Review And Buy

Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera

“Packed with the latest technologies and Nikon’s renowned ergonomics, the D300 sets a new standard for professionals on a budget,” said Robert Cristina, Brand Manager, Nikon Professional Products, Europe. “The D300 is a true ‘go-anywhere’ camera, delivering fast response, high performance and ease of use that will appeal to anyone serious about their photography.”

Amazon Customer Reviews on the Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera :

The perfect upgrade   February 11, 2008
I was using the Nikon D50 for the last 18 months before deciding to upgrade my camera body. I knew I was outgrowing the D50. I was beginning to see the inconvenience of some of the features of the D50 because I was going into menus more and more frequently.
I initially thought of the D80 but felt it was not enough of an upgrade. I then looked at the D200, but the D300 was just announced and I knew that was the one I would upgrade to.
I am very pleased that I chose this camera. The buttons are well placed and eliminates me from having to go into the menus as often and even then, the My Menu function allows me to add my favotire functions to my own custom menu.
I also love the low light/high ISO capabilities. I do a lot of dusk/night shots in the street and find my results are better than I could ever do with my D50.
The last thing I love is the build. It just feels right in my hands. The addition of the MB-D10 grip is not needed, but is an added benefit for further balancing the camera with a long pro-level zoom lens.
Overall, I have not been disappointed and would recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade to a semi-pro camera.

Perfect in everything   February 10, 2008
I had a d40x and i bought the D300,while i really liked my previous camera, but the D300 is a really different ones,a camera that you would depend on for a longer time.im not saying the D40x isnt that good,but after time u will feel u would need something with more capabilities, and here where the D300 fits, what a camera…best in everything,ergonomics,quality of pics,options available for adjustments.higher ISO, u even feel u wouldnt be in need to lower aperture lenses, the only bad thing about it for me is the weight,i know i would get used to it, but that was my first impression compared to the D40x weight, which is almost half weight,another bad thing that it went down $ 50 after i just bought it:))

Ramblings from a DSLR newbie…   February 9, 2008
Got this as an upgrade from the Nikon D40 (which I had for about 1 week), a D200, (which I had for a couple of days). I’ve had this for about 2 months, and it have journeyed over 2000 clicks with me.

Pro’s:
-beautiful 3 inch LCD screen. This was my primary drive for getting this camera. It makes previewing your shots a pleasure. The LCD screen is bright enough even to view in sunlight.
-long battery life, you can shoot all day long, and still have some charge left. Buy an additional battery and you are clearly set for all day shooting (The battery life is greatly improved over the d200)
-sturdy construction. This thing is built like a rock. I brought this on the slopes of keystone Colorado snowboarding in January, and it braved the cold weathers and bumps nicely (I managed not to drop it in the snow, but I’m sure it would have survived that)
-nice sticky grip. The surface is some kind of rubbery substance that encourages you not to drop it. (helps a lot with one hand grip holding)
-easy layout of controls.
-a plethora of features, liveview, active dlighting, menu customization
-great high ISO shooting.
-nice auto focus system
-fantastic pictures

Cons:
-a little heavy. (hefting this camera with the 70-200vr plus a camera bag with a couple other lenses all day around a zoo will make you tired. =) ) Note, heavy is actually a pro too, as it very nicely balances out lenses like 17-55 and 70-200, as those lenses are heavy by themselves.
-live view is a little clunky, and sluggish

This is a very nice piece of equipment. It’s so nice, it makes you want to love it more and more, and take more pictures with it. =)

Moving from D80 to D300   February 9, 2008
At first it felt a bit bulky but as I got used to it, it just felt right. The quality of images is perceivably way better than the ones I took with the D80, and that was a camera I loved.
Lot of parameters on the D300 menu to play with though, so it makes for a significant learning time.

Nikon D300 vs. Canon 40D

The Latest Customer reviews on the Nintendo Game Console Wii at Amazon:

The Best!!   February 9, 2008
Well this has to be the best video game console nintendo has made so far. It is sold out everywhere!! Your best bet is e-bay or wait until the hipe is over to finally find one. I am so impressed. I actually sold all my old consoles just to have this one. I got it a few days ago and it is just loads of fun. This console seems to be the only console that has changed the world of gaming in a very big way. It’s all people talk about and play. Everyone from all walks of life and ages say they enjoy every bit of it. People have also lost lots weight from all the swing motion and getting so into the game. This has been a life changing console for everyone. Nintendo has always made history to have very historic consoles but this console is probrobly the most talked about since the 1980’s console Regular Nintendo which also made history. If you do lay your hands on this precious make sure you enjoy every bit of it!!

Great fun for adults too!   February 6, 2008
I bought a Wii when it first came out and I was lucky that I only had to wait in line for 90mins. Unfortunately my first Wii was DOA as the unit will not accept the disc. Nintendo customer support was great and got a replacement in 3 business days. The graphics may not be like the XBox 360 or PS3 but the fun factor is there. Games like Super Mario Party 8 and Big Brain Acadamy can bring many hours of play time enjoyment with friends and family. The size of the Wii is small so I place it on top of my DVD player. If you’re looking for a Wii I highly recommend calling Best Buy and ask them when it’s going to come out and be prepared to wait in line for a couple of hours or more. I also recommend picking up Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Party 8. The Wii only comes with one Wii Remote and a Nunchuk. I recommend picking up a 2nd Wii remote and nunchuk.

Pros: Fun Factor! Low cost! Small Size Built in Wireless Internet
Cons: Way too hard to find. Should come with a 2nd Wii Remote.

The top video downloads from Amazon:

Apple MacBook MB061LL/B 13.3″ Laptop (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive) White

Product Description : Stylishly and intelligently designed for your on-the-go digital lifestyle, Apple’s MacBook is the perfect confluence of affordability, innovation, and powerful computing. This latest iteration of the MacBook line is pre-loaded with Apple’s Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system, which adds over 300 new features including easy backup of your most important data via Time Machine, a redesigned desktop that helps eliminate clutter, and the newest version of the fast-loading Safari web browser. It also comes with the iLife ‘08 suite of applications, including iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, and iTunes.

3 Reviews from Amazon:

AMAZING!!!!   February 10, 2008
Got this computer 3 days ago…. Got 4 GB of ram into it and the wenger back pack…. AWSOME!!!!! NEVER EVER going back to Windows (and this is coming from a 10 years user of windows)… frigging cool

The macbook is hot   February 9, 2008
Bought this macbook over the more pricy macbook pro and it is a revelation. I am new to mac and the transition is very easy. iMovie blows windows movie maker away. The startup time is about 20 sec, compared with a few min with my last windows notebook. I have since upgraded the ram to 4G, it is now maxed out. The screen is clear and bright. At 13 inches it is really portable, although not as light as I really wanted.

Great computer   February 8, 2008
I greatly recommend this computer. It’s very fast and rather light weight. The battery has a long life and the graphic quality is wonder full. It also has a web cam which I like. On the down side it only comes with a mac word trial, but it does have text edit so that’s not a big deal.

QuickBooks Pro 2008

QuickBooks Pro Edition 2008 makes accounting easy with tools to organize your finances all in one place. Complete tasks like payroll, invoicing, bill tracking and check-writing. With one click, view past-due invoices or overdue bills. Or instantly see your entire account history with any customer or vendor. With QuickBooks Pro, you’ll spend less time on routine tasks and more time on business!

2 Reviews from Amazon:

Great software   February 8, 2008
great software – really great service from the seller – would suggest to anybody that Quickbooks is the software to get above the rest – it also integrates with Turbo Tax

Novice Opinion   February 8, 2008
I am a first-time user and find the product to be fairly easy to use. I have yet to crack a book on it, so perhaps I am missing a lot of shortcuts, but regardless it has the look and feel of a well-evolved, mature product.

Coupling a New Image Sensor to Optimize Lens Performance with an Array of Features to Maximize the Fun and Excitement of Digital Picture-Taking

PENTAX Corporation is pleased to introduce the PENTAX K20D lens-interchangeable digital SLR camera. This medium-class model offers superb image quality, an array of advanced features and outstanding reliability and operability to meet the specialized and exacting demands of photo enthusiasts, including advanced amateurs. It incorporates a newly developed image sensor to bring out the optimum performance of PENTAX interchangeable lenses, while offering the features and functions needed to maximize the pleasure and excitement of digital photography.

The K20D’s development was based on the popular PENTAX K10D, which not only attracted great interest and high acclaim from users around the world, but also swept prestigious camera awards across the globe in 2007.

The new CMOS image sensor, exclusively developed for K20D, is designed to optimize the performance of PENTAX interchangeable lenses. Featuring approximately 14.6 effective megapixels and the latest noise-reduction technology, it assures superb image quality a step above its predecessors.

The K20D also offers an array of advanced features and user-friendly functions, including: a new Custom Image function that lets the user select or adjust the image’s finishing touches to their preference; an upgraded, more reliable SR (Shake Reduction) system; a comprehensive Dust Removal system; a multi-mode exposure system for faithful reproduction of the photographer’s creative intentions; and a dependable dust-proof, water-resistant body construction. As a result, the K20D easily meets the diversified, exacting demands of discerning photographers.

My personal recommendation is this amazing top rated series from BBC: Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series  Description: As of its release in early 2007, Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced. Following the similarly monumental achievement of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, this astonishing 11-part BBC series is brilliantly narrated by Sir David Attenborough and sensibly organized so that each 50-minute episode covers a specific geographical region and/or wildlife habitat (mountains, caves, deserts, shallow seas, seasonal forests, etc.) until the entire planet has been magnificently represented by the most astonishing sights and sounds you’ll ever experience from the comforts of home. The premiere episode, “From Pole to Pole,” serves as a primer for things to come, placing the entire series in proper context and giving a general overview of what to expect from each individual episode. Without being overtly political, the series maintains a consistent and subtle emphasis on the urgent need for ongoing conservation, best illustrated by the plight of polar bears whose very behavior is changing (to accommodate life-threatening changes in their fast-melting habitat) in the wake of global warming–a phenomenon that this series appropriately presents as scientific fact. With this harsh reality as subtext, the series proceeds to accentuate the positive, delivering a seemingly endless variety of natural wonders, from the spectacular mating displays of New Guinea’s various birds of paradise to a rare encounter with Siberia’s nearly-extinct Amur Leopards, of which only 30 remain in the wild.And that’s just a hint of the marvels on display.

The Top Ten Books in this week’s Bestellers List at Amazon, see The Top Ten Books here for more info including some reader reviews in our online store with those and many more great books that make some nice holiday gifts! (ranking as of writing of this article, might change over time)

And The Top Ten Books This Week are:

• A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (Oprah’s Book Club, Selection 61)
• The Appeal
• The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah’s Book Club)
• The Revolution: A Manifesto
• The Pillars of the Earth
• Eat This Not That: Thousands of Simple Food Swaps That Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds-or More!
• Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
• The Gift of Fear
• Duma Key: A Novel
• Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

The Top Ten Magazine Subscriptions from in this week’s Bestsellers List at Amazon, see The Top Ten Magazine Subscriptions here for more info including some reader reviews in our online store (ranking as of writing of this article, might change over time) And dont forget these magazine subscriptions also make a great holiday gift!

The Top Ten Magazine Subscriptions this week are:

• Shutterbug
• O, The Oprah Magazine [2-year subscription]
• Wired [1-year subscription]
• Ranger Rick
• Sports Illustrated Kids [1-year subscription]
• Popular Science [1-year subscription]
• Maxim
• Newsweek
• Men’s Health [1-year]
• Sports Illustrated [1-year Subscription]

New LUMIX TZ5 and TZ4 Digital Cameras Offer 10x Optical Zoom, 28mm Wide-Angle Lenses and Advanced Intelligent Auto Mode Technologies for Increased Ease-of-Use

LAS VEGAS, NV (January 29, 2008) – Panasonic today introduced two new additions to its award-winning TZ-family of Panasonic LUMIX digital cameras, the DMC-TZ5 and DMC-TZ4 – both packing a 28mm wide-angle, 10X optical zoom Leica DC lens in a compact design, ideal for the active user needing a versatile camera.  By combining a 28mm wide-angle lens, which lets the user capture a wider-framed shot when compared to a traditional 35mm camera, with the TZ-Series 10x optical zoom – consumers are empowered to take expanded shots, both wide and far.  Adding to these feature-rich digital cameras, Panasonic also expands its Intelligent Auto technologies with new Intelligent Exposure and Digital Red-eye Correction. 

 “Panasonic is taking digital photography to a new level and recognizes that everyone, not just professionals, should be equipped with a digital camera powerful enough to take high-quality photos, but compact enough to carry with them everyday,” said Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company.  “With the success of the TZ3, we’re confident that the enhancements we’ve made to the 2008 TZ-family will make them a must-have for consumers who appreciate advanced, intuitive and versatile digital cameras.”