SLR-Camera Reviews

Moved from Me-Super to ZX-7. Worth the 175$ I paid used.
WTG Pentax.

I bought a Pentax ZX-M (not from Amazon) a couple years ago.
This is an excellent camera for a great price, and I've gotten my money's worth back and then some. The lens that comes with the kit does particularly well in close shots.
That being said, there are a couple things to beware of:
- this camera is not so good for shooting pictures of animals (birds, pets etc) since the shutter is rather loud.
- it is also very light and so it seems very front-heavy with a big lens or on a light (cheap) tripod. The lightness is a huge plus when hiking or during any activity when you just don't want to lug around heavy stuff.
- be careful when you need to change the batteries. Try to do so while there's no film loaded. I don't think this is supposed to happen, but it ate the film I was shooting when I ran out of batteries and had to change. I'm pretty sure this was a mistake on my part, so either read the manual carefully and do it right, or just change batteries when there's no film loaded.
Happy shooting!

You get a mini-DV camcorder and immediately you have a small collection of necessities, including power cord/charger and remote. Add a few extra battery packs, a few cables, a lens extender and the pile grows. There's your challenge.

The promotional photos of Podzilla make it look like it can swallow it all, no problem. Lots of wings and pockets and stuff. Ok, sold.

Maybe I need to give the bag some time to break in, you know, "loosen up." But as it stands now, I still don't have as much room as I expected.

Maybe I just expected too much. The advertising gives measurements that I assume are accurate. I know how to assess sizes pretty well -- I'm an engineer who does a lot of home projects. But when the bag came, I was still faced with a session of "triage," trying to figure out which item or item that I wanted to haul along with me were going to have to stay behind and clutter up the landscape. Turns out that those items are my Firewire cable and the camcorder's manual (which, printed in three languages, is a different story altogether. Why can't a manufacturer recognize that (1) users, at least at first, want to carry and use the manual, and (2) most users really only need the manual in one language. C'mon -- print three separate manuals so we can at least throw two of 'em away and not have to haul around the other two). So now these items stay behind. Maybe I need to get a carry bag to hold my Podzilla and my other items that the Podzilla won't hold!

OK, I'm grousing. Maybe when the bag breaks in, I'll be able to stuff it with the leftovers.

If you've been patient, here's the good news. The materials and construction are durable. There is a cooch for just about every size and shape trinket you could carry. Lenses are a challenge, but just about everything else is positively stored in a way that both protects the item and keeps it just where you left it. There's also a "secret" pocket for things like small amounts of cash, credit card, driver's license and the like. Lots of elastic "pockets" and a few bungee cable restraints. Each side flap is equipped with little nylon restraints that keeps it from flopping all the way open (that way, you can drop things in there as a little tray when you're changing tape or lenses) and keeps stuff from drifting away in the process. The back of the pack has two sets of loops for attaching to a waist or shoulder belt. The carrying handle is very comfortable, the top cover is fastened both by a velcro strip for temporary security and also by a Delrin snap-latch mounted on an elastic loop. This allows for some "expandability" when the case is really stuffed.

And mine is really stuffed!

I bought the Podzilla as my primary camera bag for day-long hikes, when I wanted a fair amount of accessories but didn't want a full-size camera bag (too heavy) nor a standard holster style (only 1-2 pockets).

The Podzilla's build quality is excellent: tough stitching, heavy materials, water resistant, all-metal fittings. There's enough pockets to easily lose a lot of stuff, but the different internal attachment systems - velcro, pockets, loops, elastics - are great. It's big, but in my opinion not TOO big.

But, there are a few things that could use some work.

The podzilla's box-shaped upper comparment opens up and towards you, not away, not allowing you to get a clean draw on your camera like with LowePro bags (which open up and away from your body). The top cover is also hard to pull over and latch with its primary velcro strip once you get a full-sized SLR in the middle.

The camera supports in the middle compartment are provided by a single padded strip; it needs either two more creases/ articulations, or to be split into two pieces, to be really configurable.

The shoulder strap has no padding, nor do I think it's long enough (competes with a slim camelbak when slung over the shoulder and neck). The metal fittings, though, will keep me using it for a while. Scavenging a shoulder pad from another bag is suggested.

The only way to carry a lens is in the elastic bands in one of the side pockets; that's fine, but the pocket's not long enough to carry a big lens. It's now holding my external flash, for which it's perfect.

My final nitpick would be the addition of a couple of external side straps for hanging lens bags or carabiners for the odd things that might not fit in the pockets. This improved modularity would really be a huge plus.

Overall, though, the podzilla is a GREAT road-worthy bag. Nitpicks aside, I am very happy with this purchase, and Adorama was a great vendor!

This camera case from Samsonite is one of the best camera case for digital cameras or SLR cameras. It is lightweight, sturdy, and waterproof. The pouches are not too big, so you plan on stuffing all kinds of accessories, think again. The inside major compartment is also not too big. But for a simple, reliable case to safely house your camera, this is an excellent case.

A fairly nice bag. There is plently of space for most of your photography equipment like lenses, flashes, film, filters, and more. Several comparements and pockets and strong material. The dimensions are about 12" x 9" x 8". Overall, a great camera bag for those serious photographers, one of the better camera bags yet.

The Tamron f/4-5.6 75-300 zoom is a great buy at the price. The zoom is very smooth and auto focus very responsive. Very nice optics. For outdoor work you can, almost, get away with this as the only lens. Results are crisp beautiful photos. Quality is vastly superior to the lenses generally included in a Pentax kit.

Personally I find the low end of the focal length limiting (indoors in particular) and it could be a bit brighter (aperture) but the quality is very good at 300mm. As far as cost goes there is nearly a $100.00 price delta between this and an equivalent 28-200mm lens.

I have personally used this lens for several weddings (paid and voluntary) with great results. Lens is light enough that I have been able to do a lot of shots freehand (no tripod) without noticeable "shake" in the resulting photos. In addition to the weddings I have also had good results with equestrian, other "slow" action photos and in particular landscape shots where I use the zoom to frame the shot with different points of view (POV).

In summary this is a very good lens at a very good price. If you need a long lens in your set this is a very good choice.

The Canon EOS Rebel G SLR camera with its great 35-80mm Lens you will be zooming in for the good stuff. Its sleak body and easy to use buttons make it Ideal for new users but also with its interchanable lenes even the PRO can have fun useing it. For the money of this camera its not bad at all.

Review by Jack Sherwood

The Canon EOS Rebel G is absolutely wonderful. The autofocus is the fastest I've ever used. The metering system is difficult to fool, although I've still managed to do it a couple times. It has a wide range of automatic modes which all produce excellent results and save me a lot of work. But when I want more control, several semi-automatic modes and a fully manual mode allow me to do whatever I want with as little or as much work as I want. This camera has served well in all sorts of conditions in all kinds of situations. Even in the fully-automatic "snapshot" mode, the Rebel G can capture some unbelievable shots. It's easy to load, and the batteries last longer than I'm used to, so that's another bonus. Lots of extras are available which I can't wait to try out! You can't go wrong here. Buy it.

I bought this camera the day we were leaving for vacation. Of the three camera's brought on this trip, everyone who's looked at our pictures is amazed at how much better the quality is from the Canon Rebel. If you're not getting beautiful pictures from this camera, then you're doing something wrong. Having taken a photography class before, I love the flexability I have with all the different settings, while at the same time, any amature can take beautiful photos with the automatic settings. My only complaint is the auto focus. It's a little slow (especially compared to strictly automatic cameras) and when having someone else take a picture for you, you have to explain to them to hold the button half-way down until it beeps or your picture will be out of focus. Although I am so attached to this camera, it doesn't happen often! I love taking photos with it so much, our photo album looks like my family went on vacation without me! Regardless, it's light weight, easy to use, and produces the best quality photographs of any camera I've seen. If you enjoy photography, whether expert or amature, you will love this camera.

I bought this camera for a beginners B&W photography class, and although it's basically the bottom of the line, it's a great little camera. All of my pictures came out clear, unless by my beginners error, of course. It's light weight and very easy to use. I'd reccomend this camera to anyone who wants a good SLR, beginner or non.

I was looking for a replacement for my trusted but worn out
manual Pentax K-1000 SLR.
Its spare parts and repair costs became very prohibitive.
I didn't want to buy used and old camera for the reasons given above.
I've tested at least fifteen different modern professional SLR's.
I stopped experimenting only when I came across this Vivitar V3800n camera.
I was amazed by the quality of the pictures and reliability of its mechanics.
This camera has all features needed in professional photography.
Depth of the field preview, wide range of the film speeds B-1/2000,
split image focusing, multiple exposure button, flash socket and direct Xcontact.
I completed two photographic seasons with this camera and purchased the second
one of the same model to keep it as a spare.
All my pictures selected and sold for publishing in the magazines and journals
I'm contracting with, were performed using this professional camera.
I can use all set of lenses left from my old Pentax with Vivitar 3800n camera
'cause they have the same K-type mount.
...
This is a truly professional grade camera ...!

this camera is really under-rated. i bought this camera on a hunch and am so glad i did. when i saw the results of my first roll of film, i was so impressed. i was considering buying the v4000 but i wanted something no one else had. this camera has some features that the v4000 doesn't have. why the v4000 is priced more than the v3800n? i will never know. this camera has a depth of field preview and a self timer. also if the batteries run out the camera still works. (batteries only control light metering) also this camera has multi exp. button which really helps,and a metering button when working with aperture. the only negatives i can find is the lack of info that is provided in the instruction manual. but if you know cameras or have other means to find out how to work this "bad boy" then this is the camera for you! the lens that comes with the camera is fairly decent. good for starting you off. it has a 1:4 macro setting which gets you started working with macro. maximum aperture is 3.4. not very big, but like i said a starter. all around my favorite!

I, like most people, got this lens when buying a kit. Unlike one review, I found this lens to have excellent optics. While not quite like a Nikon lens, the quality of pictures the lens produces is more than enough for most users. For the past 4 years, I have thouroughly enjoyed using it. Unfortunately, something is not ligning up on the connections between the lens and the camera body and the camera is unable to read/set the aperture on the lens, therebye making it impossible to take pictures. I have used other lenses on the body, and they work fine, so I'm assuming it is a problem with the lens. Consider paying a little more when buying a lens... in the long run, it might save you money.

I have a 20x30 poster of some cliffs in Ireland hanging in my living room because the picture quality was too great to not enlarge! This lens gives you great versitility and the quality is great for the average person.

This entry level canon lens is an optical marvel that will enable anyone to shoot professional-quality photographs. The 28-80 mm zoom range is among the most useful for everything from vast landscapes at 28 mm to intimate portraits at 80 mm. The aperture of the lens allows hand-held shooting in most situations. The quality of the lens is remarkable for the price. Every EOS user should have this lens in his/her bag!