitty VGA Digital Camera - KT7002 Review

2012-01-20T04:05:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We bought this camera for our daughter's 6th birthday, she was so happy and spent all day taking pictures of everything. Then I tried to put the pictures on the computer and all I got was 11 pictures of rainbows, every picture blurred so bad they were just streaks of colored light - the quality is HORRIBLE, you can hardly make out what the pcture is supposed to be of - this was even the case when I took a picture (and I placed the camera on a bookshelf to avoid it moving while taking the picture).
The software is a problem to install and use. When I tried to upload the pictures they remain on the camera so you can easily fill it up and not be able to use.
overall this was a huge disappointment, save your money and avoid this agrevating product.

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National Geographic NG 2343 Earth Explorer Small Shoulder Bag Review

2012-01-19T12:23:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Be careful, the photo is a bit misleading. I have the Small shoulder bag and it only has 1 front pocket, not two like what the picture has for the small. Overall, the bag is constructed well and my only complaint is that it is difficult to access the front pocket since the zippers don't go that deep.

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Sony DCR-DVD108 DVD Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-19T08:48:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am in no way a computer geek, I had no idea what optical zoom and finalizing disc's meant. But I am a mom that wanted quality home videos of my girls and wanted to spend less than $450. So here is my opinion. I returned my Samsung 164 for this camera. It was the same price but this has the Super Niteshot. The camera is very light and easy to control with one hand. The lens is made of glass versus the Samsung which is made of plastic. The zoom is amazing on this camera, I stood across my kitchen was able to zoom in on the small print on my calendar, AMAZING! I am so glad I took the Samsung 164 back - the indoor quality of that camera was horrible. This is excellent even in low light situations. Very pleased. I was also able to record on the DVD -R's which do not require formatting - just put the disc in and record. Oh and finalizing is just when you are done recording you go the menu on the camcorder press finalize and it does in about 1 minute it says it is complete and your done. Not as complicated as I thought it would be.

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Lowepro CompuRover AW Camera Bag (Black) Review

2012-01-19T07:54:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a very versatile, well-designed pack for a digital photographer with a laptop, camera and *some* accessories. There is even room left over for some clothes and other personal items! I looked around for something cheaper that would do what I want and nothing else came close. The build quality is also the best that I found.
The first reason you get a pack of any kind is the function. The function of this pack is for the serious digital photographer on the go that has a DSLR, 2-3 lenses, flash, LAPTOP, cords, batteries, memory cards, etc. The separate pocket for the laptop to me was a must so that you could pull it out at airport security checks without messing up everything else in the bag. It is well padded and has a side opening which is really smart - it keeps out rain even when open and the weight of the bag will not pull it open as with top opening pockets. The bottom compartment is also adequately padded and compartmentalized for your camera equipment (again, keeping everything separate is nice). The compartments can be moved around due to the velcro. The bottom compartment has pleats that help it to "hinge" open for access when the pack is tight and it can be closed quickly with a fastex clip.
The top pocket is smaller than you would expect, considering that this is a pretty big backpack, but that is the price of a padded laptop and camera compartment. This compartment has one built-in and one removable memory card wallet. there is an additional mesh pocket to contain cords, etc. The rest of the space is adequate for a change of clothing packed tightly.
On the outside is a nifty fold-up tripod holder that is a not as useful as I thought it would be. If a good-sized tripod is in it, it is in the way of the bottom camera compartment and the pullout rain cover. You could attach a tripod to the right side (opposite side of the laptop opening), but that not nearly as sturdy. There are a few small, thin zipper pockets on the outside and two mesh pockets for a small bottle of water.
Finally, the straps are very good, curved ergonomically with a sternum clip and the waistbelt is also nicely padded. With a lot of effort the waistbelt can be taken off for casual use. The belt would be good for extended walking, hiking, biking.
The downsides to this bag are the price and moderately exessive weight, but these I think are worth it in the end to protect/carry several thousand dollars worth of equipment and do it well.

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Wasabi Power AC Power Adapter for Sony Handycam DCR-HC20, DCR-HC21, DCR-HC26, DCR-HC28 Series Review

2012-01-19T04:27:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The prongs on the product will not fit in any North American outlet I've ever seen. They are shaped exactly like the plastic thing you put in an outlet to keep babies out. The plug just falls out of the socket.
Only get this product if your AC adapter is faulty but you still have the electrical cords from Sony.
This is not a Sony product (it doesn't claim to be) and it's made in China. Buyer beware.
Still cheaper to get this ordered than to get Sony to fix it.

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Wasabi Power Battery for Sanyo DB-L80 (1000 mAh, 3-YR Warranty) Review

2012-01-18T13:05:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this battery to use with my Sanyo VPC-CG20.
It appears to last as long before recharge as the supplied battery.

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Canon ES8400V Hi8 Camcorder with 2.5" Color LCD Screen & Image Stabilizer Review

2012-01-18T11:36:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I read the other review which said that the picture was grainy. More so than a Sony camera of comparable qualty. I took pictures in good light and found that the video quality was excellent in normal and telephoto shooting. I used Hi8 video tape. The picture was grainy only in low light situations. In a low light situation I don't plan to take videos, although the lens is light sensitive enough to take such pictures. I have several other camcorders of different models and types and this camera stands up with the best of them. It is also small and very easy to carry and take pictures... I plan to keep it. It is an excellent camcorder.

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Hi8 technology has been ignored lately because of the digital revolution, but price-conscious buyers can still find great picture quality and feature-laden Hi8 camcorders, and the Canon ES8400V is no exception. Some of its many features include a large 2.5-inch LCD screen, color viewfinder, built-in video light, time base corrector for a more accurate picture, preset titling, and digital effects such as art, black and white, sepia, negative, and 16:9 screen ratio.
Lens The optical zoom has a power of 22x and a digital zoom of 800x. The digital zoom works by electronically enhancing the optical image and comes in handy for objects far away. The electronic image stabilization system keeps the picture steady despite natural hand shaking from the user. The autofocus and autoexposure functions help you concentrate on the action rather than on trying to find the ideal setting for each moment. For greater control, you can use the focus controller and direct the camera to focus on an off-center subject. The ES8400V has programmed autoexposure settings to match a variety of shooting situations: auto, sports, portrait, spotlight, and sand and snow.
Inputs and Outputs The standard RCA input-output and cable are included so you can hook the camcorder to a TV for convenient viewing or a VCR for dubbing to regular VHS.
Contents This package contains the ES8400V camcorder, battery pack (model BP-911K), shoulder strap, power adapter (model CA-550), and AV cable.

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Western Digital My Passport AV 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Media Drive (Black) Review

2012-01-18T07:51:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This external hard drive is smaller than it looks in the pictures. It can even fit in most pockets! It works well as it's marketed: as an AV storage device connected to a device in your home entertainment system such as to a PS3 or Blu-Ray player (check the compatibility list). Naturally, it can be used as a normal external hard drive connected to your laptop or desktop computer as well.
One questions I had was whether or not this can work with a TiVo to add more storage, it unfortunately cannot since the TiVo requires an E-SATA interface and this drive uses USB 2.0.
One thing that's nice about this is that it requires no external power source, it gets power from the USB. It also runs very cool so there is no fear of it overheating or adding additional heat when inside of an entertainment cabinet.
The sleek design makes it nice for traveling as well. It also comes with a stand to hold the drive vertically if you want.
If you need more storage for your media center, and have a supported device that you want to connect this hard drive to, I can recommend this Western Digital.

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WD's My Passport AV allows you to easily transfer and store videos from your compatible camcorder to free up space for more recording. Connect it to a game console, Blu-ray Disc player or media player, like WD TV, to smoothly stream video to your big-screen TV. Optimized for AV devices, this handy little drive is the perfect solution for your video storage and playback needs.

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Drift HD170 HD Action Video Camera with 4X Digital Zoom Review

2012-01-18T05:47:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I did a lot of research before buying the Drift HD170. Having used a friend's GoPro, I'm familiar with point-of-view cameras. After using both, I don't know why anyone would buy a GoPro, unless they were using it to dive or for other watersports where the camera is underwater a lot. The Drift HD170 is splashproof, dustproof, weatherproof, and dunkproof which is more than enough for my activities. The Drift has a remote for turning the camera on and off. With the GoPro, we were always taking our helmets on and off to start or stop recording. More often than not, we'd just let the camera run, which meant hours of editing footage. When you turn the camera on or off with the remote, there is an audible beep. I wish they'd make the beep a little louder or the remote had an indicator to tell when the camera was on or off. But having researched all the POV cameras, there isn't anybody that offers that - even the $2000 POV model from Sony. The Drift camera also has an LCD screen, which is an absolute must-have. Without the LCD screen, you have no idea whether your camera is lined up properly. You can also confirm you got the shot without having to download video to your computer. The best thing about this camera is the crystal clear video. I normally shoot in 720p because I like the full 170 degree field of view. The files sizes are more manageable to edit and upload in 720p, but 1080p is an option for television-quality video. All-in-all, I'm really happy with this camera and for the money, nothing beats it.

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Litepanels LP Micro Compact LED Camera Light Kit Includes Gel Kit Review

2012-01-17T10:13:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a dynamite little package. In one test I did, it illuminated an entirely dark (as in no light at night) twelve foot square room adequately enough for good low-light shooting. With ambient light, it's great. It is lightweight especially with 4 disposable lithium AA batteries which last about 7 to 8 hours (4 for $10.00). The light is bright without the blinding glare of a single bulb and stays cool to the touch. There is no color shift when dimming the light. The movable frame that flips up and down is very flimsy so be careful with it. Mine easily comes off and I have had to tape the diffusor to the frame to keep it from falling out. But in all fairness, I rarely lift the frame so it is almost irrelevant. I use this light on a Panasonic DVX 100B with an external shotgun mic. My only real complaint is the knob that allows the light to move forward or backward is between the light mount and mic making it very difficult to adjust. It is challenging to tighten it enough by hand to avoid any movement so they have incorporated a slot in the knob so one can use a coin as a screwdriver for the final tightening. This is tough with the light still mounted on my camera. On cameras without an external mic, which is probably what this product was designed for, I don't think the knob position would be an issue. I still wish Lightpanels had put the knob on the opposite side or better yet, made it reversible. If not for that, I would give this gem five stars. I have reviewed some of Litepanels more expensive products at their showroom in Burbank, CA. All were terrific. They are a top flight company and I would give them five stars.

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Tiffen 405HZE 40.5mm UV Haze-1 Filter (Clear) Review

2012-01-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is the second same filter of this brand that I've purchased. These UV type filters are pretty basic and meant mainly to protect the actual lens. These don't do much other than that. But, that's why I purchased them for my daughter's Olympus E-PL1 and a Nikon SLR that I own. As someone else mentioned, there's a bit of flare. Strangely, I don't notice it on the SLR. At any rate, it's not enough to not recommend it.
On the other hand, this Ensenda shipping company stinks. They marked the package delivered, yet it wasn't. I suppose it's good for their statistics. Not so good for customer service. Hopefully you'll be lucky and get FedEx or UPS.

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Sony 63-minutes HD DVC Tape Review

2012-01-17T06:59:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)As of this review the product information page here is quite bare, so here's additional information about this tape from sonystyle.com:
Sony's new DVM-63HD HD DVC tape offers the highest quality recording media for the consumer or prosumer making the step-up to an HD camcorder. It is the recommended media for Sony's new HDR-FX1 prosumer camcorder. Independent film makers, advertising agencies, and other videographers will appreciate the improved image quality, and the professional 63 minute tape duration. The DVM-63HD features 90% fewer errors and 50% fewer dropouts compared to DV Reference tape (tested on standard Sony DV VCR). Get the good stuff... go for High Definition.
* High Definition Video Recording
* Designed for 1080i or 720p HDV recording and playback.
* 63 minutes recording time of 1080i video
* 3dB higher carrier-to-noise ratio vs. Premium DVC tape *
* Conforms to the MiniDV standard, yet is manufactured with much higher tolerances while incorporating the new AME II technology.
* Key Benefits:
* 90% fewer errors due to 40% increase in carrier-to-noise ratio*
* 50% fewer dropouts*
* 50% less tape shrinkage*
* 3db higher carrier-to-noise ratio*
* The additional 3-minutes on the DVM63HD tape is for test recording. This helps the user calibrate the camera for best results. You can record the full 63 minutes of 1080i video. When recording in 720p HDV or in DV mode, you can record 94 min in LP and 63 min in SP setting.
* New lubricant improves tape stability running under a wide range of operating conditions.
* * vs. Reference DV tape (industry standard) tested on standard Sony DV VCR

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National Geographic NG 2345 Earth Explorer Midi Shoulder Bag Review

2012-01-17T03:31:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)***** November 23, 2009: See addendum at the end of the review
This is a very useful day bag-style camera bag.
It is absolutely perfect for something the size of the smaller Digital Rebels (XT, XTi, etc.) with a mounted walk-around lens such a Canon 17-85mm IS or a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8.
For something like the size of a 20D or Nikon D300, it is a *tiny* bit snug, but still fits pretty darn well with a lens mounted.
You even have room for another lens (NOT something like a 70-200 f2.8L--the bag is not big enough for that), but something like a 50mm prime or another wide zoom, AND an external flash. Might be snug, but it WILL fit.
Of course, this would also work with with compact point-and-shoot and range finders--these smaller cameras will leave you more room for other stuff.
Access is easy, as the top flap closes securely with brass snaps. Inside the main compartment, there's a separate padded camera case with a top flap, and it is held securely in the main compartment with velcro.
There's a fold-away zippered rain cover for when you're on the move but don't need super fast access to your gear. When you need quick access and you don't need the rain cover, there's a handy velcro strap that will keep it securely in place and folded out of your way.
There are two pockets on the front of the flap secured by velcro for quick access to small items (think cleaning cloths, business cards, etc.) and two pockets on the front of the bag underneath the flap secured by zippers (for keys, pens, a phone, memory cards, wallet, etc.)
There's also a flat, zippered compartment in the rear where you can keep maps, passports, and notebooks, and other documents.
Overall, the compartments are plentiful, useful, easy to access, and you can tell that a lot of thought went into the bag's design.
Of course, one of the factors that attracted me to it was the "cool" factor, and yes, I think the bag is quite cool (that's probably one of the reasons you're looking at it anyway, right?) It doesn't disappoint in that deparment--nor does it disappoint in any others.
It would be nice of the bag were just 2" wider. It would let the space on the left and right side of the SLR really breath and allow some room for those carrying L lenses.
The bag's color is a little bit greener in hue than the khaki that you see in photographs of the bag.
These are merely nitpicks, though, and doesn't take away from the great design in the form and functionality of this beautiful bag.
******Addendum:
I traveled to Hawaii on a 7-day honeymoon with this bag, carrying a Canon EOS 20D, a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, and a Sigma 55-200mm lens, plus CF cards and extra batteries, cleaning cloths, etc. Camera and lenses were on the snug side but fit nicely and securely. I felt confident that my gear was protected.
All the pockets and flaps described above are amazingly useful when you're on a trip, on the go. I used each compartment to its fullest not only for gear, but for brochures, wallets, cell phones, boarding passes, and all the other stuff you end up with when you're on a trip involving an airline flight. I'm very happy with how well designed this bag is; easy, instant access to the stuff you need right away.
STILL highly recommended.

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FlipShare TV Review

2012-01-16T09:17:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this item as a gift for a technically challenged family member who was also receiving a Flip UltraHD as a gift. The goal was to move them from the tape camcorder world to the digital world without heavy reliance on PC knowledge. This seemed like the logical answer as Flip has executed the download to PC with 'one-click' simplicity and I figured Flipshare TV would offer that same 'one-click' ease to TV viewing. I was wrong!
Installation: Everything was setup and installed within 5-10 minutes. Software loaded to my PC with ease, autoloading from the USB Key. One complaint about the TV module setup is that they only provide the RCA cables which have at best a mediocre clarity for that type of implementation. They probably figured they could cheap out hear since most people would opt for the HDMI interface...considering their newer camcorders record in HD. If that's the idea...then include the HDMI cable!
Connectivity: This was the huge bummer. I expected this to work like my local home network where I could have my PC in one room and the TV in another room. But it tells you right in the instructions to keep the USB Key and TV module unobstructed, and away from large metal objects (such as flat screen TVs) and other wireless devices...are you kidding me! So they're basically saying dont plan on using this unless you have all modern electronics in your house in another room...real practical! I was able to finally get the wireless connection working by moving the TV module within 10 feet of the USB key...it might be wireless...but what's the point at that range!
Ease of use: Once I finally got it working the software was easy to use and you could flip through your movies with ease. I didnt get so far as using the channels as I decided to return this product.
Summary: Cisco (owners of Pure Digital...makers of Flip products) should be ashamed for letting this "wireless" product go out the door. You're a networking company!

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FlipShare TV lets you watch your entire Flip Video library wirelessly on your TV or HDTV. Flip Video camcorders are known for making video simple; now with FlipShare TV, it's even easier to enjoy and share your videos. Just connect the FlipShare TV Base to your TV, plug the USB Key into your computer, and start enjoying your Flip Video library wirelessly on your TV. It's that simple.

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OP/TECH USA 7401104 Soft Pouch - Digital D-Pro, Neoprene Pouch for Digital SLR Camera with Pro Grip (6 x 6.5 x 6 Inch) (Black) Review

2012-01-16T06:28:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This camera pouch snugly fits my Nikon D200 with Battery Grip and mid-sized lenses PERFECTLY! It is perfect for traveling or when you are going to be moving your camera from bag to bag and don't want it to get banged up. The neoprene gives it a slight level of protection from the elements (although is not waterproof) and the lens mounted rubber ring lets you quickly pull the pouch on/off while keeping it "attached" to the camera. This makes it super easy and convenient to put the pouch back on and lessens liklihood of loss.

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HP iPaq 510 Voice Messenger Unlocked Smartphone with Wi-Fi, MicroSD Slot - Unlocked Phone - US Warranty - Black Review

2012-01-16T05:37:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had a variety of phones, but this is my favorite.
Razr - Thin & light, but brain-dead synchronization with Outlook.
Cingular 8125 - Does everything, but big, heavy and some tasks needed the stylus.
My requirements:
- Quadband (world phone - works almost everywhere)
- Bluetooth (for headsets etc)
- WiFi (to connect to the Internet for faster surfing and places like Japan where Quadband doesn't work)
- Perfect synchronization with Microsoft Outlook
- Keypad (T9 - don't text enough for a full keyboard)
- No stylus needed
- Don't care about 3rd party software, but it's nice
The phone: The HP iPaq 510!
It fits my requirements great! And the Voice Commander software is pretty neat (some may think it's gimmicky, but it helps when you're driving a car).
Only minor niggles - wish it was even thinner (but the upside is HP put in a hefty batter) - keys require getting used to as kinda smaller (but hey, you got a big gorgeous display above them). Some people have complained about the screen not having higher resolution, but I find it fine (170x220).
With a little customization, this phone can be tailored to you! I changed the Shortcut keys, installed SmartphoneNotes (to sync Notes with Outlook), recorded some voice tags to improve the speech recognition (it actually can recognize speech without training, if necessary!) It will even switch from Normal to Silent (or Vibrate) mode whenever you're in a meeting! Sweet!
Note: Press and hold the Home key to get quick access to other function!
Love this phone already!

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Eschewing the curvy yet bulky design of its iconic iPAQ Pocket PCs ofold, the HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger offers a downright svelte design as well as the power of the Windows Mobile 6 Standard operating system (for non-touchscreen phones). In addition to its quad-band GSM/EDGE network communication capabilities, the iPAQ 510 also offers built-in Wi-Fi for VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) telephony over open 802.11b/g networks. Other features include a range of voice commands, 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity for communication headsets, expansion via MicroSD memory cards, and up to 6.5 hours of talk time.
The new Windows Mobile 6 operating system enables you to view and edit Word and Excel documents as well as provides instant message capabilities via Windows Live Messenger. (See more details about Windows Mobile 6 below.) You'll also get an enhanced Outlook Mobile experience that enables you to view emails in their original HTML format and enjoy quick access to contacts with the ability to search a call history and contacts database. The iPAQ 510 is also very enterprise-friendly as it's the first iPAQ device to offer the over-the-air device management capabilities from Bitfone, which can be used by IT managers to remotely support the iPAQ's performance, security and access to applications, data and networks.
Nicely compact, the iPAQ 510 measures just 0.64 inches thin and weighs 3.6 ounces. It has a 2-inch micro-reflective TFT screen with a 176 x 222-pixel resolution and an LED backlight. The phone offers 128 MB of ROM (which stores the Windows Mobile 6 operating system and applications) and 64 MB of SDRAM (which can be used to store user files), and it provides approximately 65 MB of available ROM storage and 44 MB of SDRAM memory. It's expandable using MicroSD memory cards, which currently max out at 2 GB of storage. The address book is only limited by the available memory, and you can store up to 12 numbers per entry as well as home and work addresses, e-mail, IM screen name, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can pair a contact with a photo, a caller group, or one of 28 ringtones.
It has a 12-key numeric phone keyboard and a blocky 5-way navigation controller. Because this phone runs the Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition, which doesn't support touch screens, you'll have to use the controller and keypad for accessing functions. The iPAQ 510 also offers more than 20 voice commands for easy hands-free operation. Using a powerful "voice reply" feature, you can reply to email by dictating and sending a voice response, without the need for any typing. You can also listen to email and text messages, navigate through phone and calendar tasks, and speak to start applications.
The camera on the back of the phone has a 1.3-megapixel resolution, and it offers five quality settings--from QCIF (176 x 144 pixels) to SXGA (1280 x 1024 pixels, good enough for snapshot prints). It supports GIF, JPEG, BMP, and PNG file formats. It can also shoot short video clips at 176 x 144 pixels.
In addition to Bluetooth wireless capability (version 1.2) for hands-free headsets, the iPAQ 510 also has a 2.5mm jack for using wired headset and stereo headphones. Connect to your PC via Bluetooth or USB (version 1.1).
Vital Statistics The HP iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger weighs 3.6 ounces and measures 4.21 x 1.91 x 0.64 inches. Its 1100 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 6.5 hours of talk time, and up to 7.8 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty, and 90 days of software technical support.
Powered by Windows Mobile 6 Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 updates the Windows Mobile 5 platform with a number of handy features that make searching through email, editing Microsoft Office documents, and staying on top of your most important communications even easier. Emails can now be viewed in their original rich HTML format and now offer the ability to visit embedded links. It also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides a full set of Windows Live services, such as the Windows Live Messenger IM application, which now enables you to chat with more than one person at one time or send a file.
With Windows Mobile 6, your phone will finally be able to emulate the power and features of your PC's Microsoft Office suite. You'll be able to neatly view, navigate and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in their original formatting--without affecting tables, images or text--as well as view PowerPoint presentations.
Microsoft Office Word Mobile features include spell-check, Find and Replace commands, bulleted lists, text formatting, and support for tables for the first time.
With Excel Mobile, youÕre not just confined to editing charts: with the new Chart Wizard you can create charts quickly and easily.
PowerPoint Mobile allows you to view the full presentation, rehearse timings, check the order and any live links you may have in your presentation. You can then email comments back to the team or communicate via MSN Messenger for an immediate response.
After creating or editing a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, you can synchronize it with your PC and it will automatically be converted to the PC version.

All Windows Mobile 6 powered devices include Direct Push Technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. It also offers a set of important device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen, helping ensure that confidential information remains that way.

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Motorcycle / Bike Handlebar Mount for Camera Camcorder & Videocam Review

2012-01-16T03:22:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this to mount an HD video camera on my bars. On my road bike there was way too much vibration to use the footage. I'm not sure any mount without some sort of dampening system would work, but I think the vibration is magnified by the height of the stalk on this mount. Don't even bother with this mount for a mountain bike. The stalk is too weak--it broke on the first rough descent. Fortunately I heard the initial crack and saved my camera.

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National Geographic NG 2475 Earth Explorer Medium Shoulder Bag Review

2012-01-15T13:03:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I quite like this bag - I think it will become my airline travel bag of choice. It will be great for the purpose, even with no camera equipment at all!
It is not quite true that it won't hold a 17" laptop. I have a 17" Macbook Pro - it fits fine inserted vertically into the internal laptop pocket. The bag is cleverly designed because the soft internal roll up zipper flap will fold down over the laptop and still allow the zipper to close around the contents with ease. That said, with an oversize laptop the bag's exterior flap will not fall far enough to fasten the quick-lock snaps, and the carry handle will be a bit off center, but it is still secure and comfortable to carry, especially with the shoulder strap. The quick-lock deficiency could be fixed with either a) longer straps or b) additional snaps above the exterior pockets.
I have a D2X which does not fit into the padded internal compartment with lens on, but the camera body alone does fit, with room for a lens off to the side. The D2X with lens mounted does fit in the bag next to, but not in the padded internal bag, so spare lenses could go in the internal bag.
My D80 with lens fits beautifully in the internal compartment, and of course the bag is designed for a medium digital SLR, not a large.
The fabric is soft and inviting (great color, too), the accessory pockets useful and well thought out, and the bag is very comfortable to carry on the shoulder.
I would not want this bag loaded with camera equipment to be tossed about indiscriminately by, for example, baggage handlers...but in my own hands as my personal carry-on, I would be confident in the protection it offers.

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Optoma EP-PK-101 PICO Pocket Projector- 4 oz. Review

2012-01-15T09:31:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We purchased a few of these for work(to be used with both the iPhone and iTouch). I would probably give this projector 3 1/2 stars, but it was not an option. We have not been using this very long, but those that have used it have been very impressed (it is better than what we were expecting).
Are these for everyone? I would say no. The picture quality is decent, but it does not come close to larger projectors that don't cost a lot more than this does. My guess is that a lot of people will want this because it looks cool, but I'd bet that most people will not use it much once the newness wears off.
The image is decent when viewed in a very dark room. The lighter the room, the more the image gets washed out. It does not take much light either before the image is washed out and only usable if you are fairly close to the surface you are projecting the image on. Even in dark rooms, the image is on the dark side (whites will have a bluish tint). There is a built in speaker, but it's basically worthless so plan on connecting it to some sort of external speaker.
I realize that the review seems a little negative and I don't want you to think that we are not happy with these. Like I mentioned above, we have been very happy with what these can do. The media guys will not be using these to show HD video to clients, but they will get a lot of use. We have a number of people that travel a lot for training purposes. They usually have to pack around a laptop/dvd player, projector, external speakers, and all of the wires needed to connect everything together. They are usually in smaller rooms presenting to small groups. For this purpose, the projector is going to work very well.
Here is what we have put together. Instead of packing around the equipment mentioned above, our managers now have their iPhone or iTouch, the Optoma Pico Projector, and a set of mini speakers from a company called Grandmax (Grandmax.com). The speakers are powered from the iPhone and are not much bigger than the projector (the sound is excellent for the size). They are able to show videos, pictures, and PowerPoint presentations(you need a program to convert the PowerPoint presentation to a video to do this)and not have to pack a ton of equipment to do it.
It will be exciting to see where this technology goes in the future. However, as for now, this projector does a decent job as long as you can live with the shortcomings. It's not perfect and a lot of people will not be happy with the quality, but it has the potential to be a very worthwhile tool if you have a specific need that this projector can satisfy.

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The versatile Optoma EP-PK-101 PICO projector is the smallest projector you have ever seen! Its compact size and durability make it a must have for travel and on-the-spot presentations. Small enough to fit in your pocket, bright enough to spark your imagination.Optoma PK-101 with iPod Connection KitConnects to:a) iPod, iPhone, and iTouch with included bundled connection kitb) Camcorders, DV-Cams, and Digital Cameras enabled with standard composite AV Out with included composite cablec) DVD Players and other video players enable with standard composite AV Out with included composite cableNote: This configuration does not connect to notebook computers, PCs PDAs, cell phones, or other devices unless the device has composite output. Please make sure to consult your device's owner manual.Make your video capable iPod, iPhone, or iTouch a mobile projection device. Use the Optoma PICO projector to:1) Project video (project previously downloaded video content or project live uTube video) 2) Project photographs3) Project a Powerpoint presentation (note Powerpoints must first be saved in .pdf format.

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Vidpro BP-200 Photo Pack Digital SLR Camera Backpack Case (Sage/Black) for Nikon D700, D300, D300s, D90, D5000, D3100, D3000, D60, D50, D40 -- Fits (1) camera body plus 4+ lenses, flash, battery grip and accessories Review

2012-01-15T07:07:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was looking for a convenient way to carry all of my camera equipment, and at an affordable price. For under $30 I decided to bite and see what I got (seeing as this had/has no reviews). I'm quite glad I did. For the price you get a nice little bag that comes with velcro inserts (so that you can move them around and adjust them to your liking) that are nicely padded to prevent your items from getting scratches. It says up to 8 lenses and camera, but that mileage my vary depending on the size of your camera and your lenses. I would say even with a pro dslr and a couple larger telezooms you could still get your camera and 5 - 6 lenses in the main compartment without a problem.
Above the main compartment on the opposite side of the bag are 2 mesh pockets for keeping cords, accessories, whatever. The mesh is a bit on the loose side (although not terribly so), so I wouldnt put anything you're TERRIBLY worried about possibly slipping out in there. On the front outside of the bag there is a rather large zip compartment to put other accesories as well that does its job. I really wish there was at least one more small compartment. Somewhere I can put my Memory cards and extra batteries that was small, secure, and not by everything else... and would be my only real gripe with this bag.
One lovely thing about this though are the straps on either side (so you can choose which side you'd like to put it on) for your tripod. I have a 6" tripod and it fits no problem, you just loosen the straps, set it in there, and then tighten it up and it holds it just fine. Now I have a rather lightweight tripod, so if you're carrying a heavy duty one im not sure how "off balance" having it on one side of you might make you feel, but I can only attest for what I have, and it works great.
The bag is made of a (what feels like, at least) sturdy material, and the weatherproofing looks nice (although if "shiny" materials arent your thing, which they arent really mine, it might take a little getting used to. Also, in the picture the bag looks black with grey accenting. The one I received is black with hunter green accenting. Im not sure if they all come this way or if its a random gamble or what. I dont mind the color so im not going to complain though.
Overall, great bag that could use a little improving here and there, but for its price you cant beat the value.

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Manfrotto 585-1 ModoSteady 3-in-1 Camera/Camcorder Stabilizer and Support System Review

2012-01-15T04:01:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We are giving the Monosteady a 1 star because a 0 star is not offered as an option.
We bought a Manfrotto MonoSteady stabilizer to use with a small video camera. We're pretty good at using video equipment, but the MonoSteady absolutely, categorically did not work. We studied the instruction sheet that came with it and followed instructions exactly as described, we watched Manfrotto's demonstration videos on YouTube (you'll notice they make it look SO easy, a caveman can do it - excuse the pun! ;) But in reality it was impossible to use. It never balanced no matter how many ways we tried to make it work.
We went back to the store we bought it from and asked the video experts there to help us figure out how to use it, but even THEY could not balance it. We took the MonoSteady to Italy and met some Italian videographers videotaping a festival and we figured - Hey, Manfrotto is an Italian company, maybe the Italians know how to use the MonoSteady! The entire group of pro videographers could NOT balance the MonoSteady no matter how hard they tried.
Figuring maybe we got a bad model, we bought another one. Yes, HUGE mistake. It did not work either. The biggest waste of $200+ ever!
It's such a colossal disappointment that we did not even attempt to sell the MonoSteadies...we could not in good conscience inflict Manfrotto MonoSteady on another unsuspecting victim.

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Aiptek DV3100 3.1MP AVI Digital Camcorder Review

2012-01-14T10:40:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I order this camera based on its features, some reviews and doing some research on the net. After a week of exploring its capabilities i found out that its 4 in 1 features are in med level in terms of quality and here it is:
1. as a Digital video(camcorder) - support only up to 10fps as a result the video is not smooth and zoom features are not available.
2. as a Digital camera - 2MP ok, the pictures are fine as long as you pay attention on the lens when taking pictures. no flash, no optical zoom only 2X digital zoom.
3. as a Voice recorder - its a fix sampling rate i don't know what it is. the quality of sound recording is low but you can save more space.
4. as a Web camera - capable only up 20 fps, just good enough for me.
Bonus features: as a removable drive, nice 1.5" LCD display, small in size, can be preview on TV, 2 AA batteries, plus its accesories and software package.
TAKE NOTE: use this camera only during the day or where there is sufficient light coz it has a very poor results in low light condition.
Anyway, who can expect professional results on a less than $150 camera? It's still recommended for enthusiast who's fun of capturing moments. Don't forget to include at least 256MB CF card.

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This pocket sized Aiptek PocketDV3100 3.1 MP (interpolated) Digital Video Camcorder is a versatile digital video camcorder that allows you to capture stunning video and audio with ease!Take up to 3 megapixel (interpolated, 2.0 CMOS resolution) pictures and use the 2x digital zoom to bring the action closer! Connect the Pocket DV3100 camera to your TV/VCR to playback pictures and movies, upload to the PC, or playback on the built-in 1.5-inch color TFT display.The DV3100 features 16 MB built-in memory and featuresabuilt-in CompactFlash card slot for up to 512 MB of memory. Connect the Pocket DV3100 to a PC and video conference with ease! Its small and portable size makes it a breeze to take with you anywhere!

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JVC Everio GZ-MG335 30GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom (Includes Everio Dock) Review

2012-01-14T08:04:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)I spent considerable amount of time researching on the camcorder. It was a tough choice with available choices ranging from MiniDV camcorders to HDD camcorders and varieties within these two categories. I finally narrowed down to HDD camcorders for two reasons. No messing with tapes so operating cost goes down, and easy transfer to PC and create your DVD within minutes. In HDD I had a choice between Panasonic SDR-H40, Sony DCR-SR45 and finally JVC GZ-MG335. Panasonic has a bigger CCD resolution (800 K Pixels) but had a annoying problem, you need to remove the battery to download videos. Sony DCR-SR45 has a smaller CCD (1/8) and touch screen LCD is a big no for me. That left me with JVC GZ-MG335 and was newest product on the market. Read through many good reviews on JVC GZ-MG330. JVC GZ-MG335 is same as 330 but with an additional dock. I am happy with the outdoor performance, pictures are DVD quality (Ultra fine setting), low light resolution is ok, but for me it does not matter. Burnt a DVD using the provided software, it was a breeze. Read quite a bit of negative reviews about the software but i did not face any issues with it. The 2.7 inch LCD is pretty neat with the laser operation. The camera is very tiny and can easily fit your pocket. The hard drive is 30 GB and can record up to 8 hrs (more than enough for a year for me). Additionally you can store your videos on Micro SD card (8 GB capacity available), so expandable as well. So far so good and I am happy with the purchase.

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JVC Everio Hybrid GZ-MG330 30GB Hard Drive Camcorder

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Mini HDMI to HDMI 3ft HD Camcorder, Digital Camera Cable - PTC Premium GOLD Series HDMI 1.3 Certitifed Review

2012-01-14T05:13:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this to use with my Flip UltraHD. Pleasantly surprised with the picture quality viewing videos on my TV. Can't beat the price, would highly recommend to any FlipHD users!

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Sony Digital 8mm Video Walkman Review

2012-01-14T03:22:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)If you are like me and have tons of old 8mm (or Hi8) tapes lying around, this 8mm Walkman is perfect. I upgraded to MiniDV but forgot to transfer my old 8mm tapes before giving my Canon 8mm camcorder away, so with this I'm not stuck with useless tapes. It plays back regular 8mm, Hi8, and also Sony's Digital8 formats. You can hook it up to a VCR or TV, and even to a DV-savvy PC. I capture my 8mm videos to my Fujitsu LifeBook C2210 laptop, using Windows Movie Maker 2 (download for free on Microsoft's website). I'm now about 40% done with transfering my old tapes, but I also enjoy hooking this up to my TV and playing back old tapes and re-living old memories. Ah, how time just flies...

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The Sony GVD-200 Digital8 video walkman is a portable, all-digital solution for downloading and editing video from Digital8 camcorders. It is also backward compatible with Hi8 and 8mm camcorders. This lightweight, portable unit lets you edit together 20 segments into a movie or presentation without the need for a PC.
The built in Assemble Editor lets you mark cut-in and cut-out points for up to 20 separate scenes. Use the Video Walkman as your source VCR, while controlling almost any remote capable camcorder or VCR, via Infrared, as your recorder. The Index Titler enables you to choose from 8 preset titles (such as Happy Birthday) or create custom titles (up to 22 characters) in 2 sizes, 7 colors, and 9 positions. The 2x playback allows for high-speed playback in forward and reverse, while the 2x playback zoom feature allows you to zoom into a selected area of the video.
Other features include:

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Compact Battery Charger Set for Nikon EN-EL3 Review

2012-01-13T10:25:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)both of them did not work, one didnt even power on. The other one burned out when i connected my battery to it. Waste of money.

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Sony DCR-DVD710 1MP DVD Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-13T08:49:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We are leaving for a trip to Australia and have been shopping for a camcorder for a year. We ordered this one because we have been so happy with other Sony products. The camcorder has a very short field of vision and noisy. Everything is fuzzy except the center of the picture.

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The DCR-DVD710 delivers advanced features to let easily capture and share crystal clear video. A professional quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and Super SteadyShot image stabilization captures sharp video and still images, even when getting in close using the 25x optical/2000x digital zoom. With Hybrid technology, you can record it all directly to either DVD or removable Memory Stick PRO Duo media for quick viewing or transfer to a PC. The built-in Zoom microphone with Dolby Digital 5.1 channel recording captures realistic surround sound, recording your subjects in sync with the cameras zoom lens, helping memories ring true with clear dialogue and crisp, discrete sounds.

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Samsung SC-D372 MiniDV Camcorder with 34x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-13T05:01:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am not an expert at using a camcorder by any stretch of the imagination so I approached this product's mass of settings and controls with somewhat wary an approach. A family vacation up to New York and Canada earlier this year gave me the opportunity to put it through its paces and it passed with flying colors. I also was able to hook it up to my DVD recorder with a firewire cable (not included) and transfer it easily onto regular DVD. One thing that surprised me (given the reviews here concerning lighting) is that my camcorder works great in poor lighting. Watching it with my travel companions as I transferred the home video to DVD they remarked that the shots at an aquarium were brighter than they had been to the naked eye and brought out more detail. One troubling detail about the camera is that it needs to be hooked up to recharge the battery (which itself lasts about an hour). However I bought a TechFuel Premium Advanced Desktop Battery Charger as well as more powerful batteries by TechFuel (both given as accessories on the Amazon product page) and they work great.

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Archos Helmet Camcorder for Generation 5 Archos Portable Media Players Review

2012-01-13T03:49:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The Archos Helmet Camcorder is good in the sense that it's extremely easy to use and setup. However, the lack of picture quality is enough for me to start looking for another bullet camera to replace the Archos.
Here are the three things that rock with the Archos bullet cam...
1) Easy to setup... You take your Archos Helmet Camcorder and plug it directly into your Archos recording device, and you're good to go.
2) The Archos Helmet Camcorder is powered by the Archos recording device, (Archos 604 for example). For those of you that have never owned or have seen the other bullet cam systems, most of them require a separate power supply to power both the camcorder and the microphone. The Archos uses the battery power of the Archos 604 to power both the camcorder and the microphone.
3) Control of record start and record stop are at your fingertips. No need to purchase an extra control Lanc. device, or any other third party remote that may or may not work with your setup. The Archos Helmet Camcorder has the controls you need, in a place that's easy for you to get to.
Now the downside...
PICTURE QUALITY!!! Yes, 420 lines of resolution is good, and yes 640X480 is good, but it's just that... Good. If you're looking for great, you need to go for a bullet camera that has 520 lines of resolution or even splurge for the Sony 580 ExView bullet camera. The problem with these bullet cameras however, is the problem I mentioned above. These bullet cameras require extra power supplies. Now, you're probably thinking what's the big deal with an extra power supply? Let me say this. I ride dirt bikes with three other guys that own bullet cam systems, but they never use them because it's such a process to put them together. That's the difference between the Archos helmet cam, and all the others helmet cameras out there. The Archos unit is easy to use and setup... It's as simple as that.
I gave the Archos Helmet Camcorder three stars because Archos is on the right track. They just need to come out with another helmet camcorder, just like this one, only next time with more resolution! Also, the DVR travel adapter that allows the helmet camcorder to attach to the Archos recording device (which is included) is a little rickety. Sometimes the DVR travel adapter will pop off of the recoding unit, making your video stop in the middle of its recoding. This is bad! One more thing... I had to purchase a helmet mounting kit from a third party, (Viosport). Why wouldn't Archos sell helmet mounts? They sell a helmet camcorder, but don't sell mounting kits... Whatever!
If I had to put another helmet cam system together, I would buy the Archos 604 recording unit, and buy a higher quality bullet camera. Get yourself the proper Viosport mounting kit and you're good to go. Pass on the Archos Helmet Camcorder.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Archos Helmet Camcorder for Generation 5 Archos Portable Media Players

Ideal for extreme sports and professional applications, the Archos generation 5 helmet camcorder comes complete with a high-resolution lens, built-in remote, and microphone. The camcorder's robust video capture capability enables it to record clear footage in most environments without extra light sources, even in near darkness. The camcorder can record in MPEG4 and AVI formats in VGA resolution, and the recorded footage is stored automatically on your Archos generation 5 device's hard drive (sold separately).
What's in the Box Helmet camcorder with wired remote control, DVR travel adapter, head band, carrying bag, and owner's manual.

Get 53% OFF

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Canon Elura 90 MiniDV Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-12T14:38:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)In researching digital camcorders I prefer to rely on the experts. Apparently there's a guy on this site who has it out for Canon for some reason, and has blasted this camcorder in particular. But... read all of his "other" reviews, and you'll see that he blasts the ENTIRE Canon line, as if he's actually bought each camera and found fault with each of them. Clearly impossible, and clearly a person with an agenda. Ignore him. For an honest review of the Canon Elura Digital Cameras, specifically the Elura 90, read the write-up on CNET.com... perhaps the best site for technical reviews and pricing information. Not only did they point me in the direction of a GREAT digital video camera, the CNET.com site also saved me over $200.00 from the big box retail prices! This camcorder does it all, and then some! True, you will need to be able to read in order to study the manual and unlock it's capabilities, and you will need to be able to independently manuever your fingers to operate it, and it's helpful if you can walk and talk at the same time... but if you can do all of those things... you can work this camcorder... and enjoy it! One recommendation though... don't buy a digital camcorder if you have no intention of truly utilizing its capabilities... or if you have no desire to network/connect it to your PC and either save and/or create your own movies/DVDs. THAT is the true innovation behind the technology. Using MicroSoft MovieMaker 2.1 I have been able to make incredible home movies... soundtrack... narration... effects... the works. With my old analog camcorder I could... save them and watch them as recorded... nothing more. But... if you DO want to enter the digital age... and you want the best camcorder possible at the best possible price... the Canon Elura 90 can't be beat! PLUS... it is one of the ONLY high quality camcorders that allows you to CONVERT your old analog tapes into a digital format... and it can also function as a WEBCAM! As I said, this one does it all![...]

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Place the power of both a movie crew and photography studio into the palm of your hand with the Elura 90 digital camcorder. Beautifully sculpted, easy-to-use and fully featured, the Elura 90 is a heralded addition to family gatherings, sporting events, and those once-in-a-lifetime special occasions. The highlight of the Elura 90 is Canon's advanced DV Photo Plus technology, which combines Genuine Canon Optics and a Mega Pixel CCD image sensor, with a DIGIC DV image processor and versatile Print&Share features. Take stunning digital photos while simultaneously shooting video, treat your family and friends to high-resolution 16:9 widescreen images, and edit your digital videos and photos into the perfect family album for playback on a TV or computer. Since the Elura 90 is compatible with both Windows XP and Apple computer systems, there is no limit to the creative possibilities. When you own an Elura 90 digital camcorder, you also get the benefit of Canon's world-renowned technical expertise in photography and broadcast television. Shoot with the confidence Canon's superior optics and image-processing power provide. Capture Life In All Its Brilliant Color And Clarity Preserve every hue of a summer sunset or backyard garden thanks to the Elura 90's 1.33 Megapixel Image Sensor. The product of Canon ingenuity and technological expertise, the image sensor achieves high-resolution results whether recording video to DV tape or still images onto a memory card. Photos can be captured at a variety of different image qualities and compression sizes (Superfine/Fine/Normal) giving you the ability to balance quantity with quality. Get It All In With True Widescreen Recording Treat your family and friends to high-resolution 16:9 widescreen videos that are perfect on a wide-screen home Theater system. Unlike some camcorders that record a vertically stretched picture, the Elura 90 uses the full width of its Mega Pixel C

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The Sharper Image Mini Portable Camcorder Review

2012-01-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this Sharper Image Mini Camcorder from Avon and I hate it! I tried to take pictures on Christmas and it took very grainy pictures and the battery only lasted a few minutes. It would not hold a charge at all. The pics had a green tint regardless of lighting and the volume button did not work either! It was a waste of my time to try and get it to work! I am returning it immediately!

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Polaroid DVG-1080P High-Definition Digital Video Camera with 2.5-Inch LCD Display Review

2012-01-12T09:30:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this camcorder mainly because it was the lowest-priced 1080p (full HD) camcorder I had seen. I have a point-and-shoot digital camera with standard-definition video. I also have a DSLR which does not have video, but I don't want to fork out the big bucks for one of the DSLRs with full HD 1080p video. As long as you do not expect really high quality from this camcorder, you will probably be more or less satisfied with the results. Video recording modes include 1080p (30 fps), 720p (30 fps), WVGA (60 fps), VGA (30 fps), and QVGA (30 fps). This camcorder performs well outdoors where the video is clear and sharp. For indoor video recordings, performance starts to drop off noticeably without the window coverings wide open. If you don't have adequate sunlight from outside, even with all the lights turned on, the images begin to get grainy, even if you use the built-in light source which is not very powerful. One nice feature is the 60 fps option at WVGA resolution. The main disadvantage in my opinion is that the image stabilization works at all resolutions except for 1080p and WVGA. I took a few still photos and found the quality to be mediocre, even with adequate lighting, but I am accustomed to the image quality from my DSLR. The menu controls are not intuitive, but I got used to them pretty quickly. All in all, if you're on a budget but would like 1080p video, this would be a nice entry-level option. Do not buy this camcorder if you demand high quality in your video recordings, especially indoors.
Finally, I wanted to comment that I am a Mac user. I have both a 1GHz G4 Power PC iMac running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) as well as a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac running Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). I was initially unable to play the videos via QuickTime on my Power PC iMac, as it said I was missing the video codecs. So I installed a freeware plugin called Perian (w w w dot perian dot org), and it now plays the video although it is choppy because the processor is not fast enough to display the video at that resolution. On my Intel-based iMac, videos at all resolutions play smoothly with QuickTime and Perian.

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Sony DCR-SR62 30GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom (Handycam Station Included) Review

2012-01-12T05:50:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a great video camera, it feels light, compact, neatly put together, and there should be no doubt about it, its a Sony product - they are all like this! However, I couldn't tell why this camera was better than DCR-SR40, or DCR-SR42 - which are at most $200 cheaper. So I had to call Sony Sales to have them explain to me that this camera DCR-SR62 has a VIDEO resolution which is 3 times better than DCR-SR42. If you go to the Sony website you find that DCR-SR62 offers 670K Pixels, while DCR-SR42 offers only 260K Pixels. This pixel increase made the decision clear for me since I didnt care about the decreased Zoom for DCR-SR62 (25X and not 40X as DCR-SR42).
A few other things to consider:
This camera is so easy to use - it doesnt need the EASY Button feature that it offers (except for the fact that the Easy Button is the only way that I was able to get the Image Stabilization Feature).
The camera doesn't bring its own case, or light - you would need to buy those, and cost around $40 for each.
Finally, there probably is another camera (JVC, Panasonic)out there that offers the same basic features as this camera, 30gb, stabilization, battery time etc. Since you are buying the camera on Amazon and don't get to try the camera features, you should make your decision upon the video resolution they offer. Look for Actual Video resolution information in the company's websites or call the company's sales department. The range of resolution for this price should be somewhere between 300-700K, 700 being the best resolution.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony DCR-SR62 30GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom (Handycam Station Included)

1.0 Megapixel Advanced HAD CCD Imager, 1070K
25 x Optical / 2000 x Digital Zoom
Professional Quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens
2.7" Wide (16:9) Touch Panel LCD Display4 (123K Pixels)
Handycam Station
Memory Stick Duo Media Slot
One Touch Wide Angle Shooting
Progressive Shutter System
Super SteadyShot Picture Stabilization System
USB 2.0 Interface
DVDirect Recorder Compatibility
Easy PC Backup
One Touch Disc Burn
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Smart Protection
Active Interface Shoe
Super NightShot Plus Infrared System
Manual Focus
On Screen Zoom and Record Buttons
Scene Selection Modes
Picture Effects
Fader Effects
InfoLithium Battery with AccuPower Meter System
Battery Information
Easy Handycam Button
Tele Macro Function
Multi-Language Menu

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IA-BP85ST BATTERY FOR SAMSUNG SC-HMX10 SC-MX10 VP-HMX10 Review

2012-01-11T09:35:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I loved the price. I received my batteries quicker than I thought and they were fully charged. I would use this vendor again!

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Sony HDR-SR10, HDR-SR11, HDR-SR12, HDR-UX10, HDR-UX20 - Replacement Battery Charger (Incl. Car Adapter) Review

2012-01-11T06:53:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)my mistake I thought this was for a 120 volt plug in not a car charger.

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Vivitar 5MP HD Digital Video Recorder - DVR565HD Review

2012-01-11T04:58:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought one of these from ASDA/Walmart at the end of January. It's complicated to work although has the benefit of all the cabling you need rather than having to buy them separately. What is most annoying is the fact that Vivitar went bankrupt and have been bought out by Sakar in the USA and no apparant customer service is available at the moment. I have had a problem with the camera and can't get service so am left with no choice but to return it to the retailer.

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Panasonic CGR-DU14 Compatible Li-Ion Battery Review

2012-01-11T03:19:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Nice extra battery for my video camera. It lasts long and is similiar to original one. The price is cheap and received the item quickly. Thank you Eforcity. Good deal!

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Canon FS21 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder w/16GB Internal Memory & 48x Advanced Zoom - 2009 MODEL Review

2012-01-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First off, let's be clear, this is a standard definition camera. Even thought Cannon's high-definition camcorders (HF) series are within about $100 of the price of this camera, I decided to stay with standard definition (for now) for the following reasons:
1. I wanted ease of transfer and an easy ability to edit and burn DVD's of my videos without having to upgrade my whole set up to handle the HD recording format.
2. Video editing times for HD video are ridiculously, painflully long. I have a quad core with 8 GB of ram and the time to compile a video project was crazy. I simply think the HD video has outpaced current home computing power. Maybe in another couple years computers will catch up.
3. Most of the software that I've tried that have the capability of editing and burning hi-def video are very unstable. Again, I just think that the home editing technology hasn't caught up withthe video technology yet. there seems to be a lot of compatibility issues with the MPEG4-AVC / H.264 high definition media format.
So I decided to stick with a standard definition camera (for now). I chose this camera because:
1. Dual flash drive memory format. I'm so sick of dealing with direct to DVD or DV video cameras, and all of the issues of transfering and converting that information to the computer. I wanted something that got recorded directly to solid state...no more read errors or disc errors. This fits the bill wonderfully! Video gets recorded directly to camera's internal memory, plug it into the computer and it downloads quickly and painlessly to and MPEG format. No more dealing with .VOB DVD files! Two thumbs up here.
2. Cannon optical zoom. Very good zoom. Maintains quality throughout the zoom range. Prior to this camera, the most zoom I ever had in a cam corder was 10 time optical. Having this much zoom is a big bonus.
3. Built in light and mike jack. Although the built in video light isn't tremendously powerful, it is better than no light at all. And I love the external mike jack. I can record performaces of friends bands with an audio line out directly from the PA console. Makes for super sound quality in otherwise difficult audio conditions. Most cameras at this price point don't have either option.
4. Cannon name. I've always gone back and forth between Cannon, Nikon, and Panasonic for camera/video products. Althought this is a generalization, Cannon always seems to have the most accurate colors. Especially in the blues...Cannon seems to have the "bluest" blues and the competitors always seem to have a purplish tint to their blues.
My experience has been good. I confess I have been a bit disappointed with the video quality, but i have to keep reminding myself this is a standard definition camera. It looks as good if not slightly better than my past video cameras. I was hoping the video quality would be significantly better, but perhaps that was just an unrealistic expectation on my part.
I've had no problems with the included softare. Everything installed easy as pie and began downloading test videos without any error. The resulting files downloaded to the computer are MPeg files, which are able to be played by a host of media players (Windows Media Player, Real Player, VLC Media player, etc.) as well as the bundled software. I e-mailed some files to family and they were able to open in WMP by double clicking on the attachment. I'm so happy with the ease of downloading, sharing, and editing files that I wish I bought a camera like this years ago.
I will say that the included video editing software is OK, but if you want to do anything other than the most basic trimming and joining of clips for burning to a DVD, you will need third party software. I could get by with what's included, by as I've gotten better and more practice at creating and editing home movies, I'm enjoying a lot of the flashy feature of my third party video editing software. But for basic DVD creation, the software is adequate.
Finally, the camera is very compact and lightweight. No more big camera bags to lug around. I can fit this in my jacket pocket. Overall very happy with this camrea. I was looking for something that was much more user friendly than my past error-riddled cameras, and I found it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Canon FS21 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder w/16GB Internal Memory & 48x Advanced Zoom - 2009 MODEL

It's always great to have options. The new Canon FS21Dual Flash Memory camcorder gives you two easy optionsfor shooting your videos. Record video for up to 10 hoursto a 16GB internal Flash drive or directly to SDHC memorycards for fast and easy sharing of your memories. Nowyou'll have no worries about running out of memory whenyou are capturing life's big moments. Plus, the CanonFS21 features Canon's 48x Advanced Zoom to get youcloser to the action and a 1.07-megapixel CCD imagesensor for vivid color and stunning image clarity. For life'sbumps and jumps, there's an Image Stabilizer to makeyour shots rock-steady. Pre-Record lets you capture video3 seconds before you press the record button. And anIntelligent Lithium-ion battery can be recharged quickly andkeeps you shooting longer. Ultra-sleek and lightweight, theCanon FS21 is lightning fast and stylishly designed. Soexercise your options. Go for the camcorder that gives youquality and choice--the Canon FS21. Canon USA 1-yearlimited warranty included.

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Panasonic PV-GS250 3.1MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-10T08:33:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I did my research, and bought this camcorder based on video quality and features.
Most reviews give this camcorder the highest marks on video quality in good light. It often gets comments about the quality in low light, but from my experience in normal indoor lighting at nighttime, the quality was not very grainy, but was bright with very good color reproduction. The focus is very good, and quick as the scene changes.
I wasn't planning to use the still camera, but the quality is acceptable for times when you need a shot and nothing else is available. This has the best quality still shot than any other camcorder I've seen, and my results are better than some of the sample shots I've seen online.
I transfer my video to DVD using Ulead DVD Workshop, and the quality I ultimately get for the end result is extremely good. I shoot in widescreen mode, which does a very good job. It might be nice to have a 16:9 LCD screen, but the 4:3 LDC does well.
Pros:
* Excellent (the best) video quality. Detail is sharp, and the color is accurate. No grain, except in low light and even that is better than most camcorders. My previous camcorder was terribly grainy, the PV-GS250 is far better in comparisson.
* I like the controls, features and ease of use. It is light, and fits my hand well with all the buttons in easy reach.
* Excellent video quality.
* The Optical Image Stabilization works well, and helps to produce better quality video (sharper) than EIS systems.
* Excellent video quality.
* It's nice having the still camera for times when I don't want to lug my digital still camera around.
* Did I mention, excellent video quality.
Cons:
* Outdoor nighttime shooting doesn't give you many options. Using standard mode produces dark video, the magid-pix is too few frames per second so you have ghosts floating across the scene instead of people. It would be nice to be able to manually set the shutter speed below 60 to produce more fps than the magic-pix but still have light video. Also, it would be nice to be able to add more gain for the nighttime video (yes this would add graininess, but it would be nice to have this option available).
* It would be nice to have the option to produce progressive scan 30fps video.
I think this will be a camcorder that I will be using for years to come. I don't see a need to buy and HD camcorder yet, as I will only downconvert it to NTSC for DVD playback. Low end HD camcorders are now still about 3 times the cost of this one. The detail I get from the pv-gs250 on my 55 inch hi-def set is incredible (much better than standard def broadcast, satellite) and about the quality of some of the best DVDs. It doesn't compare to hi-def broadcasts, but I suspect the low end HD camcorders are no comparisson either.

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The Panasonic PV-GS250 MiniDV Camcorder has a powerful combination of innovative features that will redefine your photography and digital video. Its 10x optical and 700x digital zoom will provide you with sharp, detailed images that show incredible depth and presence. The fantastic Leica Dicomar lens captures and finely renders nuances of light and shade.Electronic Image Stabilization(EIS) provides you with perfect pictures and video. The 3.1-megapixel CCD gives photographers the best that camcorder technology has to offer.Soft Skin Detail creates a realistic skin tone Records to SD cardHi-Speed USB 2.0 portMiniDV output Unit Dimensions - approx. 3 (h) x 3.25 (w) x 6 (d) Unit Weight - 1.1 lbs.

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Panasonic SDR-SW20 Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom (Red) Review

2012-01-10T07:09:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have read all the complaints about video quality but unless you are shooting at night or in very dim lighting you have nothing to worry about. Besides, there should be no surprises related to quality if you read the spec's before you bought the camera.
That said I have been using this camera in fairly heavy surf here in Southern California and I'm extremely pleased with it's durability so far. The tiny rubber gaskets worried me at first look but after having the camera thrashed a bit in heavy white water and just general rough play I'm not worried anymore. The video quality underwater is amazing. Definitely the most fun feature of the camera. And the main reason I bought it! Any clips you watch on youtube or any other site do NO justice to how clear the quality is. Those websites use compression software that kills video quality. When you watch the videos on your T.V or computer they look perfect.
The reason I gave it 4 stars and not 5 is because I find getting the videos to play on my computer is not as easy as they made it sound. I also noticed the "squished" effect that the above reviewer mentioned and I intend to download the SDCOPY software they recommend. I also have noticed that randomly the sound becomes muffled and a buzzing can be heard. Again the above reviewer mentioned that this could be due to water contacting the mic.
Other then those 2 problems (which are by no means major) I highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for a durable water proof camera to use swimming, surfing, or any other adventurous outdoor activity. For the money I think it's a great bargain.

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Waterproof up to 5' for great video in the pool or oceanShockproof for resisting damage from a height of up to 4'700x digital zoom16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratio1/6" CCD image sensors with a 680K total MP2.7" wide LCD displayRecords images onto SDHC /SDmemory cardsStereo zoom mic with wind noise reduction Built-in SD /SDHCmemory card slot1-touch navigation2 1/2'' W x 1 5/16'' H x 4 1/2'' DIncludes Li-Ion rechargeable battery AC/DC cables AC adapter AV/USB cable hand strap and software

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Sony MVCCD500 CD Mavica 5MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-10T05:47:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First i want to dispell any misconceptions: just because this is a CD-based digicam does not mean it's big, slow, loud, and a battery hog. It's not exactly tiny, but it's not huge either. It's about the same size as a 35mm SLR with a small normal lens. It's as fast, if not faster, than digicams without moving parts. You can't hear the disc spinning unless you're in a quiet room and you actually put your ear up to the camera and listen carefully. The rechargeable battery that comes with it lasts over 2 hours easy (or well over 200 shots). Not bad for a cam with a CD burner and a huge LCD.
The pros:
Carl Zeiss lens. Name brand lens known among professionals for its high quality.
Big fat beautiful LCD. Its impressive. Several people can gather around and watch movies or images taken with the camera.
It can record movies. I know a lot of digicams can do this as a bonus feature, but lets face it no one uses this feature because most digicams [are bad] at taking movies. NOT THIS ONE. it takes very good movies. so you'll actually use the movie feature. about 6 min of video (640x480) with audio on a 156MB CD. There is a good mic and good speaker (for playback).
The MENUS ARE GREAT. A lot of people overlook this detail. What do i mean? well, digicams use menus for changing settings. with most of them, the menus are confusing and stupid. like you have to dig through 2 submenus and hit ok 5 times before you can change the image size/resolution. not this camera! the menus are clear and simple and there are no submenus! even a novice can pick this up and figure it out without studying an instruction manual. for example: to change image size/resolution you simply hit the image size button push up or down (theres 5 different sizes) then thats it. also there buttons for commonly used things like changing flash mode and switching to macro (close up) mode. i also love the jog dial. this is for manual focus as well as for changing the shutter speed and aperture on the fly WITHOUT ANY... MENUS! you have to actually use the camera to appreciate how important this is.
the infolithium battery that comes with it is nice. it tells you EXACTLY how much time you have left (like 113min instead of a stupid little meaningless battery icon). if you want another battery, (strongly recommended) its expensive though. it's nice to be able to use the camera without constantly worrying about how much battery life is remaining.
CD-RW discs cost next to nothing. its very cool to be able to take a disc out and pop it into any computer to view images. it comes with usb cable and a/v cable for tv viewing. no remote control though :-(
the built-in flash is very good. range is little over 16feet. not bad at all for built-in. there's a hot shoe if youre hardcore and want to get a bigger flash.
The cons:
expensive proprietary rechargeable batteries and no streaming USB. whats streaming USB? with it you can hook up a digicam to your computer and use it as a webcam on steroids. not many digicams have this feature though. WHY?????????
you will not be disappointed with this camera. now click yes this review was helpful! >:O

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The Sony Mavica CD500 combines the advantages and capacity of the instant-archive CD-R/RW format with advanced resolution and control flexibility. The Mavica CD500 features a 5-megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, and a movie mode that shoots full-frame video.
Step-up Value Here's a Sony feature that adds value to this digital camera and differentiates it from other models in the Sony lineup.

Optics and Resolution Optimized for photo enthusiasts, the MVC-CD500 offers a 5-megapixel Super HAD sensor for image detail up to 2,592 x 1,944 pixels and print enlargements up to 20 by 30 inches. Get closer to your subjects with the Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 3x optical zoom lens (34-102mm equivalency in 35mm photography). The Mavica CD500 also features a 3.2x digital zoom.
Storage and Transfer Images are stored on high-capacity 156 MB CD-R (recordable) and CD-RW (rewritable) discs, enabling you to instantly archive your shots. Images can be downloaded to either a Mac or PC via USB connectivity, which means it can be connected to any USB-based Windows 98/Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 8.6 or later computer without installing any software.
Movie Mode You can capture far more than still images with the MPEG Movie VX function. Most digital cameras' movie modes are limited to 30- or 60-second clips, but the Mavica CD500 can keep shooting until you've filled the CD-R/RW, approximately 6 minutes at full VGA resolution (640 x 480, 16 frames per second).
More Features Flexible exposure control is provided with aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual exposure modes. For better command of motion and depth of field, the Program Shift feature allows various aperture and shutter-speed combinations from within the auto mode. The Mavica CD500's five-area multipoint AF can also evaluate five separate areas of the frame and intelligently focuses on the subject, displaying the selected focus point; or, the user can choose any of the five points for manual control.
With single, monitoring, and continuous AF modes, the photographer can optimize focusing to the situation, which is especially useful for capturing action shots. The hologram AF illuminator projects a laser pattern on the subject to artificially create contrast, even in low or no light.
Multipattern measuring independently meters the light in 49 points of the frame to establish the optimum exposure, even when highlight and shadow are not centered in the frame.
Other features include:
Large 2.5-inch TFT LCD monitor
Pop-up flash with auto, on, off, slow, and red-eye reduction modes
Hot-shoe for connecting external flash or remote control
Scene modes include twilight, twilight portrait, landscape, beach, and snow
Two-shot burst mode and multiburst mode of 16 images at 320 x 240 pixels

Power, Size, and Contents The camera is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery NP-FM50 (included). It measures 5.5 x 3.8 x 4.1 inches and weighs 1.3 pounds. This package includes the Mavica CD500 digital camera, battery and battery charger, USB and AV cables, 1 blank CD-R, 1 blank CD-RW, and CD-ROM with imaging software and USB drivers for Windows and Mac.

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2 PACK BP-511 Compatible Li-Ion Battery for Canon EOS 50D / 20D / 300D / 30D / 40D / 5D / D30 / D60 / Kiss Digital Review

2012-01-09T12:16:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Didn't have any problems as all. got the product I wanted and it works. I received it quickly after I ordered it.

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Sanyo Xacti HD1010 4MP MPEG4 High Definition 1080i/1080p Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-09T09:36:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)For the last few weeks I have been searching for as many reviews as I could on the Sanyo HD 1010 to help me make a decision on which camcorder to purchase. Because I could only base my decision on the 4 reviews that I read here (which did help immensely), I thought I'd share my opinion of this camcorder to help other potential consumers make up their mind.
I should tell you that I am a professional wedding photographer (still images, 14 years) so that you have a reference point of who's telling you what. I received the Sanyo HD 1010 3 days ago, and had the entire weekend to play around with it.
The quick answer: For my purposes, I love this camcorder. However, this camcorder is not for everyone-you should determine what you plan on using the camera for before deciding to purchase (see below, two paragraphs down).
My wife and I love to travel. I was looking for a camcorder that tooks great video, was portable and took decent still images. The 1010 does just that. I've looked at the Canon HF 100 and the Samsung HMX20C and they are also small, but the 1010 just feels smaller to me and more portable. I own a Sony PC9 which was a great camcorder in its day, but it has stayed at home the last five years. (I like to have a camera that I can put on my belt clip or is light enough to dangle from my neck.) The video's that I've used have come from point and shoot cameras that took decent video clips. The image quality (from the point and shoot cameras) is certainly not as good as mini DV, which the PC9 is, but it was always there for the taking. I only recently became interested in shooting better quality video as the size of these new camcorders have come down recently. Understand that I am not replacing my still camera (the Canon G7 is my travel camera) and don't recommend anyone to replace their still camera with this all in one camcorder. However, the 1010 does take nice stills (a little oversaturated, but quite acceptable). You obviously can only use one camera at a time, so when you are using the 1010 and want to snap a quick photo while you're shooting video or you stop shooting video, it's nice to know you can get a decent photo with this camcorder.
The reason this camcorder is not for everyone is the poor image stabilization. If the 1010 had optical image stabilization, it would be hands down perfect! Does this ruin it for me? NO. Most people have a tendency to overuse the zoom lens and pan too quickly. Most of my videos are taken at wide or mid range (travel, scenic footage and family gatherings). When I do pan, I hold the camcorder as steady as possible and SLOWLY pan, almost exaggerated. I do this whether or not the camcorder has image stabilization. You shouldn't rely on the image stabilization as a crutch. If you use good techniques for average subjects your videos will be fine. I shot 12 minutes of a family birthday party using the techniques I described and my videos were fine, no "motion sickness videos". However, if plan on buying the 1010 to videotape your young children or children's sports, I don't recommend this camera. That's where a good optical image stabilizer will shine.
Ok, my observations:
*As I said, I love this product. It produces beautiful videos, better than any camcorder I've ever owned. I tried all the different quality settings and decided to stick with the 1080i 60fps as my permanent setting. On this setting, I didn't see any artifacts, or lagging, when panning with image stabilization (IS) off. I really need to do some more comparisons with IS on, but this is my initial impression. I looked at my brother in law's HI Def Sony with him. He's a computer/techie expert and we looked together and both agreed on the same things. The 60fps settings on both the 1080i and 720i were better than the 1080p 30fps and 720p 30fps settings. I know everyone makes a big deal about the 1080p setting, but 60fps LOOKS better. It's smoother. The 1080i and 720i at 60fps are very close in quality on the High Def set, but on my 36 inch Sony, the 720i when panned had some artifacts (don't know why; didn't happen on the Hi-def set. I'm sure you techies know). But the reason I'm going to leave it on the highest quality is two reasons: 1.) You should always record at the best setting. You can always down convert, but you can't upconvert. 2. ) With the software(Nero 8) that comes packaged with the product, I am able to burn a standard DVD taken from 1080i 60fps footage. As others have said, I cannot view the footage at normal speed (views jerky) on my PC(windows XP, laptop, dual core), but I can still burn it un-edited to a DVD which plays beautifully. I don't have time anyway to edit videos on a PC. What I CAN do, is splice the mpeg 4 clips together in the camera (very easy to do!) and/or edit them in camera, and then burn to the DVD. It's not Hi-def quality, but it's DVD quality and still better than any other home video that I have ever produced. I plan on getting a separate USB drive to keep my "albums" in Hi-def and play them back on Hi-def TV, and use the DVD's as a lower quality (but still good) back up and/or to share with family/friends. FYI, the 12 minutes of footage took roughly 50 minutes to burn. Not bad! I haven't researched recording on to a Blu-Ray in Hi-def, but even if it's not till next year, the hi-def footage will be there when I'm ready to.
*I love the size. Not really pocketable as some people claim (a jacket yes, pants, no), but small enough to put on your hip or dangle from your neck (I use a Canon neckstrap made for their Elph camera's).
*You can "pull" high quality jpegs from your video footage. I was really amazed at how good the images are when you do this! Very clean and smooth.
*The holster case from Sanyo is so-so. It's ok for a house party or short term use, but the clip is not tight on the belt and there is nothing to prevent the camera from falling out if you snag the case on something or have excessive movement. I bought a UV filter to protect the lens and the lens cap does not fit very snug on the filter. The filter falls off EVERY time I put the camera in the holster. I will look around for an aftermarket case to use instead. I would not use the holster outside of the house.
*The controls/menus, etc, are GREAT. I have never had a camera that navigates so easily and quickly when looking to change settings. This is a big plus and not to be overlooked.
*I use a Transcend 8gb class 6 card and it works fine. Did not seem to take a long time to write the file to the card, but my longest clip was only 3 minutes. Maybe if I shot longer footage, a faster card would make a difference.
*Low light footage is FINE. People have complained about the grain in the low light footage. I don't have an issue with this. In very, very low light you are going to get grain. Of course! Here's my experience. I took my family footage at night at a well lit house (lighting from the ceiling, high-caps) and there was no grain. When we went to the dining room for the birthday cake singing, the lights went off, and a single candle lit the room. I had the camera ISO set to AUTO, which appears to me to set the lowest ISO that will take an acceptable video. That's the way it should be. Anyway, when the lights went off, the video went black for a split second until the ISO adjusted to the candle, and the video had some grain but was fine. It's not a professional camera. This low light problem that reviewers are complaining about is a non-issue. When the lights went back on, everything shifted back to normal.
*I had no problem with focus hunting. There was very little of it and it was not noticeable. There was one time when the camcorder shifted completely out of focus but only for a split second. It seemed no different from any other camcorder that I've owned.
*I'm thinking of getting the wide angle converter (for the travel usage), but don't really have an issue with the widest angle of view. Yes, I would have loved a 28mm equivalent, but the 38mm is fine.
*Battery life seems fine, not an issue. Again, haven't used it too much, but I did get two equivalent batteries on Amazon for twenty bucks.
*I find the pistol grip to be quite comfortable and easier to hold than the more common "palmcorders". Also, I use two hands to hold the camera and keep it steady. I keep my left hand on the LCD screen. This helps steady the camera and keep down the jerkiness when zooming in tight and also panning.
*The flash is pretty good. I was very surprised. However, I found that when I used the flash, it seem to oversaturate the image vs. when I turned the flash off and used natural light.
Conclusion: Great camcorder, great video results. Don't let the image stabilization issue stop you from buying this product unless your primary purpose is taking video of your young children and sports action.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sanyo Xacti HD1010 4MP MPEG4 High Definition 1080i/1080p Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

Get both the functionality of a digital camera and a digital camcorder in one with the Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder. It is a high-definition, compact digital media device with a 10x optical zoom. The HD1010 offers advanced, next-generation video performance and high-quality stills in one small, lightweight camera. This powerful little device is designed to record either 1080P (30fps) or 1080i (60fps) high-definition video and 4-megapixel digital still images, all of which are handily stored to a SD or SDHC memory card. 10x Optical Zoom - the f/1.8 lens allows almost 4 times more light through. With 8 groups and 11 total lenses with a built-in neutral density filter, this lens provides a field-of-view of 38-380 mm range (35 mm equivalent) Video & Still Image Stabilization Sequential shooting - 7 frames per second Face detection still images & Face chaser video - up to 12 faces each - monitors the subject's face and adjust brightness and focus for clear photos High Quality Audio Recording - Record 48 kHz, 16-bit, 2-channel sound for AAC-LC (MPEG-4 Audio). An external microphone can be attached Wind Roar & Red Eye Reduction Web Cam Function PictBridge Compatible USB 2.0 & S-Video Output Built-in pop-up Flash SDHC Flash memory compatible - up to 1 hour and 27 minutes 1080P (30fps) video on a 8GB SDHC card or 1 hour and 14 minutes of 1080i (60fps) high-definition video on a single 8GB SDHC card (not included). Compatible with cards up to 32GB HDMI high-definition output Docking station Manual controls

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Replacement Rapid Battery Charger (Incl. Car and European Plug Adapters)For The Kodak PLAYSPORT Video Camera Review

2012-01-09T06:32:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The item we got was silver in color. The European plug adapter was not included. We had to purchase one at the airport. Disappointed.

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Sony DCR-SR82 1MP 60GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom (Handycam Station Included) Review

2012-01-09T04:10:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)UPDATE: My camera just broke after 18 months! The video screen shows rolling video like the old TV sets that needed the vertical hold adjusted. There is a sensor in the screen that detects when it has been rotated 180 degrees for filming yourself (which I've never done). Evidently this sensor is "stuck" and is causing the video to flip between right side up and upside down which results in a rolling video that is completely unusable.
--------- Original Review -------------
I picked up this camera from Amazon for a great price and I have to say that it is everything I expected and more. We just got back from a 10 day vacation in California (Disneyland, Legoland, Zoo, etc.) and all of the videos that we took came out fantastic. I searched for about 6 months before deciding on this specific brand and model and I'm more than happy with it. Here is a quick rundown on the camera.
1) Hard disk cameras are just wonderful. I can record 14 hours of video without ever worrying about the thing getting full. That's more video than I took over an 8 year period with my my VHS-C camera.
2) The camera looks just like an external USB hard disk to my computer so I can just drag and drop the files that I record. I didn't even bother installing the software that came with the camera because I really didn't need it.
3) The resolution and color are much better than I expected from a low-end sensor. In good light the colors look great. They aren't oversaturated like some of the other cameras I looked at. In low light the colors are a little off but that is true of all cameras. Overall I'm very happy with the quality of the video for the price I paid.
4) My biggest beef is with the manual focus controls. You have to use the touch screen to adjust it and you really can't get a fine level of focus because it seems to jump in odd increments and isn't consistent. The auto focus does a pretty good job at lower magnification levels and with enough light. But when you get in REALLY low light situations or at really high magnification levels (25X) it can have a hard time locking in.
5) The night vision capability is really cool. I didn't think that I would actually ever use it but I used it quite a bit on vacation. When we went through the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland I used it to film the whole thing. Being dark I wouldn't have gotten hardly any good video without it. But with it I was able to get really good detail on what we were seeing. Using the night vision feature causes the video to be greenish/grayish but it is acceptable in many situations.
6) I was skeptical when I heard that you had to use a docking station to transfer the video to a computer but it turns out not to be bad at all. The docking station is really tiny and you actually don't need it to charge the unit or play back video on your TV. We left the docking station at home on vacation because we wouldn't be taking our computer anyway.
7) This thing is actually really tiny. I was able to carry it in one of those small fanny packs while going through Disneyland. It's very comfortable to hold for long periods of time.
8) I love the advanced battery capabilities. It tells you down to the minute how much time you have left. I actually ran it all the way down and was amazed that it gave me that kind of feedback. The battery can last from 60 to 120 minutes depending on what you are doing with it. That's actually pretty good. I only bought the one battery and really don't think you need a second one unless you intend to film a long-running show or something. The only time it ran out was when I forgot to charge it after the previous day of shooting.
Overall I am very pleased with this purchase. I got a great price and the quality and usability of this camera is way better than I expected. Having searched the hard disk camera offerings for over 6 months I finally settled on this one. And I'm glad I did.

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Sony dcr-sr82 hard dr camcord.

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Sony CCDTRV608 Hi8 Camcorder with 3.0" LCD, Video Light & USB Streaming Review

2012-01-08T13:50:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Hi.
I got this camcorder few days before, and now using it daily almost 5 hours in day. I have listed out some of the Advantasges and problems i face with this new avtar of sony lineup.
1. The quailty of the recorded is very good and i feel happy when i shoot videos inside the house in low light, the lense did a good job.
2 Nightshot feature is also impressive and i have shoot some videos in total darkness and quailty is really good.
3. The battery that comes with the Kit is seems to be OK , if you are not planning to use the LCD while recording. You can also choose the battery with the higher life time.
4. The most welcome feature is the USB straeming of your data by connecting to ur PC. i have brodcast my movie using the yahoo messanger webcam feature and its done very well.
Well now i m sorry to say but this machine has some inbuilt problmes like.
1. If you are planning to capture the recorded video on your computer using the USB and the supplied software named PIXELA, u will be disappointed with the quailty as it was very very bad.
2. The built in light does not seem to have an great extent while working on the low lights.
3. The external Microphone Input is not provided and u have depend on the inbuilt mic.
In last, if you are a new comer and ur requirments are not like gorge lucas , u can easily go for this low budget handycam and enjoy the pleasure of movie making.

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In a world increasingly dominated by digital, Hi8 offers a refreshingly good format to shoot in. Despite the big press that MiniDV, Digital8, and the new MicroMV have been getting, many people still prefer the tried and true Hi8. Hi8 offers the highest quality outside of digital and is a good choice for everyday shooting. As long as you just want to document your family's life, and send videos to grandma, you aren't really giving anything up.
The CCD-TRV608 is Sony's flagship Hi8 camcorder, and it offers an assortment of features that make it great for the average home videographer. Sporting a 3-inch color LCD and 20x optical zoom, there's really no situation that the TRV608 won't shoot well. Especially when you add in the NightShot mode, which switches the camera to an infrared shooting mode, and SteadyShot image stabilization, which helps eliminate those annoying shakes that accompany high zoom levels.
In addition to a few fader and picture effects, as well as some titling options, the CCD-TRV608 offers a unique USB streaming mode. Essentially, you connect your camcorder to a PC via USB, and with the addition of some provide software, you can stream live audio and video from the camcorder, capture stills, and playback recorded video scenes.

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Aiptek A-HD+ 1080p HD High Definition Camcorder - 5MP Still Camera - Media Recorder / Player - Black Review

2012-01-08T10:20:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This camcorder makes some pretty good video (up to full HD 1080p) if you tweak the settings on it like white balance and lighting exposure. The weak point this camcorder has is the microphone that is built in to it. It sounds distorted even with quiet sounds. Unfortunately you can't plug a external mic into it.
But, it works fine for what I bought it for and is a good camcorder on a budget price.

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Targus Digital TGC-SBM200 SLR Digital Camera Sling Bag - Medium Review

2012-01-08T07:57:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm actually pleased at how much gear I can put into this bag. (see pictures)
I love the fact that I can put my SLR here with plenty of room for lens and other accessories. It is a nice compact option to a backpack when I don't need to pack as much gear.
The padding is such that I feel all my gear is well protected.
The stitching, zippers, etc are all well constructed and appear very durable. The dividers are easy to move around to customize to the lens's I want to carry.
The one draw back is that I do use bulky neoprene neck straps. It takes a bit to tuck the neck strap into place but that is a fairly minor adjustment.
This is a very comparable bag to other sling bags I have seen costing much more.
I am pleased with this purchase and would highly recommend it for those considering a Sling Bag.
11/28/2010 UPDATE
I have had this bag for almost 6 months now.
It is holding up well no problems with zipper, straps, or any other part of the bag.
I use this primarily for my Canon 40D though have placed my 7D with a battery grip. Typically either a Sigma 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DG IF Macro Aspherical Lens for Canon SLR Cameras is on the 40D and a Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Camerasis on the 7D
I have started placing my Metz flash in the top compartment of this pack. along with a Opteka SB-1 Mini Universal Studio Soft Box Flash Diffuser for Canon EOS, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Sony, Sigma, & Other External Flash Units.
I'm still very pleased with this product and how much I can fit into it.

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Hitachi DZGX5080A DVD Camcorder with 30x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-08T05:39:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this camera to replace a Sony Digital 8 that went bad. I wanted to save the time of putting my tapes on DVD, and figured I'd buy a DVD camera.
I like the compact size of it, and it has a decent optical zoom. You can also film in widescreen mode, which is cool, but you can't switch between 16:9 and 4:3 on the same DVD.
Now for the downsides. The main one is that when I try to play back a DVD on the camera (whether it is finalized or not) sometimes I get severe pixelation - to the point where the camera pauses playback. If I put the finalized DVD in any of my players, it works fine. I don't know if this is expected behavior, but I wouldn't think so. I emailed Hitachi support about it a couple of weeks ago, and I've heard no response.
Another problem is the indoor video. The color and contrast are poor. I even bought this model with the light to try to avoid that, but it doesn't help much. Actually, it is too direct, and not powerful enough. This results in it being very harsh within about 5 feet, and ineffective past about 10 feet. Outdoor shots look pretty good.
One last comment is on the finalizing. The automatic indexing is nice, but you have to have the camera plugged in to finalize the DVD. I guess this makes sense, but it is a little inconvenient.
So, overall this purchase has been a bit of a let down.

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680K pixel CCD sensor
1500x digital zoom
16:9 widescreen recording for all DVD formats
SDÖ memory cards can be used to store digital still photos
Photo Frame Grab converts any video frame into still photo
Quick startù1 second start

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Sanyo Xacti VPC-C40 4MP MPEG4 Digital Camcorder with 5.8x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I own this camera and have to say it is a very good with stills and video. It doesn't compare with a 3CCD camera or even to a mid-grade MiniDV camera but the portability and ease of use is fantastic! This unit can easily fit in your pocket/purse and within seconds can be turned on to capture video. I cannot do this with my regular MiniDV camera as it is too big to haul around. In low-light the unit performs okay but not crystal clear. I am able to easily capture Christmas lights, etc. with the unit @ night time. There are add-on lights you can purchase. If you are into archiving video, such as converting footage to DVD, the MP4 video codec it uses allows for easy editing; only if your video editing program supports MP4 format (I use VideoStudio 10). Most important is that when you convert your video to DVD the quality is still very good for viewing on a TV. I had tried Aipteks, Samsumg, etc. but always during DVD conversion the video quality degraded substantially. Not with this unit. When converting remember ' MP4 to AVI then to DVD.
There is the C6 model to always consider. I choose this one instead since the difference in price between the two models doesn't justify.
One note, if purchasing this unit, make sure you have no bad pixels on the CCD sensor. A simple test is to put the lenses cap on and take a picture. Then examine the picture on your computer screen and look for any visible white or pink dots- hint boost zoom up to 300%. Google this topic if you have any concerns.
Cheers,

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With the innovative Sanyo Xacti VPC-C40, the days of digital tape are over. Pop in an SD card and start recording high-quality MPEG-4 video, or take stunning four megapixel stills--all with a device that fits easily in the palm of your hand and runs on a rechargeable battery.
At the heart of the C40 is a 4.23-megapixel CCD that records MPEG-4 digital video at 30 frames per second. The lens offers a 5.8x optical zoom and a 12x digital zoom, and to keep those shots steady, the unit features an image stabilization system. The C40's 1.8-inch LCD display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285-degrees on an axis for taking great video or still images from otherwise difficult-to-view positions. And when not in use, the screen tucks securely back into the side of the camera for a pocket-sized portability and convenience.
As with all of Sanyo's previous digital media cameras, the C40 can record still images in addition to video. While conventional digital camcorders can often snap stills, they are usually low quality. And while conventional digital cameras can record short video, they are frequently grainy with a slow response speed. The Xacti C40 can do it all, recording both still images and digital video on the same unit. You can even snap a still image while recording digital video with the simple press of the shutter button. When recording video you'll get an hour of footage on a one gigabyte SD card (sold separately). And because audio is important, too, the C40's wind noise reduction system helps cut out unwanted microphone noise while the unit records audio in high-quality AAC-format.
The C40 lets you choose from several automatic exposure modes including auto, sports, portrait, landscape, night view, fireworks, lamp. Meanwhile, a built-in three-mode flash makes getting still images in low light situations easy, while 15 adjustable manual focus settings let you get creative with your compositions. There's also a super macro shooting mode that lets you focus down to a distance of one centimeter.
With convenient, menu-based settings, the C40 has been designed from the ground up for ease of use. There's even a talking navigation guide for first-time users. And when you're ready to connect the camera to your computer, you can use its high-speed USB 2.0 connection to quickly transfer footage from the camera's SD memory card. Software is included for video editing and there's also an S-video output for viewing footage directly on your TV. Printing stills from the memory card is a breeze, too, as the camera is PictBridge compatible, meaning you can print directly to a photo printer that supports the PictBridge standard.
What's in the Box VPC-C40 camcorder, li-ion battery, AC adapter/power code, AV cable, USB cable, lens cap, hand strap, and Sanyo Software Pack 7.4 CD-ROM.

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Canon DC50 5MP DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Review

2012-01-07T08:15:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)While this camcorder may be one of the more expensive DVD based Camcorders, its probably one of the best you'll find before moving on to High Definition. I had actually purchased the Sony SR42 30 GB before this and had to return it immediately because its performance was highly disappointing. This Canon camcorder however takes excellent footage. It also takes great still images too - a cool function in addition is that you can set it to take photos while in recording mode (at a little lower resolution). Doing this allows you to take advantage of the digital zoom to get in a little closer for still photos. This brings me to one of the draw backs of the camera, it only has 10x optical zoom. While while it is not bad, there are many cameras with a more powerful optical zoom. The plus side, is that the digital zoom (the 40x option, not the 2000x) is actually pretty good. Maybe not to the full 40x, but for the first little bit of additional zoom it still looks great. The only other draw back for me was getting used to the rewritable dvds and transferring them to my computer. It took me a little bit to figure out (just set up the disc in VR-mode) but after I did it was terrific. Now I just plug in the USB cord and put on the video into my editing program and edit away. You may here some reviews noting that the controls aren't all the intuitive, but just spend a minute or two with them (or read the manual) and the controls and functionality are good. Ultimately I would rate the camera a 4.5, but it wasn't a choice. If you're debating between this camera and others, just spend the few extra bucks and get this one. Also, if your far from moving up to high def, get this camera as well because I believe its towards the top of regular def (it does does have the option to shoot in either 16:9 or 4:3). Enjoy!

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CL) U) CANON DC50 DVD CAMCORDER

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Essential Accessory Kit For Samsung HMX-H200 HMX-T10 HMX-M20 HMX-H204 HMX-H106 HMX-S16 HMX-H204BN HMX-S15BN HD Camcorder Includes 50" Tripod + Compact Hard Shell Case + 7" Flexible Tripod + Screen Protectors + More Review

2012-01-07T07:23:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I liked the small tripod's quality and the bag..
bag is a hard case with gliding (like glove box in car) design for safety of camera..
others are just fillers..

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Kodak MC3 Portable Digital Camera/Camcorder and MP3 Player - 64 MB Review

2012-01-07T04:03:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had my Kodak MC3 for about 2 weeks now, and I've got mixed opinions. On the positive side:
1) Music performace: The MC3 does an excellent job of playing MP3's, especially if you upgrade to a 128 MB card so you can store lots of 'em!
2) Video Quality: When set on best (30 fps) quality, the video is great- very smooth and clear, provided you have good lighting (more on this in a minute). While it does take up a large amount of memory, it's worth it.
3) Outdoor Daylight Pictures: The picture quality in excellent lighting (ie outdoors on a sunny day, etc) is fantastic 4) Ease of Use: The MC3 is idiot proof- very simple to use, install, etc...
But the negatives:
1) Pictures in less than perfect light: If you want to take pictures indoors without bright lights, at night, or in any other situation where the lighting is a bit dim, get another camera. This is my biggest dissapointment with the camera. There's no flash, so trying to capture anything that's a bit dark or unevenly lit is an exercise in futility.
2) LCD Screen: While it is often sufficient, the screen can be difficult to see alot of the time.
Overall, this is a great little toy for taking outdoor pictures while listening to music, and even making the occaisional video clips. Just make sure you can live with the limitations caused by the lack of a flash.

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The Kodak MC3 is the coolest pocket player out there. Catch all the action, wherever you go. It lets you shoot digital video or still pictures. Download and play your favorite MP3s. Share your memories over the Internet. The Kodak MC3 is one of the only MP3 players to offer a reflective preview screen, so you can use it even in bright sunshine. In music mode, you can view the artist's name, song title, and album.With Kodak MC3 there's no end to the fun! Plug the ear buds in for listening to music on the go. There are no moving parts, so skips are eliminated. With a removable Memory Card you can collect, display, record, download and play music, videos, still pictures and anything you want. Perfect for the active lifestyle, the Kodak MC3 is small, pocket size, and you can use it with one hand. The MC3 was designed with the Internet in mind. Quickly and easily download your favorite music and transfer your videos and pictures to your PC.

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Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder w/15x Optical Zoom - 2009 MODEL Review

2012-01-06T09:20:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)The video quality is superb, as is ease of use. Here are a few hints and things I noticed. The battery out of the box will not power-on the camera and needs some minutes of charge to even show 0%. You can operate the camera from the charger but the battery is not being charged, says the manual.
There are two 1920x1080 picture quality modes: MXP at 24 mbps and FXP at 17 mbps -- and three at 1440x1080: XP+, SP and LP, at 12, 7 and 5 mbs, respectively. I believe it defaults to LP out of the box, which is 1440x1080 at 7 mbps. I suggest you select FXP to get true 1920x1080 resolution. Upping to 24 mbps might be a good idea only if you are going to do a lot of post editing -- I can't see an improvement over FXP. Recording times with a 16GB card are 1:25, 2:05, 2:50, 4:45 and 6:05, respectively.
When the camera is OFF, pressing the DISP button (on the camera body) will show battery capacity in minutes and percent. Pressing DISP when ON turns the LCD to max brightness. IOW, you can set the LCD brightness for normal indoor use with the menu and instantly set it bright for outdoor use. Handy.
The CINE mode seems to digitally soften the image; there may some color change but I didn't notice it from the shots I took in a park. The PF30 and PF24 rates show a jerkiness when panning as you would expect from a lower frame rate. I think these rates are simulated because all recording is done at 60i. For example when I played back PF24 stepping one frame at a time I saw the same image for 3 steps, then the next. (The "3 steps" varies with both PF24 and PF30.) OTOH, PF24 is useful in low light situations as it permits the HF200 slow the shutter speed down to 1/6 sec.
Previous Canon users will find the menu system easy and familiar, similar even to their still cameras. The joystick is "big" and has a positive, definite feedback feel to it. Menu navigation seems easier and clearer than earlier Canons I've used. There is even a Large Font choice. Good!
The Power On button is deep in a groove that makes it unlikely to accidentally turn on. But with your right hand in the nice grip you have to use the left to press it On - my fingers don't reach. No loss, you need the other hand to open the LCD panel anyway. The zoom lever on top is a middle finger control. The adjacent Photo button is for a trained index finger. Record, at the back, is thumb operated. You can also use an LCD panel button to Record.
The Quick Start feature means you can close the LCD to save power (runs at 1/3 normal) and be ready to shoot in about 1 sec after opening it. Note, if you close the LCD panel while recording it will continue to record -- so slamming it shut does not stop the shot.
The still photo features are quite amazing. The resolution is 3 megapixels, but a very good 3mp! You can shoot continuously at 3 or 5 frames/sec. And you can shoot at the same fast frame rates with flash! The flash is actually a high-power white LED, not a xenon tube. There is a separate warm-white LED for video that works OK to 5-6 feet.
There are the usual auto white balance, auto exposure, instant focus features and so on that you can read about above. There's face detection for proper focus. They all work very well. I like the Vivid color setting for most all shooting - video and photo. It is a slight pump in saturation that helps if you mainly view using your laptop LCD. Instant AutoFocus is aptly named. There is a fairly large IAF sensor next to the lens for this purpose. The 15x zoom, a first for me, is fully useful all the way out. Impressive.
Battery life (BP-809) takes a definite second place to 16GB storage. I just checked and it indicates 100%, 94 minutes. But you can of course buy larger batteries. (I use the smaller BP-808 battery from my FS100 SD video cam as a backup.) With the Quick Start feature (can be turned off) power is used between shots and this will generally use more juice that actual recording. Figure 3 to 5 times battery vs video: one hour of video needs 3+ hours of battery cap. Unless you buy a charger you must charge in the camera. Only one sample so far, but it seemed to take a little more than an hour to charge from 0%.
The supplied Pixela software is minimal. You can combine up to 99 shots into an M3TS file. It can be played on video players like Popcorn Hour and the WD HD TV player. (I have both and strongly recommend the $99 WD over the $230 PCH. The PCH can connect to Internet servers, its main claim to fame.) These players can also play the MTS format directly copied from the SD card but there is a 1-2 sec delay between each shot. Pixela lets you pick and chose shots, trim a given shot, and add titles and audio. I don't know how to get past the 99 shot limit with Pixela -- I made about 170 shots in the park yesterday.
All in all, I luves it.

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Universal Super Sound Mini Zoom Camcorder Directional Video Shotgun Microphone w/Mount + Deluxe Case + More For Panasonic HDC-SD600 HDC-SD60K HDC-TM700K HDC-HS60K SDR-S50 SDR-H85 HDC-TM55K HDC-HS700K SDR-S26 SDR-T50 Digital Camcorder Review

2012-01-06T08:24:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)IT doesn`t fit to my ag-hmc40, it is to small........ i don`t want it!!!!
I will return it ASAP

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Panasonic PV-L559 Palmcorder Camcorder Review

2012-01-06T05:21:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)We have had our camcorder for two weeks now and are amazed at how easy it is to use and the quality of the pictures. We record alot of sporting events and the LCD screen is great--you can watch the game instead of the old styles where you have to look through the view finder. Our son likes to analyze his hitting and throwing after the game by watching on the LCD scree.

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Looking for a state-of-the-art palmcorder? Stop right here. Full VHS compatibility. Not only does it comes with a VHS PlayPak (so you can play the tape in your VHS VCR), but it offers a crisp, clear first-generation picture for your enjoyment. Its telescopic lens gives you the ability to produce extraordinarily clear close-ups of your subject matter, along with superior clarity to those provided by digital zoom. Plus, with four different zoom speeds, you are able to go from a wide angle shot to a full telephoto in 2-16 seconds. The PV-L559 uses DEIS to compensate for unintentional hand and camcorder movement to help stabilize recordings, even if you're recording in a moving vehicle or a crowded room. It features MotionSensor, which is perfect for simple home security applications as it starts camcorder recording when motion is detected. Color Digital Fade lets you select from 7 fade variations with your choice of 8 colors for flexibility in transition from one scene to the next.

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Sony DCRSX44 DCR-SX44 4GB Flash memory Handycam Camcorder with 60x Optical Zoom in Blue + 8GB Accessory Kit Review

2012-01-06T03:09:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Oh my this camera is simply wonderful. The zoom is ridiculously precise and crisp. It records well, very easy to use, fits well in small or larger hands. Great fit and weight and easy to use for children, women or men. Our family loves the adaptability of this camcorder, and the kit was perfectly selected, and useful.

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Canon ZR600 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-05T14:39:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This camera will satisfy most folks that read Amazon reviews! DV-ing can be an uphill climb for newbies, but with the proper expectations, you can be happy with your purchase and your future use.
I have used this camera for 4 months, and here are my observations:
A few assumptions:
1. Firewire BABY! With almost ALL DV camcorders you will need a 1394 Firewire port on your computer, and a cable (about 10-20 dollars online)
Workaround: none, this is DV! USB is too slow. The SR600 has two ports...make sure you use the port labeled DV. If you want to shell out $200-300 more, go with DVDcamcorder.
2. For Transfer or Editing, Look in your Windows! If you have Windows XP, use the FREE Windows Movie Maker program which copies your movie footage from camera to PC, and allows a little editing. Vista has even more you can do, like copy to a DVD!
3. Don't expect long shoot times... My battery that the camera came with lasts only about 35 minutes, even when I'm not using the LCD screen.
Workaround: buy a $15 dollar 1700mWh battery(larger) on EBAY to have as your main battery, and use the stock one as a backup.
4. Don't get left in the Dark. Reviews state that the camera shoots poorly in poorly lit rooms. This is common with DV cameras.
Workaround: Move camera into P mode, from EASY on the switch near the zoom, and choose NIGHT as option on the LCD (using easy to use Joystick) when you are shooting in lowlight scenes.
AS long as you know the 4 assumptions, this camera is perfect for newbies in DV, right on the money with price, and with good features, like 16:9 WS, Toggle button, and excellent OPTICAL zoom. Wish my sony digital camera had this zoom. IF they had a better battery and included the Firewire cable, I'd give it 5 stars.
I would buy it again, but would opt for the ZR500 for price, or the ZR700 if I wanted to use it to bridge the copying from my VCR to the computer for moviemaker.
OS: Windows XP sp2
PC: 4 yr old DELL Dimension, with Creative lab card with Firewire
Software:
Windows Movie Maker to pull clips from camera, and to Edit movies
DVDFlick (opensource and free) to copy my edited movies to DVD for playing on my home DVD player or computer (moviemaker only copies the .WMV file on a CD or DVD)
Panasonic AY-DVM63PQ Professional DV tapes

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Affordable pocket-sized performanceAround the world, the name Canon means optical excellence, advanced image processing and superb performance. And Canon digital video camcorders are no exception. For budget-conscious consumers, the ZR family of cameras is a perfect balance between style, performance and affordability. They give you a variety of features, including Widescreen HR recording, a Firewire/DV Terminal and Canon's advanced image stabilization system. The results are brilliant video and digital photos that you can easily share with family and friends.Beneath its stylish Silver Frost finish, the ZR600 packs a powerful combination of performance and features. It comes with a 25x optical zoom, Canon's longest ever. It also comes with features found on more expensive camcorders such as: an easy-to-read menu system; an omni-selector joystick that lets you easily operate playback, focus, exposure and menu options; a big 2.7" LCD viewscreen; Smooth Zoom Control; and Level Shot Control. The ZR600 is a stylish performer you can take anywhere.Widescreen HR RecordingCanon camcorders use the entire width of the image sensor to capture video in true 16:9 format. What difference does this make? It's simple. With more pixels captured, you get better image quality. Some competitors' camcorders force the wider picture into a smaller space on the sensor -- giving you a less true image, with fewer pixels and lower quality. With a Canon camcorder, your videos of your travels will let you relive great memories.In addition, the viewfinder on your ZR600 displays your widescreen image in a letterbox view. From side to side and top to bottom, what you see is what you get. You can also view your widescreen shot in the ZR600's large, 2.7" LCD screen.To make it eveneasier, a Widescreen Button lets you switch from standard 4:3 to 16:9 Widescreen HR at the touch of your finger. You can also use the widescreen feature with

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Sony DCR-HC48 1MP MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom (Handycam Station Included) Review

2012-01-05T11:52:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)The DC-HC48 is a great camera very nicely sized and easy to use. I chose this version instead of the HC38 due to the support for stills and the improved CCD.
The picture quality in good light is great. I actually displayed it on my 60 inch TV and the picture was as good as normal television. I was very impressed with the picture. It was also nice how easy it was to switch aspect rations to either 16:9 (wide-screen) to 4:3 (standard). However as it got darker outside and the light got lower inside I notice much of the "color" from the picture began to fade and the picture became somewhat mono-tone. This seems to be a common complaint for cameras in this price range with low-light.
I took the camera into a dark room (I couldn't see a thing) I turned on the night mode and was very impressed. People and things showed up great in the pitch black. The IR light emitted by the camera was picked up nicely and acted like an flashlight that only the camera would pick up. The subject had to be 5-10 feet away and of course the image was best in the center. The effect was very much like Survivor's night shots, or the Blair Witch Project.
The camera has two modes of operation. Normal node , which allows you to custom set settings like set Focus, Exposure, White Balance, or Effects like Old Film etc or set the settings to Auto. And Easy mode, which lets you basically turn beeping on and off and leaves all settings set to Auto.
The issue I found is in Easy mode the Still Pictures did not work. Also you have to stop recording to switch between Easy and Normal mode. The still photos are a fine quality for considering its a 1 Mega-Pixel camera. I wouldn't recommend using this as your primary still photo camera though its nice to have the option.
The touch screen I found to be somewhat cumbersome since you have to scroll through looking for the choices that you want. So if you want to make a setting change quickly and if you are unfamiliar with the camera it might take a while to find. I also tend to shake the camera some when I use the touchscreen. A nice feature is that you can create your own custom activity list so settings you set frequently are more accessible then those you don't use.
Where I was most disappointed was with the accessories. The standard battery it ships with lasts 1.5 hours, which seems like a reasonable time considering a MiniDV tape only holds 60-90 minutes depending on your setting. But like all batteries the 1.5 is ideal conditions and not real world turning the camera on and off and playing with the features and zooming in and out etc. Additionally the Battery takes an 1 hour and 40 minutes to charge which is surprising. Unfortunately the battery is not the newer ActiForce batteries which charge in approximately 20 minutes (with the actiForce charger).
Also to take still photos you'll need to buy a separate Memory Stick Duo card. (Not a Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo has a smaller form factor). The USB cable that ships with the camera lets you get the Still photos from the camera (attached to the dock) onto your computer. However it does NOT let you get the video. Instead you need a fire-wire cable which is not included. Sony sells this cable for around $40. Belkin makes that cable for around $12. The fire-wire (i.Link) cable only allows you to download video onto your computer (not the still photos). Again you must be attached to the docking station. If your traveling and wish to download to a computer you'll need to bring the docking station with you (it is pretty small but my be a hassle to bring with you). The docking station is one way to charge the camera or you can connect it to the wall with the supplied cables. Unfortunately there is only one power cable for the dock and the camera so if you plan to just bring the power cable you'll have to disconnect it from the docking station.
In short the camera is great just be aware you might be buying some more cables, batteries, chargers, memory sticks or other accessories that will end up affecting your total price of ownership. And that the Sony brand name versions of these accessories can be surprisingly pricey.

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With a 1 megapixel CCD, the DCR-HC48 MiniDV Handycam(R) camcorder captures every detail of every frame. And you`ll get everything in the frame with the 25x optical/2000x digital zoom through the Carl Zeiss(R) Vario-Tessar(R) Lens. The 2.7" wide hybrid touch panel LCD displays your video in vivid detail while allowing you to easily control the camcorder`s features. You even have better control over your video clarity with Super SteadyShot(R) image stabilization and Super NightShot(R) Plus. And with the built-in Memory Stick Duo(TM) media slot and the supplied Handycam(R) Station, it`s quick and simple to share everything you`ve recorded.

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RCA EZ5000R Small Wonder Palm Style HD 720P Digital Camcorder (Black/Slver) Review

2012-01-05T08:17:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)I have had 2 of these now and they both have been defective. They work fine, but the screen that you view through doesn't work properly. The first time I received this product the screen showed up as if it was upside down and it was in black and white. The second one I received also was a problem with the view screen. It worked fine initially, but then it went black. Doesn't show any picture at all.

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GSI Gorgeous All-in-One High-Definition Digital Mini-DV "8 GB" Camera/Camcorder, High-Quality MP3/WMA Player, Video & Voice Recorder, Webcam, USB Interface - Includes Earphones and Suction Cup for Installation in Car/Vehicle Review

2012-01-05T04:53:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)I have no idea. They shipped a broken one to me. I have never had a chance to use it. I charged the battery for 12 hours and could not make it work. It's like a dead meat to me. Disappointed.

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JVC GR-AXM18US Compact VHS Camcorder Review

2012-01-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

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(More customer reviews)My husband and I bought a new digital camcorder last August, but have never adapted to it, as it is so difficult to view the films. We had owned several VHS-C in the past. This is a welcome return to a familiar format. As expected it is bigger that the digital one, but it is slimmer and lighter than our last VHS-C model.
The instructions are a little more complicated than the last model. The zoom button is very conveniently placed. We have only tested it and the quality of picture and sound seem good. We are about to go on a trip and see the results.

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There are still great purchases to be made in the VHS format, and the JVC GR-AXM18US Compact VHS Camcorder is one of them. This slim, compact silver camcorder includes a powerful zoom, digital noise reduction, and an LCD screen to make recording at picnics, backyard barbecues, and graduations easy. Best of all, when you are done recording, simply pop out the cassette, place it in a VHS playpak adapter (not included), and play it on any standard VCR.
The GR-AXM18US camcorder features a digital time-base corrector (TBC) that helps eliminate picture jitter, and digital chroma noise reduction (CNR) that eliminates color noise and smear. This unit also features a picture stabilizer function that corrects camera shake instantly, giving you smooth and stable pictures, which when combined with the TBC and CNR features makes this camcorder not only incredibly easy to use, but as point-and-shoot as they come. The GR-AXM18US also includes a combination of 11 built-in digital special effects and wipes/fades that allow you to give your videos a polished, professional look, as well as a built-in battery charger that means you will always have a spare at your fingertips, without having to fumble for an extra battery in the middle of an important moment.
This JVC VHS camcorder utilizes a 1/6-inch CCD image sensor with 320,000 pixels, and a 2.2 to 44 millimeter f1.8 wide-angle lens. This unit provides you with both a 20x optical zoom, and an 800x digital zoom, ensuring you will always be able to get up close and personal no matter how far away you are. The GR-AXM18US has a 30.5 millimeter filter, and requires less than one lux of lighting in Super LoLux mode. This compact camcorder utilizes the NTSC system for VHS-C and VHS NTSC Standard formats, includes mono audio, and date and time stamping. You can view your subject while filming through the 0.5-inch black-and-white CRT viewfinder, or via the 2.5-inch color LCD display that both rotates 270 degrees, and flips out before snapping back so you can film your video from virtually any angle. This unit includes both auto and manual controls for the focus, exposure and white balance, has a built-in microphone, and a title generator that features eight preset messages in either English, Spanish, French or Portuguese. The JVC GR-AXM18US allows for animation and time lapse, has a quick review and retake function, includes a black fader feature, and provides you with digital auto tracking. This compact camcorder weighs 1.7 pounds, measures 3.2 x 4.9 x 8.5 inches (W x H x D), and is backed by a 1-year parts and 90-days labor manufacturer's limited warranty.
What's in the Box The GR-AXM18US compact VHS camcorder, AC power adapter/recharger, battery pack, AV cable, shoulder strap and lens cap.

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Sony DCRTRV950 MiniDV Digital Camcorder Review

2012-01-04T07:26:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)great camcorder. the 3CCDs really make a difference in video quality in my opinion. unfortunately, you pay for this quality!
pros:
- as expected from a 3CCD camcorder, the trv-950 delivers excellent video quality - colors are reproduced accurately.
- 1 megapixel still capability.
- miniDV media is widely supported.
- 12X optical zoom!
- steady shot optical stabilization system works well.
- ability to record mpeg videos directly to memory stick.
- progressive shutter system.
- offers color bars and zebra striping.
- the 3.5" LCD screen is great.
- built-in flash for stills.
- built-in mic does a good job picking up sound from the target, not the operator.
- great connectivity options: firewire, USB, S-video, headphone, mic input, etc.
- buttons along the left side and back of the camera body control essential camera functions (manual settings for focus, white balance, audio level, shutter speed, and special lighting situations) so you won't need to dive into menus for these commonly used capabilities.
- side-mounted cassette means you can change tapes while the camcorder is mounted on a tripod.
- low motor noise.
- intelligent accessory shoe - very useful if you use the appropriate accessories.
- allows a great deal of manual control.
cons:
- no built in video light but you can get a video light for less about fifty bucks.
- you could do better on the still photo department. for example, sony's trv80 and trv70 have 2 megapixel capability while panasonic's pv-dv953 delivers 3 megapixel stills.
- as with most sony products, you pay a premium, pushing up the price.
- don't expect miracles from 1 megapixel stills.
- not as compact as i would like. dimensions are 4"H x 3-3/4"W x 8"D, weighing 2.4 lbs.
- the included 8MB memory stick is unacceptable. be prepared to shell out more money for at least a 32MB or bigger memory stick.
- does not have a NightShot mode (although i'm not a big fan of this feature).
- MPEG movies saved to Memory Stick are much darker than the same scene recorded to a miniDV tape.
- noticeable shutter lag for still captures.
- bluetooth communication requires optional purchases = more $$.
- touchscreen menu system is not intuitive.
this is great camcorder if you are looking for a 3CCD system. it sits atop sony's prosumer line. the competition is catching up though so make sure you also consider the panasonic pv-dv953. peace.

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Near the top of Sony's line of MiniDV camcorders stands the DCR-TRV950, the successor to the wildly popular TRV900. Packed with features such as the CCDs, 12x optical zoom, pop-up flash, manual and automatic controls, and a large 3.5-inch LCD screen, aspiring moviemakers find a true performance camcorder at an agreeable price.
Lens The lens boasts three separate CCD sensors, with each one dedicated to capturing a certain hue of the image. That means sharper imaging, 530 lines of resolution, with colors that are true to life. The SteadyShot function stabilizes the picture and reduces camera shake. The TRV950's optical zoom magnifies up to 12 times, which is enough for most purposes. Turn on the digital zoom, which electronically magnifies the optical image, and reach up to 150x.
Digital Stills Digital stills can be stored on a Memory Stick that works independently from the DV tape system. The camera performs with 1-megapixel resolution, making it capable of sharp images that are up to 1,152 x 864 pixels in size. When you need more light for your photos there is a built-in flash unit that can pop up. The camera can also shoot in MPEG movie mode, storing 320 x 240 videos onto the memory stick.
Inputs and Outputs The TRV950 is equipped with the standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also known as FireWire) for a super-fast, lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. The USB connection is used to transfer digital photos and MPEG movies, while the innovative wireless Bluetooth capability adds network connectivity. The traditional S-video and RCA connections are also provided for direct viewing on a television or VHS dubbing.
The DCR-TRV950 comes with one 8 MB Memory Stick. Memory Sticks are reusable, but if you tend to take a lot of digital images, then you'll want a bigger card.
MiniDV Format MiniDV digital technology delivers clear, sharp video with over 500 lines of horizontal resolution--far superior to the 240 lines of resolution offered by 8mm camcorders. You'll also get minimal color noise interference for a more stable picture.
You'll also get excellent sound quality, recorded in either 12-bit or 16-bit audio recording modes.

16-bit audio includes on set of stereo audio tracks to produce CD-quality sound.
12-bit audio utilizes two sets of audio tracks so you can easily add background music or commentary into your videos while maintaining the existing soundtrack.

This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of two full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.

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Sony DCR-SR85 1MP 60GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-04T05:39:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I just received this camcorder (DCR-SR85) and I am very happy with it! It is so small & lightwieght, plus it takes fantastic videos. The videos download very quickly with the included software, and are crisp and clear as any DVD movie that I have (standard definition). I stuggled with all the choices out there, but I am very satified with this product. I use it mostly to document procedures for work, but it is great for home movies also. I think it would be nice to have a larger mega-pixel camera in it (only 1 meg) since it is so small it could easily replace my digital camera also! I also purchased the extended warranty from Sony for only 89.00 (3 years), and an extra battery. This one is a keeper!

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Its built-in 60GB hard disk drive offers plenty of storage as you zero in on your subjects with the professional-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and a powerful 25x optical/2000x digital zoom. Compose shots using the 2.7-inch wide (16:9) touch-panel LCD display, and maintain total control and clarity with the Super SteadyShot image stabilization system. Hybrid recording technology even gives you the choice to record video to either the internal hard disk drive or removable Memory Stick Pro Duo media.

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JVC Everio GZ-MG360 60GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom Review

2012-01-04T04:28:00.000-05:00

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've recorded probably just 10 hours with the camera, and I am pleased with my purchase of this camera. My wife and I were expecting our first baby (who was born 7/9/08), and I had done quite a bit of research before deciding to but this particular model. I "test drove" several different brands and models by JVC, and decided that the Everio was the route I wanted to go. The good things about this camera that I've noticed thus far are the battery life, the massive 60 GB hard drive, the built-in light, the size, and definitely the price. There are points that I would like to warn folks about. The video and audio recording quality is decent, but not exceptional. If you are looking for a camera based upon purely video and audio quality, you might want to look at something else. The video files are shot with proprietary files with a .MOD extension. Although file extensions and video files are relatively simple to convert, you can't just drag and drop the .MOD files in most applications. The software that is bundled with the camera will convert the files to any type that you want, but this is just another step or another application that you must go through to burn your movies via PC. I haven't yet got the direct burn stations that JVC markets, but I am willing to try them just to make it a bit easier to get my movies on DVDs. For the most part, to view our movies, we hook the camera directly up to the TV...which works very well for quick video showings.
All in all, for my entry level camcorder and the way in which we will use this camera, I am happy that I chose this model (Everio GZ-MG360). I hope my little review will help...because I know how nerve-racking shopping for a camcorder can be!

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Everio Hybrid Camera - Elegant and slim HDD/micro SD Hybrid camcorder featuring 60GB HDD for up to 75 hours of recording with KONICA MINOLTA LENS. Everio has been redesigned to offer more satisfaction in a smaller lighter body. It's the world's smallest and lightest hard disk camcorder so you can shoot actively without fatigue and travel with lots of space left over when you pack your bags.

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