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Comment on Nikon Coolpix P100 ten MP Electronic Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and three-Inch LCD (Black) by S-F TV addict

S-F TV addict — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:47:30 +0000

236 of 248 people found the following review helpful:

So far I love it...blown away by the low light video, April 6, 2010

This review is from: Nikon Coolpix P100 10 MP Digital Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (Black) (Electronics)

Just got home tonight with the camera; went to the store with the idea of buying the Canon SX20IS after reading all the reviews of the Nikon p90 and the Canon; previously I had gotten the JVC HD-1 $3000 HD camcorder and several Sony mini DV camcorders, and a Canon S2 (10x zoom) 5MP digital camera. Before that I had the OM-2 (film) SLR, for which I have a zillion lenses. We also have a Panasonic point and shoot and a new Canon 1300 elph. I notice that a lot of people griped about the Canon SX20 focusing and low light, and even more griped about the Nikon p90. At the store, they had the Canon and the Nikon p100. I thought both of them performed very well at high zoom, during zoom, good focus quickly, etc. Color looked good on the displays. I really like the Canon S2 as a point and shoot (early or first with the high zoom); can't stand the low zoom point and shoot idea, since I want to be able to bring out things I can't actually reach (architectural details, wildlife, etc.). I finally decided to try the Nikon (first one I've ever had) on the basis of the CMOS chip, 26 instead of 20:1 zoom, 1080p vs 720p, Li-ion battery vs. AA, and mainly the fact that in the (well lit, but not blinding) store, the image on the display was much brighter on the Nikon than the Canon. However, the actual pictures on the Canon were bright and nice, but it was easier for me to see to compose the shot on the display with the Nikon. It was so easy to use I was able to record video or stills and play them back in the store; and it turned out the Nikon was on sale and cheaper than the Canon.

My philosophy of picture taking is that I want to remember vacations, excursions, etc.; my ideal camera would see things the way my eye does except for bionic enhancements like night vision, zoom, etc. But in particular, I love existing light shots (and video) and love the HAD low light sloppy low res color slow shutter option on the Sony camcorders since you can (for example) take video of your wife at dinner in a dim restaurant and have it even if sloppy, at least in color and something like what the experience really was. So I am after memories, and not art, but if you can do art, that would be great. Anyway, I had no idea what to expect out of this thing; based on the tiny size, ultralight construction, low cost, etc. I figured it would be mainly a toy, but I hoped I could take it on vacation as a one thing does all photographic tool. I got the Sandisk "ultra" 16GB SDHC card for it, 15MB/s, figuring for HD you need the fastest card you can get.

I had not read any reviews before buying it, but when I read them when I got home with it, I was pretty bummed out.. all the stuff about locking up, hellish noisy zoom, sloppy focus, can't use the zoom with video, etc. etc.

I am happy to say that my experience didn't confirm any of that. (Of course, it might lock up etc. at some point, I have only had it a few hours but I have a theory about that I'll mention later.)

Anyway, I immediately went around the inside of the house in regular low light condtions shooting stills and video. By low light I mean some rooms only had light coming through the doorways from other rooms, some rooms had a few 13W compact fluorescents, one last room had 5 65W ceiling can lights on. It was lit for atmosphere not reading books. Bottom line is I had no trouble getting very nicely well lit pix and video in any of the rooms with lights on. In a stairwell with no light except a 13W compact fluorescent 6ft outside an archway leading to the stairs the wall and furniture seemed v. dark brown; by eye I could easily see the color. Where the stairs went up to total shadow, the camera cut out to black and white where by eye I could still see color. In comparison to a 5 year old top of the line Sony mini DV one CCD camcorder it was about like the camera on normal setting, not "slow color shutter". In other words, about as much as I could hope for.

The zoom is not as easy to control to get exact magnification as the Sony, BUT (and this is important) while you can hear the zoom motor on playback, it is very subdued and I didn't find it at all noticeable..when the room is silent, you can hear it, but it is about like a very soft whisper. In normal tourist situations I don't think you'd notice the zoom noise at all. With a bit of practice, I was able to use the zoom to my satisfaction.

Another pleasant surprise to me was that the hand held video when walking around the house from darkness to light was smooth and generally not jerky..the image stabilization must work very well, considering you don't have any weight to stablize the tremor of your hands, footsteps, etc. The video even handles normal panning (aiming the camera forward while walking around the end of a table, for example) without any major glitches...if you shake your hand beyond a given limit, there is an instant of... Read more

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Comment on Nikon Coolpix P100 ten MP Electronic Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and three-Inch LCD (Black) by Ralph Furlong

Ralph Furlong — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:11:51 +0000

193 of 193 people found the following review helpful:

Functionality of an SLR without the cost or expense, April 15, 2010

Ralph Furlong (Tacoma, WA USA) -

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This review is from: Nikon Coolpix P100 10 MP Digital Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (Black) (Electronics)

Ok, so I gave it a title that probably makes you wonder what I could possibly be talking about so here it is:
1. a really wide angle lens (26mm) for those close up shots and scenery shots (you know, the church with all of the spires that you have to backup all the way around the block to get into the picture).
2. a fantastic mechanical zoom lens that goes up to 678mm to bring in those distant shots (an with a tripod, the digital zoom puts you into the far objects pocket!). Keep in mind that with a zoom this large, holding it by hand is NOT going to produce a nice picture no matter how much stabilization is built into the camera!
3. One handed camera that is easy to use with a single hand and light enough to do so all day!
4. An articulated view screen that allows you to take pictures over the head of everyone crowding around the parade and still see what you are taking a picture of; it even allows you to take the pictue under the legs of someone standing in front of you or take that shot of a flower without having to bend down!
5. A camera body and lens that looks exactly like the SLR Digital Nikon! The only difference is you have a nice range of lens options that the other person (with the SLR) has to keep changing lenses to obtain. The camera also weighs a lot less and certainly costs a LOT less!!!
6. A wide range of shooting options from fully automatic to manual over-rides. Several scene modes also help with fast actions shots and close-ups.
7. A camera that you will not grow out of soon and one that even pleases the pro when they do not want to fuss with things.
8. the option to use a view finder if you want to! Yes, I know the 3 inch screen is nice, but if it is really sunny, the view finder works much better. Also, it is much quicker to use for those rare shots that you did not plan! You can turn off the through the lens view finder, the 3 inch monitor or both.

A 16 Gig SD card (not included, the internal memory is good for 9 pictures) gives you the ability to take over 6,000 shots (enough for that trip to Italy) without worrying about memory cards. While on that subject, this camera essentially becomes free after your first 900 pictures (figuring that film and processing for 24 exposure film ran about $10). On a recent trip to the Tulip Fields in Washington State, I shot over 300 pictures in that one day! So, the camera quickly pays for itself.

On the note of cost, this camera almost becomes a throw-away on a trip! Say you are in Italy and have been there for three weeks. You have averaged 100 pictures a day (very easy to do) and on your last day of the trip, you drop your camera from the third floor. You recover the memory card with your 2100 pictures. The camera was paid for after 900, so you are money ahead, have your pictures, and do not sweat the loss of the camera! (Ok, reality is that we will still be upset, but think how you would have felt if it was the Digital SLR with the nice zoom lens that you paid $5000 for!!)

The only negative to this camera is that Nikon does NOT make a case for the camera! No one really does. However, the Lowepro case comes very close (a little large) with a belt clip (velcro for easy on and off), a carrying strap (detachable), and a carry handle on top with a front pouch that easily fits two extra batteries and extra memory.

Speaking of battery, the included battery lasted for 350 pictures using the zoom extensively. The in camera charging unit works, but makes it a real pain. Purchase the Nikon En-El5 accessory package from Bargaincell (on Amazon) for $14 with shipping. It gives you a spare battery (larger than the original- good for 400 shots), a quick charger, a 12 volt adapter for the charger to allow you to charge from your car, and a European adapter that allows you to plug your charger in many European countries, including Russia.

This is one fantastic camera and a great price to go with it!!

UPDATE TO REVIEW:

I just returned from a trip to Russia (30 days) and I have taken over 13,000 pictures with this camera during this time. I have used the zoom feature extensively in the many churchs that we visited and at all of the other landmarks. The wide angle lens really did an outstanding job getting all of Red Square into the picture! The zoom did a fantastic job (laying on my back on the floor shooting up at the cupala) obtaining the inlaid tile pictures in the dome!

I made a comment earlier that a 16 Gig memory card would be adequate for a trip, but I found that I took almost 36 gigabyte of pictures and video on this trip! I had taken a laptop with me so that I could review pictures daily, but had not intended to actually do all of the storage on it. Well, that became my main picture store since I only had two 16 gig memory cards with me.

The HD movie feature was... Read more

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Comment on Nikon Coolpix P100 ten MP Electronic Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and three-Inch LCD (Black) by Tom North "TomN"

Tom North "TomN" — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:50:10 +0000

457 of 463 people found the following review helpful:

Tons of performance in a very modest package, March 4, 2010

Tom North "TomN" (Bay Area, CA) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Nikon Coolpix P100 10 MP Digital Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (Black) (Electronics)

This is a very versatile camera and responsive to most needs. It has a good macro range to go along with a super zoom range. It compares well to a Panasonic DMC-GH1 which has a much larger sensor and more expensive optics (the lens alone is twice the price of this Nikon). The Panasonic also produced higher saturation and contrast shots in default mode and this gives the appearance of higher resolution. The Nikon gave a truer auto outdoor color balance and more natural contrast. Even at ISO 800 it was very sharp. You can enlarge a few test shots at the DPReview forums by searching for "Nikon P100 test shots". or if this works: [...]

The two highlights that amazed me were the Nikon's focusing indicator system. It is so cool that when you shoot a bouquet of flowers the display shows you each blossom chosen by the matrix focusing system. You click the shutter with the knowledge that it is choosing what you want. Wonderful. The second highlight is the range of the optics from good macro, nice wide angle, and amazing telephoto. Please see the photos I uploaded showing how well this camera compares. What the Nikon lacks mostly comes down to smooth tones and fine detail at high ISOs; and this is only because it is being compared to a large sensor camera. The images would easily pass a fairly critical viewer on an 8x10 print and seem to be better than previous cameras with this size sensor.

Pros (so far):
Great focus indicator system, Display shows small green squares over selected objects for focus = ready to shoot, red square = not ready
Light, easy to hold good fit to my medium sized hands.
Articulated screen seems more natural than the swing out to the side screens (aligned with lens)
Quick access to shoot videos, focus tracking option, slow motion (lower res 240 fps),
Hugh zoom range and quite fast action, 1½ ++ second end to end
Outdoor sunlight colors quite natural
Very good resolution lens for this price range and favorably compares to much more expensive lenses (see above photos, several are pieces of 16 x 20 prints)
Very good macro versatility (see blowup of portion of terry towel above)
Adequate viewfinder but very contrasty, necessary info in viewfinder.

Cons (so far):
When shooting a video the focus is not able to keep up with the zoom (I reduced my rating because of this).
No RAW image option (less important with tools like Corel Image Adjustment Lab that gives me color temperature correction on jpg)
Lens cap rather than auto protect system, must remember to take it off before turning on camera (your notified when you forget)
Must use the menu system for several settings (ISO, color balance), slower but OK (hats off to the Canon G11, Panasonic)
Fast zoom over big range means it is tricky to accurately crop a shot (same with others though) Would love to see a 'nudge' feature for small changes.
Color balance with my photo fluorescent lights was tricky to dial in
Quick shutter in most situations but not all
No hot shoe for accessories and external flash
Only an adequate viewfinder
Minimum aperture of f8 (standard for cameras in this class, but would love to see it improved)
Screen does not 'self protect'
Must manually switch viewfinder verses LCD, simple one push button though

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Comment on Premium Rubberized Hard Snap-on Case Cover for Motorola Droid 2 – Black by MetalBeard

MetalBeard — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:16:16 +0000

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

Great case....except..., August 17, 2010

MetalBeard -

This review is from: Premium Rubberized Hard Snap-on Case Cover for Motorola Droid 2 - Black (Electronics)

Bought this when I got my Droid 2, it's a great case. It's got some bulk and weight to it, it's far from just some cheap case. Give great protection and is rubber so the phone won't be easily knocked off of a table or anything. My only problem is when it's on and you use the keyboard for the phone the top row of keys is not easy to get to.

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Comment on Premium Rubberized Hard Snap-on Case Cover for Motorola Droid 2 – Black by elbowmacaroni

elbowmacaroni — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:29:55 +0000

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

item pictured is misleading, December 8, 2010

elbowmacaroni -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Premium Rubberized Hard Snap-on Case Cover for Motorola Droid 2 - Black (Electronics)

the item pictured is misleading and is NOT the same as what showed up to my mailbox. it Is black and it Does fit my phone (droid 2) but in the photo it shows an opening for the entire speaker on the back of the phone. the case i received in the mail has an opening 1/3rd the size, considerably cutting down on the amount of sound coming out of the speaker clearly.

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Comment on Premium Rubberized Hard Snap-on Case Cover for Motorola Droid 2 – Black by C. Waters "cwaters"

C. Waters "cwaters" — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:26:27 +0000

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

Good case for the money, August 19, 2010

C. Waters "cwaters" (Atlanta, GA) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Premium Rubberized Hard Snap-on Case Cover for Motorola Droid 2 - Black (Electronics)

At this time I've had the case one day.
The case came quickly. It was easy to install. It seems to provide good coverage of the whole device without blocking the buttons, ports, camera, or speaker hole. It's nothing special to look at, but the case's flat black finish is just fine with me.
The back half is rigid and has a rubber coating that provides a decent grip. This is good in that the phone won't easily slide off a table, but it might make it a little harder to slide your phone into a pocket. The bottom has a bit of a ridge below the speaker hole that aids in picking it out of your pocket.
The front is flexible enough to install easily but seems solid enough not to pop off the phone in your pocket. It adds a ridge around the screen so you're less likely to scratch the screen when setting the phone on a table face down. You will still need a screen protector though, IMO. The case doesn't quite match the phone's slope right below the four screen buttons so it's a little thicker there but it's no big deal. Like the previous review said, the side of the front piece does make it a little tougher to type on the top row of the slide-out keyboard. I don't see how one could make a case that protects the side of the slider without interfering with these keys.
The case is lightweight so it doesn't make the already weighty phone much heavier. It does add a few mm to the phone's dimensions but it's not super thick.
Overall, it's just what I wanted for less than VZW wanted to charge me for a comparable case.

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Comment on Sony DVP-SR500H 1080p Upscaling DVD Participant by R. P. KROENING "Old Rocker"

R. P. KROENING "Old Rocker" — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:54:55 +0000

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

Very easy-to-use Reliable Upscaling DVD Player, October 30, 2010

R. P. KROENING "Old Rocker" (SE Wisconsin) -

This review is from: Sony DVP-SR500H 1080p Upscaling DVD Player (Electronics)

I did not want to replace my extensive DVD library with new Blu-Ray movies for two reasons, #1 cost #2 I feel that Blu-Ray will soon be replaced. So, I wanted an upscaling DVD player. I previously had a Sony product that was virtually indestructable. By the way, it had an eject button on the remote that was NEVER used. My DVD player sits behind a closed glass door and I always had to open that door before ejecting. I went with a Sony product again because of reliability and low cost, and SONY did it again. I've had this one for about 6 months now and have no complaints whatsoever. It's just as reliable as the last one. I don't use the remote for this one either, I have a remote for my Pioneer Receiver that controls everything. I'm not what one would consider a huge afficianado as far as home theater is concerned, I like to put a disc (movie) in and watch it, period. This DVD player allows me to do just that. I would recommend this unit to anyone who, like me, is more interested in watching a movie than they are always making adjustments or ejecting.

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Comment on Sony DVP-SR500H 1080p Upscaling DVD Participant by Michael Tran

Michael Tran — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:09:00 +0000

72 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

I NEED MY EJECT BUTTON!, August 12, 2010

Michael Tran (Houston, TX) -

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This review is from: Sony DVP-SR500H 1080p Upscaling DVD Player (Electronics)

As stated in the other review, the remote to this DVD player does not have an open/eject button. I know it isn't such a big deal, but sometimes at night I have to pop open the dvd player to add another DVD and have to turn on the light. I assumed since it was the 21st century that a simple eject button would be available! Other then that, the quality of the dvd player is TREMENDOUS! My brother and I currently own one and I purchased one for my girlfriend as well. If you're VERY picky about remotes than I'd say this is a deal breaker, but if you really don't care, with an HDMI cord you could say the second best thing next to blu-ray!

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Comment on Sony DVP-SR500H 1080p Upscaling DVD Participant by Rich Tefft

Rich Tefft — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:35:27 +0000

73 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent picture compared to older models, October 5, 2010

Rich Tefft -

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This review is from: Sony DVP-SR500H 1080p Upscaling DVD Player (Electronics)

We had a 3-yr old Sony DVD player but were not happpy with image quality on 42" LCD TV. Bought this newer sony and it is excellent. Much smaller, lighter, and a lot quicker to load/eject a disc. Image quality finally looks as good as all the display models in the stores. Compatible with all older Sony remotes, including a 15-year old one. Simply the best.

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Comment on iRobot R3 five hundred Collection Replacement Adaptable Beater Brush, Pack of 3 by Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:25:56 +0000

fits like original, July 29, 2011

J. R. Mayer ""ragscat"" (Central FL) -

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This review is from: iRobot R3 500 Series Replacement Flexible Beater Brush, Pack of 3 (Kitchen)

I had noticed that my original flexible beater was looking slightly curved along its length. The I-bot seemed to be making more "thumping" sounds as it went about it's course. As it turned out, there was not much difference between new & original beater so I decided it is just a wear factor on the carpet itself. However, the ends of beater do wear due to movement in the power driven socket it fits into, so replacement will be a factor at some time. Product fits perfectly.

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