Category Archives: Camera, Photo & Video

Q-See QC448-840-5 8-Channel Surveillance System

  By admin | May 29, 2013 - 4:42 pm | , ,
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Q-See QC448-840-5 8-Channel Surveillance System with 500 GB Hard Drive and 8 Weatherproof Color CCD Cameras, Black

Wow. I have never had an entire surveillance camera system before. Considering all the horror stories from other systems, I was a little wary of setting up the electronics – port forwarding and all that. Have no fear. I had it up and running within a few hours.

Getting the cameras to work was no problem. Just plug everything in. You’ll need supply your own cable to the TV or monitor.

It was the networking part that was a little frustrating. If you have AT&T DSL, beware. My gateway wouldn’t let me do the UPnP thing. That’s really not the fault of Q-See.

Instructions on the two poster size sheets of quickstart pages were clear. I ran into some glitches. My fault for typing 3777 instead of 37777. No wonder it wouldn’t work.

The software for my PC made adding the cameras automatic. I suggest doing that instead of going through the browser. I couldn’t connect straight through the browsers.

Kindle Fire has three apps that are variations of Q-See. I picked Q-See QC View HD. That was perfect for my needs.

The images are clear whether I see them on my TV, remotely through my monitor or on my Kindle Fire. Night vision is excellent. I am amazed at the details I could see, even across my courtyard in the dark.

The biggest drawback I see to the system is the wiring. That’s where I think a wireless system might be better, although I heard clarity suffers. Eight cameras means eight wires, eight holes through the walls; and we have to attempt to make them all reach within 50 feet of the DVR, which needs ethernet access to the modem.

The good thing about the wires is they come directly out the back of the camera. That way, they can go through the wall behind the camera. No way can a thief just cut it.

We only have to set it up once. After the wiring and port forwarding are done, just sit back and relax. It’s a thing of beauty.

This product was provided for review by the Amazon Vine program.

Case Logic QPB-203 EVA Molded Camcorder Kit Bag

  By admin | April 28, 2013 - 6:59 pm | , ,
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Case Logic QPB-203 EVA Molded Camcorder Kit Bag (Black)

The Case Logic QPB-203 EVA Molded Camcorder Kit Bag is solidly built. It fits my Samsung SC-HMX20C Camcorder perfectly. If the camcorder was any larger, it wouldn’t fit.

When I open the bag, my camcorder pops out of the soft and plush pocket, ready for me to grab. It’s quick and easy, no fumbling involved.

The back of the case unzips to reveal some small pockets, where I store my lens brush. There is also a zipped pocket for other small items like a battery or memory cards.

The strap is detachable, adjustable, strong and sturdy. There is a carry handle on top. The material is rugged nylon. I wouldn’t worry about rips and tears.

I am very happy with this camcorder case. It’s good value for the money.

This product was provided for review by the Amazon Vine program.

Premium High Quality Extendable Monopod

  By admin | April 11, 2013 - 11:05 pm | , ,
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Premium High Quality Extendable Monopod

At 9 inches collapsed, this extendable monopod is small enough to fit in my purse. It extends to 37 inches, long enough for me to reach my camcorder or iPhone above the crowds for an unobstructed view. There is no locking mechanism. It relies on friction, but the friction is enough to keep it up, even under the weight of my Samsung SC-HMX20C (17 ounces). I suppose the only drawback with this is it takes a little force to collapse. Angle the camera up and down by turning a knob. I’m glad they thought of that. Otherwise, I’d be getting a shot of the horizon.

What I really want to do with this monopod is pair it up with Smart-Mount system to mount my iPhone. I can then use my Satechi Smart Pointer as a remote to take photos and video above the crowds at events where getting a good shot can be difficult. I’ve tried the whole setup at home with success. It’s lightweight and easy to handle.

The one thing I think would make this even better is if it could extend longer than 37 inches for when I want to steady the camera on the ground. 37 inches is too short for most photos like that. But for getting the camera above the crowds, this will be perfect.

This product was provided for review by Smart-Mount.

Superdeal Exclusive Accesory Bundle for the Nikon COOLPIX AW100 16 MP CMOS Waterproof Digital Camera

  By admin | December 31, 2012 - 5:43 pm | , ,
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Superdeal Exclusive Accesory Bundle for the Nikon COOLPIX AW100 16 MP CMOS Waterproof Digital Camera

This camera accesory bundle is a combination of four separately packaged products.

ZEIKOS 6 PIECE CAMERA ACCESSORY KIT

Comes with the following:

* mini travel tripod
* memory card wallet
* 3 screen protectors
* lens cleaning fluid
* sof-tex fiber cloth
* 5 cotton swabs

The mini travel tripod is very nice. It’s my third mini tripod and my favorite of them all. It’s compact, sturdy, and easy to set up. I have no problems with it collapsing or holding the weight of my Sony Cybershot. The legs bend in any direction to hold the camera exactly as I need it.

The memory card wallet has three pockets and will hold my SDHC and Memory Stick Pro cards. It’s small and comes with a loop on the back to attach to a belt — a handy way to keep memory cards within easy reach.

I put one screen protector on my camcorder screen. It has a grid for cutting to size. I used the card that came with it to apply the screen protector. Like many screen protectors, I got bubbles.

I used the lens cleaning fluid, cotton swabs, and lens cloth to clean the lenses on my camcorder and camera. My lenses are nice and clean now. My only qualm is the fluid bottle is unmarked. I put a label on it, so everyone will know what it is.

MICROFIBER CLOTH

An extra microfiber cloth was packed loose with the other items. It feels as smooth as polyester, not at all like microfiber. The cloth that came with Zeikos accessory kit has a little more of that suede feel of microfiber. I use that one instead.

VIVITAR FLOATING FOAM STRAP

I don’t have a waterproof camera. Instead, I attached the foam strap to my binoculars, which are about the size and weight of a small camera (6.9 ounces), and threw it in our hot tub. It remained floating, even with the jets turned all the way up.

ZEIKOS SECURE DIGITAL CARD READER/WRITER

The USB 2.0 card reader accepts SD, SDHC, and MMC cards. It has a cap on both ends, to protect the USB plug and the card slot. One thing I like about that is cap will fit over the SDHC card while it is inserted, so we can carry the card inside it without fear of it falling out.

The reader also comes with a short USB extension cord, in case the area around the USB ports is crowded, as they often are when they are side-by-side.

I use the card reader with my SDHC card and haven’t encountered any problems.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

My favorite piece out of this bundle is the mini tripod. The most useful has been the lens cleaning solution. Overall, a nice bundle to have handy.

These products were provided for review by Dakota Trading.

Innovative Digital USB Cell Phone Emergency Charger

  By Ani Fardreamer | September 8, 2012 - 8:06 am | , ,
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Innovative Digital USB Cell Phone Emergency Charger for Apple iPhone 4 4s 3Gs 3G, Android Phones, Smart Phones plus other cell phones

I’ve always wondered how the battery chargers that use AA batteries compare to the rechargeable battery packs like PowerGen Mobile Juice Pack or RAVPower Dynamo-On-the-Go Mobile Juice Pack. Well now, I know.

The Innovative Digital USB Cell Phone Emergency Chargers are extremely compact and lightweight. It’s about the size of a cigarette lighter and don’t weigh much more than the two AA batteries we insert.

Unlike rechargeable battery packs, these are not made to fully recharge a cell phone. Instructions say they should not be used to increase capacity more than 20% at a time.

Instructions also say they charge a cell phone’s battery at a rate of 1% every 2 minutes. I plugged in my iPhone, which had 5% battery life left. I let it charge for 23 minutes, at which time its battery was charged 17%. The battery got very warm, but it performed exactly as promised. After that charge, I tested the AA batteries inside and they were still at full capacity (no precise numbers with an analogue battery tester).

The emergency charger comes with two AA batteries, an iPhone charging cable and a mini-USB adapter.

According to the manufacturer, the device can be used to store batteries for up to 5 years without draining them. If so, it would be a great unit to store in an emergency bag. I don’t plan on using it that way, though.

PROS:
+ compact & lightweight
+ uses AA batteries, no need to charge
+ LED flashlight onboard
+ comes with iPhone charging cable and mini-USB adapter
+ comes with AA batteries
+ stores AA batteries without draining

CONS:
- can’t be used to fully recharge phone
- gets very warm during charging
- plastic feels cheap

This product was provided for review by Innovative Digital.

Pogoplug Mobile

  By Ani Fardreamer | August 12, 2012 - 8:05 am | , ,
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This review was originally posted January 6, 2012

Pogoplug Mobile

Pogoplug Mobile is basically a Slingbox for your computer files — your own personal cloud. Connect it to an external hard drive, USB drive, or SD card, and all the files on those devices can be accessed from any device the Pogoplug software or app has been installed. I do not own an iPhone or any other smartphone. Instead, I used my netbook and PC to access the Pogoplug Mobile and it works fine. A Kindle Fire app is not available yet. I contacted the company and they said they are working on it.

In addition to the storage we attach to the Pogoplug, the Pogoplug browser adds 5 GB of actual cloud service supplied by the company. On my netbook Pogoplug browser, that is the default storage and I had to adjust the settings if I wanted my photos to upload into my Pogoplug Mobile attached memory. If you don’t want stuff going to the external cloud, make sure to adjust the settings, because it is a pain to have to go back and delete files from that cloud.

Adding files to the Pogoplug attached drive or Pogoplug cloud is easy. I just drag and drop. It takes any file, not just photos, music, and video. When I want to download a file from the cloud to my computer, just select it and then click “download.” That part is intuitive.

POGOPLUG CLOUD VS. POGOPLUG MOBILE STORAGE

The difference between the Pogoplug Mobile and the additional cloud storage we get when we install everything is very confusing to some people.

If all you want is cloud storage, meaning you don’t want to use your own storage devices, Pogoplug cloud service is available for free. You get 5 GB just by downloading their app or browser. No need to buy the Pogoplug Mobile.

The Pogoplug Mobile is for people who want to use their own storage device for storage, but they want to access their storage device remotely. If that is what you want, this device will do nicely. I think it’s a great way to store photos on the hard drive while on the go.

This product was provided for review by the Amazon Vine program.

UPDATE: As of April, 2012, the Pogoplug has an app for the Kindle Fire! Videos stream without stuttering. Photos look great. I am much happier with this product now that it plays nice with the Kindle Fire and will raise the rating to five stars.

Pogoplug Series 4 Multimedia Sharing Device

  By admin | June 30, 2012 - 3:59 pm | , ,
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Pogoplug Series 4 Multimedia Sharing Device POGO-V4-A3-01

review originally posted 2/23/12

WHAT IS POGOPLUG?

There have been some misconceptions in past reviews of Pogoplug devices, some of it really the fault of the company for making it so confusing. When we activate our Pogoplug, we also get Pogoplug Cloud storage — free storage provided by Pogoplug that is in addition to what we install on the Pogoplug device. Through the software, we access BOTH the Pogoplug Cloud and the memory we attach to Pogoplug (our personal cloud). Yes, there is a Pogoplug Cloud and our own personal cloud and they are different. If you do not want to provide your own memory (SD card, external hard drive, SATA drive), you can register for a Pogoplug Cloud account for FREE and get 5 GB of storage. The Pogoplug device is not necessary for that. In fact, it would be a waste of money.

The confusion comes in because the software is automatically set to load everything we sync to the cloud into the Pogoplug Cloud, not our personal cloud. We need to set the parameters manually, if we want to change that default. I’m not sure why the company does this, because people then think this Pogoplug only links to Pogoplug Cloud and they don’t understand why they need Pogoplug when they could just use Dropbox.

Pogoplug is for people who don’t want their data parked on someone else’s servers. If you want to keep control of where your information sits but you want to share it with other devices, this is where Pogoplug comes in handy. Put all your photos on a USB stick, plug it into Pogoplug, then access those photos from your iPhone, a netbook, or your office computer at work.

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SETUP

Setup is very easy. I basically plug it in, attach it to the gateway, install the software, activate the Pogoplug from their website. Any computer or electronic device I access my Pogoplug from must have Pogoplug software or app installed. The biggest drawback for me? There is no app for the Kindle Fire. Pogoplug support keeps telling me they are working on it, but it’s been a few months and still no go.

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COMPARED TO POGOPLUG MOBILE

I have both the Pogoplug Mobile and the Pogoplug Series 4 Multimedia Sharing Device . The difference is the number of ports and slots available.

Pogoplug Mobile has one USB 2.0 port (could be used for a USB stick or external hard drive) and one SD slot.

Pogoplug Series 4 has two USB 3.0 slots, one USB 2.0 slot, one SD slot, one slot for a 2.5 SATA drive.

I used USB sticks to test these units out and I don’t really notice much difference between the two Pogoplugs in terms of how the personal cloud itself performs. The short videos and photos I’ve uploaded stream back to me quickly.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any available SATA drives to test out the SATA port. I will say that the top of the Pogoplug series 4 needs to be popped off in order to access the SATA drive port and the USB 2.0 port. That was not easy. There were no instructions and no obvious buttons to push. I pressed on the slit that normally lights up when the Pogoplug is plugged in and hoped I wasn’t breaking anything. I had to press hard and really work it before it finally came off.

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PROS AND CONS OF POGOPLUG SERIES 4

Pros:
+ more ports than Pogoplug Mobile
+ can attach SATA drive
+ has two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port

Cons:
- difficult to pop off the top to access SATA port and USB 2.0 port
- software automatically saves to Pogoplug Cloud unless manually reconfigured
- doesn’t work with Kindle Fire (** SEE UPDATE BELOW **)

This product was provided for review by the Amazon Vine program.
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SUMMARY

This product works well for what it is. Buy it if you want to know where your data resides, if you don’t trust it to someone else’s server, if you want to keep it all on your own hard drives or SD cards or USB sticks. Pogoplug Series 4 beats out Pogoplug Mobile for versatility. If you want to use more than one memory type at once, Pogoplug Series 4 is for you.

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UPDATE: As of April, 2012, we now have a Pogoplug app for the Kindle Fire. Yay! Just for that, I will raise the rating to 5 stars. I’m using a USB flash drive in the Pogoplug right now and the videos stream smoothly without skipping. Photos look great. I am very happy with this product now that it plays with my Fire.