Computer Reviews

These speakers sound like crap. I have a pair of old $12.00 Kenyo's that sound better. Do yourself a favor and spend a nother $40.00 and buy the Klipsch and get some REAL speakers!! Almost any of the lower end 2.1's will sound as good if not better than these.

I purchased the I-Trigue 3300's to replace my Bose MediaMate's because my deskspace was getting very tight with an LCD monitor, 2 cell phone chargers, 2 PDA cradles, a lamp, and alarm clock. The slim and sleek design, matched with a subwoofer and generous frequency range seemed to be a fantastic combination. But as I found out, you really need to HEAR a set of speakers to really decide what you like.

DESIGN: 5 STARS
The silver die-cast material used on the casing is very attractive and feels very well-built. The black speaker covers can be removed to give it an even better look.

SOUND: 3 STARS
The I-Trigue 3300's are ALL treble and bass. The midrange is nearly non-existant and for each PC application, I need to set the equalizer settings, which I didn't have to do with my Bose speakers. (...). In iTunes, the setting that worked best for me is the "Pop" EQ setting.

REMOTE: 5 STARS
The wired remote is very handy with a volume/power control, headphone jack, and bass level dial. The bass level dial is a VERY much appreciated design change from the old speakers where the bass controls were located on the back of the subwoofer! There is a cool indigo LED on the remote to indicate that the speakers are powered on.

VALUE: 2 STARS
The I-Trigue is a pretty expensive 2.1 setup considering that the fidelity derived from these speakers are not up to par with the competition. (...)

SUMMARY...
These attractive, space-saving speakers are a big jump from those crappy little Harmon Kardon's you got with your system. With an 80watt total system power rating, it'll pump up the bass and provide loud, shaking music and gaming effects. (...)

Because I use a Terk Leapfrog device to transmit my satellite TV signal from the living room to an old 13" TV in the kitchen, I wanted to connect a good audio device to the AV outputs on the Leapfrog receiver to get the best sound possible. The narrow footprint (1 3/4" wide) of these I-Trigues were perfect for the small space I had on either side of the TV, which sits on a small microwave cart, and the look was more stylish than any others I'd seen. I was more than pleased with how sturdy all the components felt, and was then blown away by the quality of sound these little things crand out. Keep in mind, I'm transmitting this sound across my house over a wireless device! The bass from the subwoofer blends quite nicely with the sound from the speakers, providing good, balanced sound imaging. If I have any complaints, the audio signal from the headphone connection on the remote is a little weak, especially when compared to the great sound coming directly from the speakers.

As an avid photographer, I wanted a digital camera that had the complicated lense features of a regular SLR without the complications of the various storage disks/cards/drives that plague most other digital cameras. This camera looked like the one. It burns to a mini cd, and therefore the orginal images are available immediately on disc without software or cords. It has mini video functions as well as other high tech possibilities.

Nice idea, but it failed. This camera is still relying on new burning technology, so the camera is still extremely fragile and definately not portable. I've had the camera 10 months and I've had to fix it three times. First the burning lense broke... any slight shake or bump will cause it to go off course, making the entire camera non-usable. As there is no harddrive within the camera, if you cannot burn to cd then you cannot take pictures. Then the photo lense got jammed (over the course of a month--so photos picked up a blur after a little while) and was unable to function, although I was still able to view pictures. After paying to REPLACE both parts (in excess of $150 each) the burning lense broke again after two months.

If you're planning to only take the camera out on special occasions, fine, but if you're planning on doing any sightseeing with it, putting it in a bag and taking it anywhere, it won't hold up.

I am a professional radiographer and photographer (25 years now) and I used both the CD400, CD300, as well as a Nikon Coolpix for this year's field research season x-raying mummies in Peru. This means the cameras were pushed hard.....blowing sand, huge contrast ranges, high resolution radiographs needed, fast manual control of radical light conditions, etc.....essentially most of the tough conditions and imaging requirements you can imagine. Here's what I found:

The Sony Mavica CD300 beat them all. It's not the most expensive or the best resolution but we all thought it did the best job.

Mavica CD400: best resolution but extremely slow recording time made it impossible to work with most of the time....the CD300 often got 3-4 shots while the 400 was recording one.

Mavica CD300: not the best resolution, but now that I've done some prints for publication from it's highest res setting I will not be buying any more 400s....just not a significant enough difference, plus it's not as heavy or bulky.

Nikon Coolpix: not in the running by comparison with the Sonys....although it is more lightweight....we are buying mini CDs for 33 cents each in bulk... and getting 140-180 high res images per CD.....they are so easy to format, initialize, and copy on any CD burner that I can't believe we even considered using memory stiks, or USB downloads.

The best features are common to both the Sony Mavica CD300 and 400 series though.....manual control of the images, excellent close up abilities, decent wide angle (which can be enhanced with add-on lenses if necessary), and both rapid video and automatic functions with night focusing for flash, etc., etc.

Finally! There is a great digital camera.

I recently purchased my first digital camera. A big step for someone involved in taking photos for over 40 years. I purchased the Sony Mavica CD 400--what a great choice. It has the feel of an SLR, has the ability to add equipment-similar to that used with my SLR cameras, and the ability to view the pictures immediately. It also has many great features included in the initial packaging---everything to start!! I like the idea of the mini CD for picture storage, and multiple ways to download the pics taken. I will continue to use my 2 SLR cameras, but like the challenge of this new, fun digital camera.
Jackie N
New Hampshire

I have had my D-100 for six months, having used a Coolpix 5700 for two years, and I am satisfied but not ecstatic. My first 20 shots were underexposed, lacked color depth, and were short on flash. After adjusting the settings through the menu, it came to life. You can control this machine in any way you can imagine, but experienced buffs all know that the lens is the most important ingredient.
Your choice of lenses, being aware of the 1.5 correction factor--which Nikon Tech Serv says applies to all DX Lenses also--will determine how you use this precision instrument. My old Nikon lenses worked well for a few months, but my 35-70 Zoom (53-105 actual)was not adequate, because I had gotten used to the great range of my Coolpix. For me, this meant an 18-35 Zoom (27-53 actual) and a 24-120 Zoom (36-180 actual) The latter has proven to be fantastic, and all but the wild wide angle crowd will be happy with this choice. Indoors and close quarters will favor the 18-35 Zoom, but mine remains boxed.
This is no lightweight to haul around, but the photo perfection is worth the effort!

I'll be the first to tell you I'm no professional but so far this camera has been amazing. For the past four years my wife and I have been using the Nikon N60 and it has more than met our needs. My decision to switch to digital was based on 2 important points. First, we found 16 undeveloped roles of film around the house. After realizing it would cost well over a hundred dollars to develop them and I know we won't like at least half the shots, we decided we needed to move to digital. Now with the D100 I can pick-and-choose exactly which shots I keep, retouch, crop etc then download them to someone like Walmart.com. For exactly the same price I end up with the exact pictures I want. Up to now I refused to get a digital because the N60 takes such beautiful shots. Past digital cameras' shutter lag was so bad you'd have to predict where a moving subject is going to be when you hit the button. What sealed the deal for us is the D100 has no noticable lag, and it uses all the lenses we already had for the N60.

The D100 looks and feels just like my old N60 only lighter. It acts and sounds just like a 35mm SLR, the camera internals are the same except with a sensor in place of the film strip. In fact a co-worker, and long time digital user, was checking it out and couldn't figure out why it was "all blurry" when he looked through the view finder. He also had a hard time finding the "zoom button".

I highly recommend this camera. If you were reluctant to switch to digital because you loved your old SLR then this is definetly the replacement for you.

This is an awesome digital picture-taking machine, which heralds the imminent death of 35 mm film. The D-100 does pretty much everything that a high-end film SLR does, and it does it beautifully. A 512MB CF card will enable the D100 to take hundreds of high-quality pictures that are indistinguishable in quality from those taken with film. The Six-megapixel images in Large/Fine or RAW mode are quite competitive with their film counterparts for almost all purposes. The advantage of digital, of course, is that the consumer, equipped with pretty much any computer, can process and print the pictures him or her self with far more power and flexibility than one had in a darkroom processing film. The digital darkroom has arrived.

The D100 can use Nikon's entire line of autofocus lenses and many of the older manual focus lenses, allowing the photographer to easily migrate from film to digital. The camera has spot, matrix, and center-weighted exposure options, a programmed mode, apature priority or speed priority, as well as all of the manual options. Autofocus is crisp, fast, and works very well in low light. This camera is nearly as powerful in terms of its focusing and exposure options as the Nikon F5, which is the film camera I used for years before replacing my F5 with the D100.

Perhaps the greatest testimonial for the D100 is that it is notorious that the vast majority of photographers who I know who have bought a D100 never (or at least rarely) shoot film ever again.

The D100 takes OK shots right out of the camera, but to get best results most photographers will want to "process" the pictures through either Nikon's own program "Capture 3" or an aftermarket program like Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. I and probably most others have found that some of the post-processing settings on these programs really improve the images produced by the D100. This is a deliberate design "feature" of the D100 in that the D100 anticipates that serious photographers wish to retain a certain amount of control over their images. Accordingly, rather than making all of the decisions for you, the D100 produces images for which final exposure and contrast decisions can and should be made in a post-processing program such as Adobe Photoshop Elements or Capture 3. That having been said, the D100 can and does produce fine images without using a post-processing program. But almost all users have probably found that the best results are achieved by using such a program. In my opinion this is true of pretty much all of the high-end digital cameras out there, and is not confined to the D100. This is the power of digital photography--the photographer, at little cost (a low-end PC and $100-200 program are all that are required) can have a powerful "digital darkroom" which yields tremendous control over how the images turn out.

Physically, the D100 is ruggedly built. The rear LCD is bright and clear. The menu systems on the D100 are very well designed and quite intuitive--after familiarizing myself with the manual for several hours, I now find that I do not need to refer to the manual at all even for very complex "custom" situations. The menus are not overly "layered" as is the case with some digital cameras. The on-board flash is fine for snapshot portraits and the like, but most serious users will want to spring for either the SB-50DX or the SB-80DX flash, both of which are more or less designed for the D100.

Negatives on the camera are few. I mentioned above the post-processing issue, which in my mind is not a negative, but instead is just Nikon giving the photographer as much power and flexibility as possible. The matrix metering is not as powerful on the D100 as on the top-of-the-line F5, inasmuch as in tricky lighting situations the D100s center-weighted or spot metering will sometimes yield better results. Having said that, after several hours of experimenting I can now confidently take consistently good pictures with the D100 in fill-flash conditions. In common with the exposure issues, the D100 more or less requires photographers who want very "sharp" images to apply "sharpness" post-processing. Most of us have probably found that this produces better results than setting the sharpening in-camera, for reasons that exceed the scope of this review.

By the way, the battery life in the D100 is phenomenal. The on-board proprietary Nikon battery lets you take many hundreds of pictures, and serious shooters can buy at modest cost the MD-100 accessory which lets you shoot with either 2 Nikon batteries or a bunch of AAs. Either way this allows you to literally shoot all weekend likely without needing to recharge. The Nikon batteries recharge in a bit over an hour.

For good reason the D100, retailing now (October 2003) below $1,500, has put powerful digital photography in the hands of serious amateurs. It is a well-designed and sturdy camera that is a delight to own and use.

If you want to get a quick idea why image stabilization (IS) is the next revolution in binoculars, that's easy: take any binoculars that you can get and look through them at some object (a printed page of paper with several font sizes is ideal). Then look again at the same object from the same distance, but this time with the binoculars moudnted on a steady support (don't touch em!). You will notice that the actual resolution increases by a factor of at least 2 or 3 when mounted. That is, you can discern details that are at least two or three times smaller, because mounting eliminates the smear caused by the shaking of your hands. IS is like having this support available any time and anywhere you need it by a push of a button! In most conditions, the practical resolutions I can get with my Canon IS cannot be matched by any hand-held, unstabilized binoculars in the market, including those fancy Nikons, Swarovskis, Leicas and Zeiss that cost three or four times as much. No matter how good (and how expensive) is the optics of these top-of-the-line binoculars, their limiting factor in the field is the shaking of your hands. You may have heard that IS is important because it eliminates eyestrain and headaches, or because you can use the binoculars from a boat or a moving car. While these are good reasons to buy the Canon, the best reason is that they let you see much more detail in any given distance. And this is the reason why you buy binoculars in the first place.

If you are a birder like me, and you are looking for a top of the line binoculars, do not buy anything before you try this one. In my opinion IS is going to revolutionize the whole field, so a costly pair of Swarovski or Zeiss, that normally could be considered as a good investment for life, will not be top of the line anymore in two or three years. In addition to the IS, the Canon has quite good optics, good field of view and is much smaller and lighter then most models you probably considered. This makes the Canon very close to the ideal birding binoculars: Highest resolution, less weight, and less money. I did not have the opportunity to test the larger Canon IS models, but I don't think I'd buy them even if I had the money, because they are twice as heavy and (very important for birding) has smaller field of view.

Note one general disadvantage of the Canon, however: They are not as tough as the top roof prism binoculars. They are water resistant but not water proof, and the IS requires batteries (a pair of NiMH for several hours of birding. This is the digital camera procedure: get a charger and at least one replacement set). While the binoculars feel sturdy, dropping them is not good for the IS mechanism, and this is probably why Canon gives only one year warranty. So the Canon are not the best pair to take for an expedition in Alaska, but for a Sunday birder like me, these are easily the best in their price range, and probably the best in any price.

My husband and I are amateur birdwatchers so I was a bit hesitant to spend close to [price] for a pair of binoculars, but on the recommendation of a bird expert, we did. Wow, what a difference! They're lightweight, but sturdy, and the stablizer feature effectively holds the image constant. We can clearly see the EYE MOVEMENT of the red-tailed hawks who nest on our property. We have a pair of 16 x 32 Bushnell binoculars ([price]) and the same image is fuzzy and indistinct. Even though the Bushnells have a higher magnification, the quality of the optics are poor--there is fuzziness around the outside of each of the lens, and it's impossible to focus to a sharp, clear image to eliminate this. On the other hand, the Canon binoculars are like looking through a freshly cleaned picture window in your living room. The one problem we have with the Canon binoculars is that we own only one pair!

These are, simply put, the best compact binoculars out there. There is no way of ever going back to binoculars without an image stabilizer. I am going to sell my telescope ( Celestron G5) because the views of the moon I am seeing through the 10x30 are crisp, clear, and astounding.....and I can take them anywhere ( contrary to my Celestron - great scope - but for obvious reasons, a pain to cart everywhere)
I didn't think I would see this much detail...the ImageStabilizer really brings out the clarity and quality. It really is strange to think there are many out there who have 10 power binoculars and have to deal with the jitter, which in turn lessens, in my new opinion, the charm of using binoculars. I compared them with a Leica Trinovid ( a Binocular at 3 times the price) and the difference was slight. The quality of the Leicas may have been overall, better- but the 10x30's Image Stabilizer allowed you to have a more pleasureable viewing experience...Like moving from a double bed to a Queen - or even a King - I can never go back to conventional binoculars - this is a must buy!!!

The EOS ELAN 7E is Canon's latest camera to feature their Eye Controlled Focus. Quite simply, Eye Control is the fastest, easiest method of selecting a focus point.

The autofocus tracking speed of the EOS ELAN 7 /7E rivals that of the leading top-of-the-line cameras available today. With a top shutter speed of 1/4000 of a second and fastest in its class 4 fps film advance, the ELAN 7/7E is a prime choice for demanding sports or wildlife photographers. The ELAN 7 and 7E is now smaller and more compact, with controls placed intuitively, in a user-friendly design, for a superior shooting experience. The construction of the camera body is newly reinforced, with strategically placed metal top and front cover plates, for rugged reliability in any environment. And WhisperDrive™ transport brings near silent shooting, when used with Canon's exclusive USM lenses.

I read the previous reviews and agree with most everything. This is a great camera that can be easily used by a beginner but has the features wanted by experienced pros.

The one thing I was disapointed in is that it did not say anywhere, until I already purchased the "E" model and read the manual, that the EYE CONTROL DOES NOT WORK IF YOU WEAR CONATCT LENSES. The "E" model was a waste of money for me due to this and that is the reason I gave this camera 4 out of the 5 stars.

For the record, I have been using this camera for over 2 years now and I shoot mainly nature and people.

The Canon Elan 7E/EOS30 is a fantastic all around camera for beginners/intermediate photographers.

At the time of buying this camera, there was a confusion whether to choose the rebel or the elan 7E. I would very strongly recommend anyone to consider buying the intermediate Elan 7 as compared to the basic rebel. The rebel has a very "plasticky" feel to it and if I remember correctly, there is a single knob to set both the aperture and the shutter speed. Once you move away from shooting it as point and shoot, you will realize that the single knob can get incredibely irritating.

As for the "E" i.e. eye focus, I never really used it too much but am planning to shortly. So you can save some money by getting the Elan 7, if you so wish since the Eye feature is essentially just a gimmick. Now I also wish I had got the date feature, since down the road it might be an useful tool. (say, 40 yrs, from now, you want to know when the picture was taken ;) )

The most wonderful thing about the ELan 7E is that it allows you to grow with it...It offers a whole bunch of features, that I think will take you from a beginning stage (point and shoot) to a more advanced stage (total manual) phase. After shooting over 20 rolls of film and slide, I still find myself reading the manual and noting down some new feature to try out on my next roll.

Small piece of advice for beginners.. I realize now that the money you spend on lenses might be worth almost more than the money you spend on the camera. Coz even the best camera cannot produce a decent picture with a bad lens. I would strongly recommend avoiding the standard lens(28-90mm, I think) that comes bundled with it (even if the total package is cheap). I bought the body separate and then a canon 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 lens and I have never regretted the decision. Its a relatively sharp lens at both ends and is always mounted on my camera for shooting almost anything. If you are on a tight budget get the Canon 50 mm 1.8 II which sells in most shops for under $100. I am now slowly saving up for a L series lens.

Besides the usual preset options like portrait,landscape,closeup,sports,night mode,the Elan 7E offers a whole bunch of features that I found really useful. Here are some of them,

1) Depth of field preview button.
2) DEP (depth of field AE) - this really helps if your lens does not have a distance scale (like the 28-105mm). Say for e.g., you need to preset the depth of scale from 0 to infinity, this feature helps you to achieve that effect without the distance scale on your lens.
3) AE lock
4) Exposure compensation - you can set the exposure compensation upto + or - 2 stops in half stop increments and you can do it without taking your eyes of the viewfinder.
5) Auto exposure bracketting - for those really important pictures that you dont want to miss :)
6) bulb exposures - allows you to have as long a exposure as you want. I found this really useful. I hear that some cameras have limitations on how long they can be exposed. (RS - 60E3 shutter release cable is really useful for this)
7) multiple exposures
8) mirror lockup etc etc etc.

The built in flash suffices for all my needs. Lots of people in this website recommend the battery pack, but I would suggest anyone buying this camera to first check it out themselves. I find the grip good enough for me.

All in all, I just love this camera. I have been having great fun for past 2 yrs with it and am confident of having lots more fun for few more years at least and I dont think you will get a better performance for this price...If you have the money, just get it & start shooting !!

Strengths:
1) Solid feel and good looks
2) Enough bells and whistles to keep you curious and interested for quite some time.
3) focussing point selection with seven focussing points (auto or manual)
4) whole bunch of lenses to choose from
5) built in flash
6) Rugged build - have used extensively in real hot weather(AZ) as well as sub zero temperatures (MI)
7)Relatively light and compact.
8)Best price/performance ratio

Weaknesses:
1) I feel an LCD would have been invaluable tool to have during low-lit situations
2)Lack of spot metering - this is one feature I would have loved to use.
3)Auto focus fails to activate when you try to shoot closeups(macros), cloudy landscapes or under low light situations

4) Depth of field preview button is hidden...I have never been able to activate it without taking my eyes off the viewfinder !

The EOS ELAN 7E is Canon's latest camera to feature their Eye Controlled Focus. Quite simply, Eye Control is the fastest, easiest method of selecting a focus point.

The autofocus tracking speed of the EOS ELAN 7 /7E rivals that of the leading top-of-the-line cameras available today. With a top shutter speed of 1/4000 of a second and fastest in its class 4 fps film advance, the ELAN 7/7E is a prime choice for demanding sports or wildlife photographers. The ELAN 7 and 7E is now smaller and more compact, with controls placed intuitively, in a user-friendly design, for a superior shooting experience. The construction of the camera body is newly reinforced, with strategically placed metal top and front cover plates, for rugged reliability in any environment. And WhisperDrive™ transport brings near silent shooting, when used with Canon's exclusive USM lenses.

I read the previous reviews and agree with most everything. This is a great camera that can be easily used by a beginner but has the features wanted by experienced pros.

The one thing I was disapointed in is that it did not say anywhere, until I already purchased the "E" model and read the manual, that the EYE CONTROL DOES NOT WORK IF YOU WEAR CONATCT LENSES. The "E" model was a waste of money for me due to this and that is the reason I gave this camera 4 out of the 5 stars.

For the record, I have been using this camera for over 2 years now and I shoot mainly nature and people.

The Canon Elan 7E/EOS30 is a fantastic all around camera for beginners/intermediate photographers.

At the time of buying this camera, there was a confusion whether to choose the rebel or the elan 7E. I would very strongly recommend anyone to consider buying the intermediate Elan 7 as compared to the basic rebel. The rebel has a very "plasticky" feel to it and if I remember correctly, there is a single knob to set both the aperture and the shutter speed. Once you move away from shooting it as point and shoot, you will realize that the single knob can get incredibely irritating.

As for the "E" i.e. eye focus, I never really used it too much but am planning to shortly. So you can save some money by getting the Elan 7, if you so wish since the Eye feature is essentially just a gimmick. Now I also wish I had got the date feature, since down the road it might be an useful tool. (say, 40 yrs, from now, you want to know when the picture was taken ;) )

The most wonderful thing about the ELan 7E is that it allows you to grow with it...It offers a whole bunch of features, that I think will take you from a beginning stage (point and shoot) to a more advanced stage (total manual) phase. After shooting over 20 rolls of film and slide, I still find myself reading the manual and noting down some new feature to try out on my next roll.

Small piece of advice for beginners.. I realize now that the money you spend on lenses might be worth almost more than the money you spend on the camera. Coz even the best camera cannot produce a decent picture with a bad lens. I would strongly recommend avoiding the standard lens(28-90mm, I think) that comes bundled with it (even if the total package is cheap). I bought the body separate and then a canon 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 lens and I have never regretted the decision. Its a relatively sharp lens at both ends and is always mounted on my camera for shooting almost anything. If you are on a tight budget get the Canon 50 mm 1.8 II which sells in most shops for under $100. I am now slowly saving up for a L series lens.

Besides the usual preset options like portrait,landscape,closeup,sports,night mode,the Elan 7E offers a whole bunch of features that I found really useful. Here are some of them,

1) Depth of field preview button.
2) DEP (depth of field AE) - this really helps if your lens does not have a distance scale (like the 28-105mm). Say for e.g., you need to preset the depth of scale from 0 to infinity, this feature helps you to achieve that effect without the distance scale on your lens.
3) AE lock
4) Exposure compensation - you can set the exposure compensation upto + or - 2 stops in half stop increments and you can do it without taking your eyes of the viewfinder.
5) Auto exposure bracketting - for those really important pictures that you dont want to miss :)
6) bulb exposures - allows you to have as long a exposure as you want. I found this really useful. I hear that some cameras have limitations on how long they can be exposed. (RS - 60E3 shutter release cable is really useful for this)
7) multiple exposures
8) mirror lockup etc etc etc.

The built in flash suffices for all my needs. Lots of people in this website recommend the battery pack, but I would suggest anyone buying this camera to first check it out themselves. I find the grip good enough for me.

All in all, I just love this camera. I have been having great fun for past 2 yrs with it and am confident of having lots more fun for few more years at least and I dont think you will get a better performance for this price...If you have the money, just get it & start shooting !!

Strengths:
1) Solid feel and good looks
2) Enough bells and whistles to keep you curious and interested for quite some time.
3) focussing point selection with seven focussing points (auto or manual)
4) whole bunch of lenses to choose from
5) built in flash
6) Rugged build - have used extensively in real hot weather(AZ) as well as sub zero temperatures (MI)
7)Relatively light and compact.
8)Best price/performance ratio

Weaknesses:
1) I feel an LCD would have been invaluable tool to have during low-lit situations
2)Lack of spot metering - this is one feature I would have loved to use.
3)Auto focus fails to activate when you try to shoot closeups(macros), cloudy landscapes or under low light situations

4) Depth of field preview button is hidden...I have never been able to activate it without taking my eyes off the viewfinder !

The EOS ELAN 7E is Canon's latest camera to feature their Eye Controlled Focus. Quite simply, Eye Control is the fastest, easiest method of selecting a focus point.

The autofocus tracking speed of the EOS ELAN 7 /7E rivals that of the leading top-of-the-line cameras available today. With a top shutter speed of 1/4000 of a second and fastest in its class 4 fps film advance, the ELAN 7/7E is a prime choice for demanding sports or wildlife photographers. The ELAN 7 and 7E is now smaller and more compact, with controls placed intuitively, in a user-friendly design, for a superior shooting experience. The construction of the camera body is newly reinforced, with strategically placed metal top and front cover plates, for rugged reliability in any environment. And WhisperDrive™ transport brings near silent shooting, when used with Canon's exclusive USM lenses.

I read the previous reviews and agree with most everything. This is a great camera that can be easily used by a beginner but has the features wanted by experienced pros.

The one thing I was disapointed in is that it did not say anywhere, until I already purchased the "E" model and read the manual, that the EYE CONTROL DOES NOT WORK IF YOU WEAR CONATCT LENSES. The "E" model was a waste of money for me due to this and that is the reason I gave this camera 4 out of the 5 stars.

For the record, I have been using this camera for over 2 years now and I shoot mainly nature and people.

The Canon Elan 7E/EOS30 is a fantastic all around camera for beginners/intermediate photographers.

At the time of buying this camera, there was a confusion whether to choose the rebel or the elan 7E. I would very strongly recommend anyone to consider buying the intermediate Elan 7 as compared to the basic rebel. The rebel has a very "plasticky" feel to it and if I remember correctly, there is a single knob to set both the aperture and the shutter speed. Once you move away from shooting it as point and shoot, you will realize that the single knob can get incredibely irritating.

As for the "E" i.e. eye focus, I never really used it too much but am planning to shortly. So you can save some money by getting the Elan 7, if you so wish since the Eye feature is essentially just a gimmick. Now I also wish I had got the date feature, since down the road it might be an useful tool. (say, 40 yrs, from now, you want to know when the picture was taken ;) )

The most wonderful thing about the ELan 7E is that it allows you to grow with it...It offers a whole bunch of features, that I think will take you from a beginning stage (point and shoot) to a more advanced stage (total manual) phase. After shooting over 20 rolls of film and slide, I still find myself reading the manual and noting down some new feature to try out on my next roll.

Small piece of advice for beginners.. I realize now that the money you spend on lenses might be worth almost more than the money you spend on the camera. Coz even the best camera cannot produce a decent picture with a bad lens. I would strongly recommend avoiding the standard lens(28-90mm, I think) that comes bundled with it (even if the total package is cheap). I bought the body separate and then a canon 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 lens and I have never regretted the decision. Its a relatively sharp lens at both ends and is always mounted on my camera for shooting almost anything. If you are on a tight budget get the Canon 50 mm 1.8 II which sells in most shops for under $100. I am now slowly saving up for a L series lens.

Besides the usual preset options like portrait,landscape,closeup,sports,night mode,the Elan 7E offers a whole bunch of features that I found really useful. Here are some of them,

1) Depth of field preview button.
2) DEP (depth of field AE) - this really helps if your lens does not have a distance scale (like the 28-105mm). Say for e.g., you need to preset the depth of scale from 0 to infinity, this feature helps you to achieve that effect without the distance scale on your lens.
3) AE lock
4) Exposure compensation - you can set the exposure compensation upto + or - 2 stops in half stop increments and you can do it without taking your eyes of the viewfinder.
5) Auto exposure bracketting - for those really important pictures that you dont want to miss :)
6) bulb exposures - allows you to have as long a exposure as you want. I found this really useful. I hear that some cameras have limitations on how long they can be exposed. (RS - 60E3 shutter release cable is really useful for this)
7) multiple exposures
8) mirror lockup etc etc etc.

The built in flash suffices for all my needs. Lots of people in this website recommend the battery pack, but I would suggest anyone buying this camera to first check it out themselves. I find the grip good enough for me.

All in all, I just love this camera. I have been having great fun for past 2 yrs with it and am confident of having lots more fun for few more years at least and I dont think you will get a better performance for this price...If you have the money, just get it & start shooting !!

Strengths:
1) Solid feel and good looks
2) Enough bells and whistles to keep you curious and interested for quite some time.
3) focussing point selection with seven focussing points (auto or manual)
4) whole bunch of lenses to choose from
5) built in flash
6) Rugged build - have used extensively in real hot weather(AZ) as well as sub zero temperatures (MI)
7)Relatively light and compact.
8)Best price/performance ratio

Weaknesses:
1) I feel an LCD would have been invaluable tool to have during low-lit situations
2)Lack of spot metering - this is one feature I would have loved to use.
3)Auto focus fails to activate when you try to shoot closeups(macros), cloudy landscapes or under low light situations

4) Depth of field preview button is hidden...I have never been able to activate it without taking my eyes off the viewfinder !

I finally convinced myself that it was worth it to purchase a portable DVD player. I now do not see how I have lived without it for so long. I average 2 - 3 plane flights each week and this unit, combined with my Bose noise cancelling headsets is the first thing I pack. This unit is very easy to set-up and use. The unit is large enough for viewing, but small enough for easy travel. Using a dual headphone jack allows viewing by 2 people. The battery easily provides 4 - 5 hours of play time. A previous review stated the picture quality was poor. This is definitely not the case with my unit. The picture is crisp and clear and you cannot count the pixels on the screen. This unit is highly recommended, especially for anyone who travels on a regular basis.

I bought this for traveling with my little girl when she was 2. (She is now 3 and a half.) Technically, the picture is great. So is the sound from either the speakers or headphones (though if you do a lot of plane travel, noise cancelling headphones are a great idea). The player has been trouble free in 18 months of weekly use.

The added portablility (compared to VHS players) means it's the only option in restaraunts and on planes. We've used it on car trips, plane trips, in restaraunts, we hook it up as a DVD player for our second TV, I hook it up to hotel TVs (if they have a video input jack -- about 50% do), my wife took it to the hospital (to have #2), and I even got to take it on plane trip for myself!

Plop in a DVD and you're much more engaged than a book. Same with kids. We've gone from having to rush through a quick entree-only meal to being able to enjoy a drink, appetizer, entree, desert, AND waiting for the check. Our car travel time has gone from 3 hours (2 hour nap, 1 hour awake) to 4 or 5 (I haven't reached the upper limit yet!). With 5 hours of battery life, there's the potential for 7 hours. If you calculate the savings in motel rooms, this should pay for itself in about 5 years. But throw in the ability to relax, be entertained, have a second DVD player... and it's worth the investment. The only down side is that this will invite conversations from every busperson and waiter in your restaraunt!

This DVD player is THE BEST!! I bought this DVD player after researching all the info I could get my hands on about all brands and sizes of players. I love the one I chose!!! This player lasted through a long car trip (and even down the gravel road to my house) with never once a skip or a problem. I bought a plug-in that goes in the cigarette lighter that I used when the battery ran out. But actually I didn't have to use it much! I also bought a three way headphone splitter so all three of my children could watch from the back seat at once -- and I listened to the radio instead!!! It was heavenly. I would also recommend buying a carrying case that holds the player securely in the car.
Just one note on the sound -- on the freeway the hum of the tires was too loud for my children to hear the sound without headphones. But sound through headphones is amazing!!!! At home we use it without headphones and don't have any problem hearing!!! The picture is great, also. Not a single problem with the clearness and crispness of it! The screen is just the right size, and you soon get so immersed in the movie that you don't even notice it's on a smaller screen!!!! I have a four-door car, but this would work great in a mini-van. The back seat would not have a problem watching the movie -- but you'd have to pipe the sound through the car stereo system so everyone could hear well!!!
Also be informed that this DVD player can't get too hot or too cold, so plan on carrying it with you when you go places -- as it probably should not sit in a parked car in extreme weather!
Love this DVD player!!!

The 64meg memory card is the largest capacity smart media card available but it is way too pricy. You can buy two 32 meg cars for 56$ each and it would be cheaper than buying one 64meg card! It would make no sense to buy this product. I get one hour of music on 32 megs for my Diamond Rio 500, I'm just going to go buy 2 32meg cards instead of this expensive and over rated 64meg POS

This card enables me to take about 1000 pictures (at the lowest resolution) with my Olympus 460. This is the largest smartmedia card you can currently buy and only has one minor draw back. The panorama feature is not available on Olympus cameras that have a panorama feature since this is not an Olympus brand card. Over all this is a great product. With such a high data capacity card as smartmedia USB reader is almost a must. I can download the 64 MB that are on this card in under 2 Minutes with a USB reader. Before with the serial connection that came with my camera it took (or felt like) hours!

It's not the memory that is bad, but I bought two memory Sandisk 64 mg memory cards for my Rio 500, and you just can't carry them and choose which one you want to listen to without big time hassles. The Rio 500 is so reluctant to recognize the external memory, you have to keep putting it in and taking it out ad nauseum before it finally decides to recognize it. So I don't even do it! I just get the one in there working, and erase that and fill it when I want to change music. SmartMedia cards are real flimsy, not like Compact flash memory, and seem much more fragile. If I was going to choose what kind of flash memory to have in a camera or mp3 player, I'd go with Compact flash or MM flash memory, they are more robust and not so fragile.

I have purchased this camera and it stop of working after 3 months, (I wrote The first review on amazon for this camera) I have lost my money :(

i had a point-and-shoot canon for years and it FINALLY died. i am so happy because i convinced my husband that we should buy a SLR camera to photograph our new baby with so we could take close-up shots and not end up with blurry memories. i have only used the autofocus mode so far and the first roll of film i got back was worth the cost of the camera. it was the first roll of film i have ever had developed where all of the pictures were fantastic! crisp, clear and fully focused no matter how close i was. i am/was thrilled. i feel so much more confident now with my picture taking because instead of dreading picking up my developed roll, i can be almost SURE the roll will be great. don't waste your memories to anything else!

P.S. Yes, when i bought this camera it did say it was a date camera and i thought that was a great price for the date body. it's not the end of the world that it isn't the date body, but Amazon did falsely advertise this camera and that is not good business.

...

If you still like to take pictures using the 35mm format, then this camera is for you. Like many others, I was quick to purchase a digital camera (Canon Powershot) and enjoy the whole digital camera scene but when it comes to superior photographs, there is nothing that can compare with 35mm photography. I was looking for a new 35mm camera and went into a local camera shop. I was introduced to the new EOS Rebel Ti and it did not take me long to really enjoy the features and looks of this camera. It is significanly lighter then its predecessor and its looks are striking. I like having the menu screen on the back of the camera in a larger LCD screen. It's much easier on the eyes. The different settings allow even the most advanced photographer options that are often found on much more expensive cameras and like all of Canon's 35mm line, the lenses are interchangeable and give you greater flexibility in your picture taking experience. The built in flash pops up automatically in low light settings and you still have the option of adding on another flash on the cameras top. You get so many features for a really great price. ... This is the camera for both the beginner and advanced photographer.