Computer Reviews

I have been a Nikon user for over 20 years, and owned at least six different bodies and lots of lenses. My all time favorite is the FM2N. Why Nikon? It's the lenses! Nikon seems to understand this is the main selling point of their system. SO they have never changed the F lens mount. You can use older manual focus AI and AIS lenses on the D70. The bad news: The meter won't work. However on a digital SLR, the LCD confirmation mitigates this since you can check your exposures. You could also use a handheld light light meter. More good news: depth of field preview works with AI and AIS lenses! So I've been having a great time using my manual lenses on the D70. This camera is really a winner and costs no more than some of the ridiculous "prosumer" digicams out there. It's far more versatile.

It's easy to use-if you've used another digicam or even a recent Nikon 35mm SLR. The fact that I've been able to figure out most settings necessary without even cracking the manual is impressive.
The flash syncs at 1/500! This makes for some really creative fill flash outdoors or in the studio. All necessary settings are within easy reach, and no stupid five click deep menus for stuff like ISO. All the important stuff like ISO, Metering pattern, Exposure modes, White Balance, etc. have a dedicated button right on the body. No fumbling to change stuff while shooting.

Shutterlag is virtually non-existent. It's almost as good as my FM2N. But face it, if you want zero shutter lag then get a manual 35mm camera! However with the D70, you will not notice it.

The Lens-the kit lens is a 18-70mm (27 to 105mm). It's pretty good, and the color has that gorgeous Nikon hue. It's bright for a zoom. A lot of people are criticizing this lens unjustly. It does have a lot of barrel distortion on the wide end, but for landscapes you'd never know. It's got a very good wide angle range for a digital lens. It's a great value, and way better than any junk Sigma puts out.

ViewFinder-Some have slammed the viewfinder. It does take a little getting used to, like looking down a long dark corridor at first. But it's just as bright as any AF SLR once you get used to it. I think Nikon designed it this way to get people used to the CCD aspect ratio. It's kind of like watching a DVD in letterbox format. Good news: the viewfinder has a diopter for eyeglass wearers.

Picture Quality-This is where the rubber meets the road. At all ISO settings, the images are superb. Colors are saturated and lifelike, with the "Nikon Pop". They remind me of a good ISO 100 slide film like Kodak E100G, or Fujichrome Velvia 100. Best of all, the grain is very low, even ISO 1600 is not bad when printed to 8 x10. This is a huge advance over my older Canon G2 digital. Like I said, think ISO 100 slide film.

This is destined to be one of Nikon's legends, like the N8008, N90, FM2N, etc. You get a lot of value for your money, much more than the Canon Digital Rebel. A lot of pros are buying D70s for backup, and the Press Photographers Association of Japan just picked the D70 as new camera of the year! What else could you ask for? This is a top drawer camera with a great lens.

Simply put, the Nikon D70 is the finest camera I have ever used. As an amateur photographer I have owned a variety of Nikon SLRs during the age of film photography. That is until the digital bug hit me with the introduction of the Olympus C2020 (a superb camera in its own right). I have anxiously awaited the day when I could return to the SLR and do it digitally. The D70 has made my day! This camera is incredibly easy to use and intuitive right out of the box. You can easily operate exposure controls, flash, and etc. without going through menus. All the settings can be seen in the viewfinder and the control dials are in the right places so you don't have to take your eye off the subject. It felt like coming home again to use an SLR, shoot through a viewfinder, and quickly and easily adjust exposures. Since there is no shutter-lag with this camera, and image writing to the card is fast, you don't have to anticipate your shots. Image quality is phenomenal and the 6 megapixel count assures you of excellent "darkroom" control. There are so many image capture options available in its menu that it pays to test the camera for settings that satisfy your needs (e.g. regulating sharpness, contrast, and tonal distributions). But even the default automatic settings provide photographs that can be beautifully printed right out-of-the-box. The 18-70mm DX lense that comes with the kit (equivalent to 27-105mm for 35mm film) is a great buy and delivers excellent image quality. I only wish its filter size (67mm) matched any of the filters that I had acquired for my old lenses. For the serious amateur who wants the level of control and image quality that only an SLR can provide, the Nikon D70 is definitely it. The affordable digital SLR has arrived! Sorry, Kodak, the era of film photography has truly come to an end.

Lets get to the main point of buying a DSLR - I wanted fast & sharp results with versatility included. This is what I wanted and this is what I got! The price couldn't get much cheaper or it'd be an absolute steal (not that it already isn't). I feel like a real professional just HOLDING the D70. Truth is, I wouldn't give up this baby for the world. Digital SLR's are so much better than some cheap point and shoot restraintive camera. Break free and buy a D70! Look at the flawless reviews, try it out, and see for yourself. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

I just received my camera last week and so far I love it. I haven't found any negative things yet. I bought the kit with the 18-70 lens. The Nikon is better than the Canon Rebel I had a month ago. I also bought the SB-800 flash and it's great. I love the flash sync of 1/500 second. It will take me a few weeks to learn the new features but I'm loving every photo I take.

I have had Nikon cameras for most of my adult life, and that is more years than I care to count. The Nikon D70 is the best I have ever used. It is fast, comfortable, and elegant. Its pictures are sharp, properly exposed, and always in focus with Nikon's fast AF system.

The batteries last for months with regular use, provided you don't upload your pics direct to your PC from the camera. I suggest you purchase an inexpensive card reader for the upload process.

I suggest buying the package, which includes the body, a battery, and a great 18-70mm AF lens. I do not recommend that you buy from Amazon. They are several hundred dollars more than most of their online competitors.

In closing, take the plunge with this great camera. It is easy to use, versatile, and an absolute best buy that will give you many years of pleasure. Great for the professional, the amateur, and those happily in between.

Simply an amazing piece of work. I'm an advanced amateur who felt somewhat dejected that Nikon had let Canon outdo them with the 10D vs. D100 comparison. Thankfully, that was a short reign for Canon as this camera blows the doors off of both the 10D and D100. It has everything, and everything done well that all be the professional photojournalist would want in a dSLR.

If you are considering a 300D, please, please reconsider. This is a far superior camera. It is better than the 300D's big brother the 10D and is untouched by any of the other <$2k range cameras out there.

If you have no interest learning how to use the flexibility the D70 will provide you, consider asking yourself why you are spending over a thousand dollars on a camera.

I'd strongly recommend getting a 512M CF card of the faster type (min speed maybe 12x). Why? because one of the neater things about he D70 is the ability to shoot very, very fast. With a normal speed card, like the standard Sandisk 512, you slow down and wait for the card. In most digitals, it is the camera that is slower, not the card.

The kit lens is quite nice. It isn't a drop dead top of the line Nikon, but it is better than most, and is a great standard every day lens. Given the crop factor of the CCD, it is equivalent to a 27-105mm lens on a 35mm camera. You may want to get a 70-200mm Nikkor to go with it, or to save money one from Sigma or Tamron. I also use a Tamron 28-200mm, which works well for this camera since its one major flaw, vignetting at large apertures, goes away completely for the same reason, the crop factor. Note that a 70-200 acts like a 105-300, and the 28-200 behaves like a 42-300.

A final note, shoot in raw format, not jpeg. One of the nicest things is that you can really, really see a significant improvement in picture quality by doing some quick touch up of the 12 bit image before saving to jpeg for printing or emailing. Also, for reference, the 512 Meg card holds 95 raw images even though the camera indicates half that when powered up. That is the one bug in the firmware I've found, but it is a very minor issue.

I've had several scales over the years and was disappointed with all of them. Nearly a year ago, I started eating healthy and exercising regularly and, as a result, have lost about 30 pounds. I had been using the scale at the gym to weigh myself but it never seemed to be very reliable, despite the fact that it was a "doctor-type" scale (the gym never has it calibrated).

I started researching scales and heard about this one, so I gave it a try. I LOVE it! It is SO easy to set up the first time and also easy to use. Two people can set up their stats and use separate buttons to weigh in and track their progress in weight and body fat. You use your toe to quickly and easily turn on the appropriate button (you can also hit a "weight only" button just to weigh yourself without the bodyfat part).

The display is very easy to see and I love the digital readout!

I read the reviews on the BF679 scale. I read reviews on alot of different scales but this one had the best said about it. I have now received my new scale and it gives a whole new meaning to stepping on the scale. It seems to give me more incentive knowing my body fat is way too high along with my weight. Health becomes a bigger issue when I see the numbers on this scale. It was easy to program and instructions were easy to understand. I would recommend this scale to anyone who is losing weight or thinking of losing weight. It is wonderful and so worth the price (which I bought on sale through Amazon) I belong to Weight Watchers and there was only 2 tenths difference between this scale and the one used at my meeting weight in. Also, it registers the same weight if I would happen to step on it 3 or 4 times in a row, no jumping a pound up or down. Try it, you'll like it! Judy

Received my scale today. I took the scale out of the box, put in the batteries, programed it. It took less than a minute to figure out how to program it and complete the process. I love the fact that it calibrates the body fat percentage. I got on & off at least 5 times and each time it registered the same weight, also the same with my husband. Unlike my old digital scale - I can gain & loose 5 lbs within 20 seconds! Everytime I got on that one I could'nt even guess what my weight would be. I only wish I would have gotten this one 31 lbs ago when I started my diet. Now that I'm at goal weight this scale will help keep me right on target.

I researched phones for months before coming across this one. You name it, this phone has it! From walkie-talkies to a transferable phonebook, I promise you won't be diasspointed. I found that the features are easy to use and the size similar to a cell phone instead of being big and clunky! My base unit is in our basement and extra handsets upstairs and the sounds is just crystal. Here are some features I love!

-Battery Low indicator ON SCREEN, no more guessing how much longer you have!

-Transferable Phonebook between handsets
-Use as Walkie-Talkies away from home on a roadtrip or as Room Monitor for your kids while you're outside!
-Paging device between phones. I love this because if my husband is downstairs and I am upstairs, he doesn't have to come get me and tell me I have a phone call. He just transfers it to the other handset and I pick up!
-DO NOT DISTURB! This one is a beauty! Mutes ALL ringers for that peaceful dinner you always wanted.
-Privacy Call- allows you to block other phones from hearing your converstaion (wish I had this at my parent's house when I was a teenager!)

Those are just a FEW!!! This phone is just awesome, I'd recommend it to anyone!

***The only suggestion I have is if you do get this, do not setup your area code on the handsets. By doing so, caller id comes up WITHOUT it and makes it a little more difficult to save the numbers to the phonebook.***

Overall, a very nice system that we've been using about 2 months. This is not only an excellent remote phone system, but has the following features we love:

- signal and talk directly between handsets and/or base
- room monitor from either handset to the other or to the base
- either handset or the base function as a speakerphone
- call waiting caller id that works
- can use both handsets simultaneously
- distinctive ring based on caller id

The range for us, from the main floor, goes about 300 feet outside (flat terrain) before breaking up. It works best with a direct line of sight above ground. (not over a hill etc)

The battery life for us is approx. several (4-5) days with moderate usage (1-2 hours per day).

It also works great with the uniden headset available at amazon:
Uniden HS910 Headset for Cordless Phones
It works OK on the shoulder (with the beltclip), but is a little small.

Note that this model does NOT have a built-in answering machine. I consider this a plus, since we have voicemail from the phone company. Also while the base has a speakerphone, it is not really meant for much use, and does not have a built-in LCD screen etc. We use the base for emergencies only (or to locate the remotes).

I agree with the previous reviews that a few features are hard to get to, such as mute or privacy (although I am glad privacy is off by default so someone else can join a conversation from the other phone). Speed dialing is easy to use, though - just press and hold one of the digits to pull up the speed dial number.

This phone system has more features than I'll probably use. The reception is crystal clear and static-free. I especially like the ability to choose different ring tones much like a cell phone. It comes with belt clips which are great if you're walking about the house or want to set it up for hands-free capability. It comes with 2 phones which is a great buy ! It's also expandable to carry more phones. Excellent buy !!!

These are great headphones, and extremely comfortable. But to add real life into your music, especially out of the confines of the clasical genre, grab a pair of Sennheiser HD-600's...The sound those headphones create is near perfection. They are often used as a reference for recording engineers, and audiophiles. The extra [price] is very much worth it. ...these headphones are great for classical music, but if you are primarily a rock listner you might want to check out the Grado SR-325's. I would also recommend going and auditioning this type of headphone before you buy.

I love listening to music on headphones to either relax at night or while I'm in the middle of household busy work: projects, cleaning, bills...etc. Unfortunately, this means I do most of my at home music listening through a portable cd player. After having lived with a outstanding pair of Definitive Technology floor speakers paired with a very nice Yamaha tuner and Phillips dual-well cd player for two years the output from most portable player set ups wasn't even close to being on the same level. After a large amount of research I decided I wanted to upgrade to a set of high end headphones to maximize the portable cd player experience. The HD-590's sound fantastic, easily on par with the 600's and with a lower impedence, they perform great on portable players without the need for a cumbersome headphone amp. They are extremely comfortable, lightweight and sound fantastic. Pair them with the iRiver IMP-550 cd/mp3 player as I have, and you will have the best sounding portable cd set up available.

I just bought this thing from Amazon and all I can say

is WOW!!!!

This is probably the best purchase I have ever made.

This thing is everything I ever expected and more!! It's

very easy to use as well!

I have bought other brands before, and this one just

blows everything else out of the water! I have to say,

everyone out there who is thinking of buying this, stop

thinking. I bought it and I am extremely happy with it

the moment I powered this thing on. YOU ABSOLUTELY

POSITIVELY CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS PURCHASE! I

GUARANTEE IT!!!

...and it rules. It has everything I could ever want and more. Everyone says you need more than the 16MB included memory, not me... it's just enough if you're able to upload the pics to your computer each time the card is full. For this price, you got to get this camera... the picture quality is awesome.

Wow! I just got this camera a few days ago, and already it has surpassed my expectations! The photo quality is GREAT, but I recommend using a flash whenever you are inside, otherwise the pictures get kind of dark. Easy to use controls that are well explained in the manual. Very compact size, fits perfectly into a pocket. I do recommend getting a 128mb memory stick...TRUST ME with the way this camera performs you won't be able to stop taking pictures. The only thing I would complain about is the price. Not too bad, but a little on the ... side. ALL IN ALL, A GREAT CAMERA!! BUY IT NOW!!

This is the perfect camera for anyone who is just getting started in Digital Photography. It has two megapixels, which is plenty for me. Feel free to get more, but I have taken so many beautiful pictures with this camera when not even using Fine picture quality. The video mode is great. It is what really attracted me to this camera. It has audio and as much video can be taken as the memory card can hold, about 5 minutes on high quality, 20 minutes on medium, and 90 minutes on poor with my 128mb memory card. I suggest that you use medium quality so that you can still get fairly good videos, but conserve memory card space. You just have to remember that it is still a picture camera and not a video camera, so it will not be great quailty video.

Now for the complaints. My first is that I can't figure out how to make auto flash come on when I start the camera. For some reason it always goes to no flash, so you have to remember to turn the flash on. The only other complaint is that the 16mb card is practically useless, so I went ahead and bought a 128mb card when I bought the camera. Depending on the different quality settings it can hold as many as 1700 pictures (640 x 480, standard quality) or as little as 120 pictures (1600 x 1200, fine quality). Generally speaking, I keep it on 1280 x 960 standard quality and I can get around 400 pictures.

Finally, the USB connection is great. You just hook the camera up to the computer, install the drivers if you have an older version of Windows than XP (I didn't have to install any divers on my computer with XP), and turn on the camera. The computer detects it as an extra drive, just like a ZIP drive.

In conclusion: for such a great camera at such an amazing price, what are you waiting for???

These MiniDV 3-pack tapes are good quality and at a price i couldn't beat anywhere. If you're looking for a MiniDV tape without memory at a reasonable price, get these.

I really like these tapes. The quality and care that they used in manufacturing these mini DV tapes definitely show. Each tape in this three pack is individually wrapped and labeled. On the front of the tape there is a yellow write protect switch. Each tape comes with a translucent tape case and labels for marking tapes with color codes and labels like "master", "copy" or "birthday". The front face of the tape is blank except for a few markings and the write protect switch. The top has: TDK logo, duration (SP 60/LP 90), format (mini DV digital video cassette) and the letters DVM60 in the top sticker area. The cassette is navy blue with a gray protective tape cover that covers the actual magnetic tape when not in use. The markings are silver and gold in color.

Whattya wanna know? They're tapes, they're priced well and they work in your mini-dv camcorder. Stop reading all these posts and buy em already!

After comparing the Creative Playworks DTT2500 with the Yamaha TSS1B and the Altec Lansing ADA890 for a 5.1 Dolby Digital system for the PS2; the DTT2500 was my choice. This compact desktop theater is very compatible with the Sony PS2, using the optical audio connector.

I also have a mono VCR connected to the line in 1/8" input using a single regular RCA cable with an attached stereo 1/8" adapter (mono 1/8" will not work). By setting the CMSS mode to Music and the Digital Surround mode to Digital In, it uses simulated surround sound well from a mono VCR/CableTV. This method uses all 6 speakers. Having a stereo VCR should give much better sound.

If you play audio CD's from the PS2, it is best to use CMSS mode at Stereo (Digital Surround mode automatically is disabled). This method only uses the main left & right speakers and subwoofer. Of course, you can play cd's with the same settings as my mono VCR and use all six speakers; the resulting sound will be expanded stereo.

The main purpose of the DTT2500 is for the PS2 games, and here it excels. Twisted Metal Black supports Dolby Surround, and Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore sounds great in simulated Dolby. I just hope that more games are made with Dolby. We can definitely hear effects that were nonexistent when formerly using the RF adapter from the PS2 to TV speakers. Just make sure that you have the CMSS turned off and Dolby switched on.

I have not yet used any DVD's, but it seems unlikely that any issues will arise.

The sound quality is good for a low power system. You can overcome the louder center channel by adjusting its volume lower and the surround speakers volume higher. I find that I must also run the subwoofer at a slightly lower than normal volume or it seems to have a "thump" (could be due to room charasterics). Due to the small size of the left and right speakers, you can notice the lack in upper bass frequencies. If you like extra deep bass, the DTT2500 does come with a line level subwoofer output that will connect to a powered subwoofer and can be used simultaneously.

Don't worry about not having a DTS decoder with the DTT2500. If you need to have it, then you need a larger, more power packed home theater system. The Dolby Digital 5.1 and Creative's Multi Speaker Surround (for simulated surround from mono/stereo sources) does the job just fine.

The control unit is easy to understand and figure out what settings work best for the type of input used. One setting does not work for all formats, tweak it for your personal needs. All the adjustments are easy to make.

Overall, its a great value enhancement for PS2 gamers; has good TV/VCR performance; and average audio CD sound. It missed out on 5 stars because I believe that the main left/right speakers should have been a 2way so it could include better upper bass response.

The Creative Labs PlayWorks 5.1 DTT2500 is a good system for anyone starting out a small home theater because it comes with everything you need for the audio aspect of your home theater as well as being incredibly simple to install and use. Out of the box, you will be able to get Dolby 5.1 sound from your favorite DVDs (though check the DVD to make sure of Dolby compatibility) without having to buy speakers (five are included, and a subwoofer) or a receiver (a receiver is not included, but a little box that basically acts as one is). There are several connection options that allow you to hook up your TV, DVD, PS2 or other video game systems, even your computer, to the sound system and the best part is that all the necessary cables are included (even the optical cable to get the most out of your PS2 audio).

It's hard to argue with the convenience of having everything in one simple box, but there are also some issues that may lessen your enjoyment of the system. For one, there is no DTS compatibility, it's Dolby or the highway in terms of high-end sound. Secondly, the speakers provided are not extremely powerful, the subwoofer in particular. There's certainly enough power in here for a bedroom or small living room, but if you're looking for an audio system that will absolutely blow your friends away and engulf your living room in Surround Sound, you may want to save your money and look into higher-end packages. Finally, the options can be somewhat confusing. There are many choices for audio output (Dolby, Stereo, Four-Point, etc.) that are not very well-explained, but a little tweaking with the system will definitely give you good results, it just takes the patience to figure out which sound settings work best with which inputs (TV, PS2, Computer, etc.). One final word of warning- very few video games utilize Dolby sound, so don't expect to be playing your games in Surround Sound (as I expected) because besides a few games like The Bouncer and Twisted Metal: Black on PS2, games do not support Dolby.

Yet the few minor complaints I have about the system do not hamper my enjoyment very much and I love to crank things up and enjoy great sound and I also loved not having to hunt down a bunch of different parts (receiver, speakers, subwoofer, cables, etc.) to put together a respectable home theater. Overall, I give this product an A- and I am a very satisfied customer.

These are simply a great pair of speakers!

I have had these for 2 years and they are great sounding speakers, except they have one major design flaw. The angle of the speaker is fixed. Changing this angle is essential for optimal sound and I can't believe that Monsoon overlooked this. I think the other models they offer are similar. I've thought of trying to modify them to add a hinge or something, as it still bothers me. I love 'em, but why not make them adjustable?

These speakers are worth the money. These things ROCK! My old computer speakers were Altec, which were fair, but compared to the Monsoons, it now seems that I had been listening to my music through a tin can. The sound quality on the Monsoon is great. I wish I had gotten them sooner.

I am totally blown away by how good these speakers sound. Talk about powerful. They may be intended for computers, but I think that you can hook these guys up to just about anything putting out music. I plan on using these with my Rio Riot as well. They cost more than your average Computer speakers, but trust me - they are more than worth it. I love 'em!!!

I think this is an exceptional solution to the problem many of us have with analog video tapes to convert. I originally bought this to use with my older, slower PC -- but I replaced my PC with a screamer (and USB 2.0 and Firewire) before I really got a chance to use this. So I can't tell you how well this box does in compensating for older, slower hard drives and a slower CPU.

However, with the new system, this box appears to my video editing software (Ulead VideoStudio 7) as a DV camera, so it's simple to edit.

The bad news is that all of my video cpature software ASSUMES this is a DV camera, so you get all sorts of spurious information onscreen -- like DV controls, or DV timecodes, etc.

If you are aware of the fact that those controls won't work, or that the timecode is meaningless, this unit works like a charm to capture your analog video, package it as DV and deliver it to your PC with little or no dropped frames and generally rock solid video/audio synch (BTW -- if the audio gets unsynched, the only guaranteed solution I've had is to restart the capture from a clean spot on the videotape -- no snow, no tracking errors).

Following my order of the ADVC-100 I found many disturbing things on the internet. Most users had difficulties capturing analog to MPEG2 for burning onto DVD. Don't let yourself be scared off. Fear mongers stating that the converter captures DV files which then have to be converted to MPEG2 aren't using the right interface software. The ADVC-100 is a stand alone external unit without a software suite of its own and relies on whatever captures software you choose. I could just be lucky but both My WinProducer and my Nero Burning software detect the device instantly and allow choices of AVI, DV or MPEG2 format for file capture.

Granted, having an external device may not be as convenient as a VIVO internal card, but compared to other external capture boxes the ADVC-100 is tiny and unobtrusive. Better yet, it's IEEE Firewire compliant as opposed to the 1.0 and 2.0 USB connections that for the most part fall short with frame droppings and miss-synced audio during capture.

If you're looking for a straight forward plug and play unit this is it. Just make sure that you have a capture card with Firewire input capabilities such as the Sound Blaster Audigy series before purchasing this product.

I must say this product is exactly as it says. I simply took it out of the package(Which I recieved in less than 24 hours with free shipping from Amazon.com) and plugged in the cables and went with it. It connected to Movie Maker 2 and I was off.
I definitely recomend this to ayone looking to put old vhs movies onto DVD's for safe storage.