Low light focus, January 2, 2009 ( 5 Stars Product with 673 Customer review )
By
Neil (NY)
I use this external flash unit with my Canon Rebel xTi. The flash does a great job calculating the amount of light it needs to release to expose the photo, making grossly over exposed or underexposed photos a thing of the past. The ability to bounce the flash off of medium height white ceilings gives you great looking photos to the point where I now prefer using my flash instead of relying on high ISOs, fast lenses and low aperature numbers. Although flash photography is a tricky subject, the casual shooter can leave this flash in automatic mode and get wonderfully exposed photos. However, in my opinion, the BEST PART of this external flash is that it enables you to focus MUCH faster than the built in flash and this is reason alone to pick up the Speedlite 430EX II. Previously, when shooting in low light settings, the camera/lens would struggle to focus and the flash would emit several highly annoying test flashes. The Speedlite has no problem finding and focusing on your subject in low lit catering halls and dark rooms and it does so without the annoying test flashes. Great product.
View Original Review here
If You Want Buy this Product, Please Click here or View more Camera and Photo Product here or here
By
Neil (NY)
I use this external flash unit with my Canon Rebel xTi. The flash does a great job calculating the amount of light it needs to release to expose the photo, making grossly over exposed or underexposed photos a thing of the past. The ability to bounce the flash off of medium height white ceilings gives you great looking photos to the point where I now prefer using my flash instead of relying on high ISOs, fast lenses and low aperature numbers. Although flash photography is a tricky subject, the casual shooter can leave this flash in automatic mode and get wonderfully exposed photos. However, in my opinion, the BEST PART of this external flash is that it enables you to focus MUCH faster than the built in flash and this is reason alone to pick up the Speedlite 430EX II. Previously, when shooting in low light settings, the camera/lens would struggle to focus and the flash would emit several highly annoying test flashes. The Speedlite has no problem finding and focusing on your subject in low lit catering halls and dark rooms and it does so without the annoying test flashes. Great product.
View Original Review here
If You Want Buy this Product, Please Click here or View more Camera and Photo Product here or here
Update 9-16-2010 This is no longer their top of the line cam - the new one is based on this camera but includes a GPS and tags your images with location. You'll need their viewer to see the map movement as the video plays.
Update: 7-2010
Tonights episode of Dirty Jobs showed this camera strapped to a head strap for the host, Mike Rowe, who was 408 feet above the cement floor decending & window cleaning in Hawaii. Troy chickened out on the first 100 feet so alot of the contour HD footage made it into the show. By the 300 foot balcony they got troy on the ropes but his hair got snagged in the safely line and had to get his second "shearing" on Dirty Jobs - it was also filmed on contour HD cams 300' above hawaii. The quality was as good as the cable company could deliver in their 6:1 re-compression of HD. A full HD viewfinderless camera has value when you must get the shot.
using a sandisk 16GB microSD card and the maximum detail [1080P] + best quality I could get 3 hr, 6 minutes of video recorded with battery leftover. If you use the lower resolution setting the battery may be the limiting factor - I have not tried that yet.
I bought this to produce a bluray disc of a police helicopter team, using a gyro stabilized canon professional camera in back and wanting a 2nd angle up front. This comes with an adhesive patch that sticks to the side of the pilot's helmet to give a 135 degree wide field of view. The integrated rails on both sides permit the ultimate flexibility in mounting the camera, and second options for this cam are car mounts, etc.
The quality is GREAT. The lens is the downfall - there is some pincushion effect due to the inexpensive lens and wide angle. I'll deal with it for the price and the shots you can get with it, plus I can trim out the distortion in post editing.
One note - the output is .mov which is fine for macs, but for pc's you will need to transcode if you run premiere pro cs4 from adobe as it does not import .mov natively. Perhaps that is a good time to clip the edges where the bent picture is most noticable.
Another factor to like is the simplicity. With gloved hands you slide the top forward to record and back to stop, with a beep to start and and double beep to stop - it's very hard to mess up except for your horizon, which is why there are detents and lasers.
Detents and lasers?
Yes, - there are detents in the event you mount it on the right and left hand side of a helmet or rotate it in a mount. The 2 lasers can be turned on to tell you what is level with resepect to the imager. This is helpful when you rotate it but you must manually keep track of the bottom of the screen (below the laser points ) as you rotate it, otherwise your output will be upside down.
For the price, you simply can not beat it. Buy a 16 GB sandisk micro-sd card to go with it Sandisk 16GB Microsd Card Note that they have a low packaging option which the card is inside a plastic carrier and inside an ESD bag but no box or other trash with it that goes in the landfill - smart packaging.
One of the other great applications for this is taking HD video where you otherwise would NOT take your $3K camera - the beach - the water park - etc. You won't get the absolute best quality but you will get 1080 p hd that is playable on macs or pcs in native players!
Another great use is for children. It's easy to use, inexpensive, and highdef. For the kids who are beyond the toy grade cameras but not ready for a professional unit, this fills the gap. Adults will love its simplicity. On or Off - no fancy buttons to press, and everything complex is set while attached to the computer.
Finally there is my use - have a 2nd angle view for use with NLE systems. You can now do a/b video fades by time syncing the output from this camera with your primary cam. Be sure to expose something that will sync the two that gets recorded on both at the start of shootng.
I'm only deducting a star becuase of the pincushion effect of the lens. I realize for this price you are not getting an HD lens, and I realize that HD will show any defects, but a few more dollars in the lens would have made this 5 stars - it is oh so close. Be sure to pick up extra memory and batteries if you plan to use it at maximum definition because it makes some big files fast.
Read Other Review here
Please Click here to Buy
Update: 7-2010
Tonights episode of Dirty Jobs showed this camera strapped to a head strap for the host, Mike Rowe, who was 408 feet above the cement floor decending & window cleaning in Hawaii. Troy chickened out on the first 100 feet so alot of the contour HD footage made it into the show. By the 300 foot balcony they got troy on the ropes but his hair got snagged in the safely line and had to get his second "shearing" on Dirty Jobs - it was also filmed on contour HD cams 300' above hawaii. The quality was as good as the cable company could deliver in their 6:1 re-compression of HD. A full HD viewfinderless camera has value when you must get the shot.
using a sandisk 16GB microSD card and the maximum detail [1080P] + best quality I could get 3 hr, 6 minutes of video recorded with battery leftover. If you use the lower resolution setting the battery may be the limiting factor - I have not tried that yet.
I bought this to produce a bluray disc of a police helicopter team, using a gyro stabilized canon professional camera in back and wanting a 2nd angle up front. This comes with an adhesive patch that sticks to the side of the pilot's helmet to give a 135 degree wide field of view. The integrated rails on both sides permit the ultimate flexibility in mounting the camera, and second options for this cam are car mounts, etc.
The quality is GREAT. The lens is the downfall - there is some pincushion effect due to the inexpensive lens and wide angle. I'll deal with it for the price and the shots you can get with it, plus I can trim out the distortion in post editing.
One note - the output is .mov which is fine for macs, but for pc's you will need to transcode if you run premiere pro cs4 from adobe as it does not import .mov natively. Perhaps that is a good time to clip the edges where the bent picture is most noticable.
Another factor to like is the simplicity. With gloved hands you slide the top forward to record and back to stop, with a beep to start and and double beep to stop - it's very hard to mess up except for your horizon, which is why there are detents and lasers.
Detents and lasers?
Yes, - there are detents in the event you mount it on the right and left hand side of a helmet or rotate it in a mount. The 2 lasers can be turned on to tell you what is level with resepect to the imager. This is helpful when you rotate it but you must manually keep track of the bottom of the screen (below the laser points ) as you rotate it, otherwise your output will be upside down.
For the price, you simply can not beat it. Buy a 16 GB sandisk micro-sd card to go with it Sandisk 16GB Microsd Card Note that they have a low packaging option which the card is inside a plastic carrier and inside an ESD bag but no box or other trash with it that goes in the landfill - smart packaging.
One of the other great applications for this is taking HD video where you otherwise would NOT take your $3K camera - the beach - the water park - etc. You won't get the absolute best quality but you will get 1080 p hd that is playable on macs or pcs in native players!
Another great use is for children. It's easy to use, inexpensive, and highdef. For the kids who are beyond the toy grade cameras but not ready for a professional unit, this fills the gap. Adults will love its simplicity. On or Off - no fancy buttons to press, and everything complex is set while attached to the computer.
Finally there is my use - have a 2nd angle view for use with NLE systems. You can now do a/b video fades by time syncing the output from this camera with your primary cam. Be sure to expose something that will sync the two that gets recorded on both at the start of shootng.
I'm only deducting a star becuase of the pincushion effect of the lens. I realize for this price you are not getting an HD lens, and I realize that HD will show any defects, but a few more dollars in the lens would have made this 5 stars - it is oh so close. Be sure to pick up extra memory and batteries if you plan to use it at maximum definition because it makes some big files fast.
Read Other Review here
Please Click here to Buy
Chromebooks Go Production
By
macbeach
I've been testing the prototype Cr-48 since February. I expected to just use the device for a few weeks and then go back to my desktop system. But instead I changed a few of my habits and stayed with it ever since. There is very little difference between the Cr-48 and the production Samsung. Size is about the same, keyboard almost identical. Cr-48 was coated with a rubbery material that you either like or hate. Samsung is more traditional glossy plastic.
Both machines have very bright and crisp displays in a wide format. The screen itself is of the traditional non-glare type. I can't imagine why anyone would want a screen with glare but I notice many new systems come that way. I guess if you work in a totally dark room the glossy screens are fine. The second version of the Chromebook from Acer is said to have a glossy screen for anyone that wants that.
I'll second what others said that this machine is not for everyone. If you a big user of Apple products and happy with their "roadmap" to the future, stay with them. If you need all the specialized software that only runs on Windows, then you'd better stay there too.
But... If you are tired of running virus scanners, clean-up utilities, disk defragmenters, firewalls, and tired of having to ask a relative or neighbor to get your machine working again (or worse having to pay someone to do it) then cloud-based computing may be for you.
Chrome OS is a slimmed down (very) version of Linux that boots in 8 seconds and awakes from sleep almost instantly. There is no desktop, so the graphical interface is the Chrome web browser which takes up the whole screen as soon as you log-on to the machine. There are some "hidden" aspects to this OS, but you can only get to them by flipping a special switch for those who like to experiment, and the machine keeps track of the fact that you have done this. Security experts know that no system is safe if you grant physical access to an attacker, but the Chrome notebook does everything it can to protect your locally stored information (even though there isn't much of that). Each user must log into the machine and that causes his and only his files to become unencrypted for use. Signing off causes those files to be encrypted again. But very little data is stored on the machine anyway and the entire solid state "disk" is only 16 gig, so pack-rats need not apply. The idea is that you store all your documents in the cloud (you are not limited to using Google products to do this of course). While you *can* download files, typically you do so simply to turn around and upload them somewhere else. You can display photos and play MP3 and MP4 files locally but that is about it (for now anyway). In addition to the SSD space you can store local files on a USB stick or memory card (as used in cameras). Theoretically files you store on the SSD drive will get erased automatically after a while (like a month, though I haven't seen this happen yet). So if you feel you just HAVE to have some files to carry around with you, a 16G USB stick is probably advisable.
If you want to let a friend use the machine, just sign off and they can use "Guest mode" and your stuff will be safe, no matter what they do. Also anything they do will get erased when they are done. If someone else will be using he machine regularly they can also sign in with a Google ID rather than using Guest mode and their files and yours will be kept isolated from one another.
I'm not sure what it is I like about this keyboard as it mostly resembles other "island keyboards" but I bang pretty hard on the keys and they usually register without too many mistakes. I don't feel that I am in danger of breaking the thing as is the case with many new notebooks or keyboards. The mousepad as others have mentioned is HUGE. I am not a big fan of mousepads so even with a notebooks I tend to carry a mouse with me. I recently went visiting needed to use the mousepad for a while though and found it acceptable. I'd say a cut below the Apple mouspads, but not by much. Remember that most of what you get from a mousepad is done in software, not hardware. When the Cr-48s came out there were lots of complaints about the mousepads being almost unusable, but with each new release of the OS things got better and I'm sure that will continue.
With Chrome OS being a young product so far there is still room for improvement, but the improvements are coming fairly regularly and they are totally non-disruptive, downloading in the background and automatically activating the next time you boot. Even that first boot after update doesn't seem to take longer as with some OSs.
There are three "Channels" for updates: Stable, Beta, and Dev(eloper) depending on how risk averse you are. There is also a USB stick based recovery procedure should your machine get "hosed" which can happen on the developer channel or when playing with the developer switch.
Why is there a developers switch? Well, security is a big goal of Chrome OS. There are no virus scanners needed, but the OS does do a self-check during those 8 seconds it is booting up, and when your files are decrypted they are check for tampering as well. The developers switch bypasses some of this paranoia, and also gives you access to additional parts of the file system that are normally off-limits. In addition you are given access to a more complete set of Linux/Unix commands some of which could get you into trouble. People have run other version of Linux, Windows and even the Apple OS on Chromebooks by flipping the developer switch, but then that is rather missing the point of a machine that is designed specifically for cloud-based computing. On the other hand, if you have been keeping your stuff in the cloud, and happen to trash your system while on the road, getting it going again doesn't take too long or involve too many steps (and I suspect might eventually only entail pressing a reset button or something).
Finally, on communications, WiFi set-up is as easy or easier than Windows or Apple machines I've used. Previous connections are memorized by default. All the protocols up to and including "n" "just work". In a pinch you can tap into the 100M of free Verizon wireless 3G coverage. In a real pinch they have various for-pay coverage after that. I've tried it just long enough to know that it works. On a trip I can imagine tapping into the "unlimited" plan for a day at a time between WiFi enabled hotels.
Cons: (1) I wouldn't have minded a wired Internet option as well, but with notebooks getting thinner and thinner it would probably be hard to squeeze the connector in there. So far the "n" version of WiFi maxes out my router's speed anyway. (2) Only VGA connectivity to external monitors... else I might be tempted to use this as a desktop machine with a larger monitor. If there is indeed a Samsung "mini" desktop system waiting in the wings that will probably be a better way to go anyway (and might well be significantly cheaper than a laptop). (3) There is a way to go for "apps" for this ecosystem. there are advanced applications that demonstrate what *can* be done such as music composition, technical drawings, photo editing (and of course Google Docs which handles normal office needs) but almost everyone will run into situations that require a "legacy" system to handle. For example, you currently have to use a special set-up on a Windows or Apple machine to print, unless you have one of the very new "e-printers" that have an e-mail address associated with them and support their own network connection. If the Google "roadmap" holds steady I fully expect these issue to be addressed in the not too distant future.
In the mean time, I'm sitting comfortably here on my couch with my Chromebook, and not tempted to sit at the desk where I have a "more powerful" system. Come to think of it, I have more power in the cloud than I could ever afford at home. With proper interfaces, everything I could need.
Read Other Review here
Please Click here to Buy
By
macbeach
I've been testing the prototype Cr-48 since February. I expected to just use the device for a few weeks and then go back to my desktop system. But instead I changed a few of my habits and stayed with it ever since. There is very little difference between the Cr-48 and the production Samsung. Size is about the same, keyboard almost identical. Cr-48 was coated with a rubbery material that you either like or hate. Samsung is more traditional glossy plastic.
Both machines have very bright and crisp displays in a wide format. The screen itself is of the traditional non-glare type. I can't imagine why anyone would want a screen with glare but I notice many new systems come that way. I guess if you work in a totally dark room the glossy screens are fine. The second version of the Chromebook from Acer is said to have a glossy screen for anyone that wants that.
I'll second what others said that this machine is not for everyone. If you a big user of Apple products and happy with their "roadmap" to the future, stay with them. If you need all the specialized software that only runs on Windows, then you'd better stay there too.
But... If you are tired of running virus scanners, clean-up utilities, disk defragmenters, firewalls, and tired of having to ask a relative or neighbor to get your machine working again (or worse having to pay someone to do it) then cloud-based computing may be for you.
Chrome OS is a slimmed down (very) version of Linux that boots in 8 seconds and awakes from sleep almost instantly. There is no desktop, so the graphical interface is the Chrome web browser which takes up the whole screen as soon as you log-on to the machine. There are some "hidden" aspects to this OS, but you can only get to them by flipping a special switch for those who like to experiment, and the machine keeps track of the fact that you have done this. Security experts know that no system is safe if you grant physical access to an attacker, but the Chrome notebook does everything it can to protect your locally stored information (even though there isn't much of that). Each user must log into the machine and that causes his and only his files to become unencrypted for use. Signing off causes those files to be encrypted again. But very little data is stored on the machine anyway and the entire solid state "disk" is only 16 gig, so pack-rats need not apply. The idea is that you store all your documents in the cloud (you are not limited to using Google products to do this of course). While you *can* download files, typically you do so simply to turn around and upload them somewhere else. You can display photos and play MP3 and MP4 files locally but that is about it (for now anyway). In addition to the SSD space you can store local files on a USB stick or memory card (as used in cameras). Theoretically files you store on the SSD drive will get erased automatically after a while (like a month, though I haven't seen this happen yet). So if you feel you just HAVE to have some files to carry around with you, a 16G USB stick is probably advisable.
If you want to let a friend use the machine, just sign off and they can use "Guest mode" and your stuff will be safe, no matter what they do. Also anything they do will get erased when they are done. If someone else will be using he machine regularly they can also sign in with a Google ID rather than using Guest mode and their files and yours will be kept isolated from one another.
I'm not sure what it is I like about this keyboard as it mostly resembles other "island keyboards" but I bang pretty hard on the keys and they usually register without too many mistakes. I don't feel that I am in danger of breaking the thing as is the case with many new notebooks or keyboards. The mousepad as others have mentioned is HUGE. I am not a big fan of mousepads so even with a notebooks I tend to carry a mouse with me. I recently went visiting needed to use the mousepad for a while though and found it acceptable. I'd say a cut below the Apple mouspads, but not by much. Remember that most of what you get from a mousepad is done in software, not hardware. When the Cr-48s came out there were lots of complaints about the mousepads being almost unusable, but with each new release of the OS things got better and I'm sure that will continue.
With Chrome OS being a young product so far there is still room for improvement, but the improvements are coming fairly regularly and they are totally non-disruptive, downloading in the background and automatically activating the next time you boot. Even that first boot after update doesn't seem to take longer as with some OSs.
There are three "Channels" for updates: Stable, Beta, and Dev(eloper) depending on how risk averse you are. There is also a USB stick based recovery procedure should your machine get "hosed" which can happen on the developer channel or when playing with the developer switch.
Why is there a developers switch? Well, security is a big goal of Chrome OS. There are no virus scanners needed, but the OS does do a self-check during those 8 seconds it is booting up, and when your files are decrypted they are check for tampering as well. The developers switch bypasses some of this paranoia, and also gives you access to additional parts of the file system that are normally off-limits. In addition you are given access to a more complete set of Linux/Unix commands some of which could get you into trouble. People have run other version of Linux, Windows and even the Apple OS on Chromebooks by flipping the developer switch, but then that is rather missing the point of a machine that is designed specifically for cloud-based computing. On the other hand, if you have been keeping your stuff in the cloud, and happen to trash your system while on the road, getting it going again doesn't take too long or involve too many steps (and I suspect might eventually only entail pressing a reset button or something).
Finally, on communications, WiFi set-up is as easy or easier than Windows or Apple machines I've used. Previous connections are memorized by default. All the protocols up to and including "n" "just work". In a pinch you can tap into the 100M of free Verizon wireless 3G coverage. In a real pinch they have various for-pay coverage after that. I've tried it just long enough to know that it works. On a trip I can imagine tapping into the "unlimited" plan for a day at a time between WiFi enabled hotels.
Cons: (1) I wouldn't have minded a wired Internet option as well, but with notebooks getting thinner and thinner it would probably be hard to squeeze the connector in there. So far the "n" version of WiFi maxes out my router's speed anyway. (2) Only VGA connectivity to external monitors... else I might be tempted to use this as a desktop machine with a larger monitor. If there is indeed a Samsung "mini" desktop system waiting in the wings that will probably be a better way to go anyway (and might well be significantly cheaper than a laptop). (3) There is a way to go for "apps" for this ecosystem. there are advanced applications that demonstrate what *can* be done such as music composition, technical drawings, photo editing (and of course Google Docs which handles normal office needs) but almost everyone will run into situations that require a "legacy" system to handle. For example, you currently have to use a special set-up on a Windows or Apple machine to print, unless you have one of the very new "e-printers" that have an e-mail address associated with them and support their own network connection. If the Google "roadmap" holds steady I fully expect these issue to be addressed in the not too distant future.
In the mean time, I'm sitting comfortably here on my couch with my Chromebook, and not tempted to sit at the desk where I have a "more powerful" system. Come to think of it, I have more power in the cloud than I could ever afford at home. With proper interfaces, everything I could need.
Read Other Review here
Please Click here to Buy
Supplying the latest technology, from the biggest brands, at the lowest prices, OYYY are a PC Pro Awards 2007 finalist, offering over 52,000 products from printers to laptops, monitors to cameras, and projectors to ink. We also have a high level of customer service, and believe in delivering the right product, at the right price, on time every time - so much so were awarded the PC Pro Highly Commended Award 2009 for online retailers, scoring 6/6 for Customer Service, Satisfaction, Delivery and Accuracy.
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Please Click Link Below to Visit
mychoice is one of the UK’s leading online electrical retailers for the very reason its name suggests – choice. From built-in to freestanding products including laundry, cooking, cooling, small appliances and much much more, mychoice’s extensive product range offers thousands of appliances and accessories at any one time.
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Please Click Link Below to Visit
Offering a comprehensive assortment of products aimed at helping our customers with everyday practical issues, the Easylife range includes the best in home convenience, health & beauty, personal care, fitness, cleaning products, car care, pet care, home furnishings, gardening and small electricals.With products sold via direct mail, television, online and through national newspaper advertising, quality and convenience drive our business - and providing exceptional customer service is something we consider of equal importance to the Easylife experience.
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Our Weigh has been trading since 2002, we are a family run business and independent supplier of weighing scales and counting machines for home, business and commercial use. We stock leading brands including, Adam Equipment, Safescan, Salter Brecknell, Salter Housewares, Tanita, Seca, all of which only supply the highest quality of weighing equipment and counting machines.
Here at Our Weigh we always provide the highest level of service whether you are buying one product or one thousand. We offer a huge selection of weighing and counting scales. Our prices & products are updated on a daily basis, therefore always offering our customers the best prices and latest models available on the market.
We stock the majority of our products, and will ship your order the same day if received before 3.00 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Kind Regards
The Our Weigh Team
Please Click Link Below to Visit
Here at Our Weigh we always provide the highest level of service whether you are buying one product or one thousand. We offer a huge selection of weighing and counting scales. Our prices & products are updated on a daily basis, therefore always offering our customers the best prices and latest models available on the market.
We stock the majority of our products, and will ship your order the same day if received before 3.00 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Kind Regards
The Our Weigh Team
Please Click Link Below to Visit
We Are Electricals is one of the largest internet retailers of electrical goods,home appliances, computer products and office supplies in the UK. With over 450,000 discounted products in our catalogue, you're sure to find what you want at the right price.
At WeAreElectricals.com you have access to a wide range of cheap laptops, desktop PC's, hard drives, routers, lcd tv's , cameras , printers, softwares, home appliances, office products and much more. On top of consistently cheap prices, you will find fantastic deals on thousands of consumer electronics products, manufactured by all the leading electronic brands. We provide you with the products you want; at the time you want them, all at a pleasing price.
We Are Electricals offers Free Delivery on all orders above £350 along with a lowest price guarantee.
Customers can also arrange to have their new home appliance installed and have their old appliance taken away.
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