5 comments about Canon BG-E5 Battery Grip for Canon XSi Digital SLR Cameras.

1. Great addition to the XSI! It balances the camera nicely, adds the ability to use AA batteries or Canon rechargeables.



2. My grip isn't as large as most folks so I thought it important to give a perspective for folks with small hands. This grip adds a bit of weight to the camera but is not too heavy. The trade for more shooting time is worth it. I had to upgrade my head to compensate for the weight. Vertical shots are much easier with the placement of the second button.
   
   It's great that you can use one battery with it. I added a second battery also increasing weight, but again doubling my available shooting time.
   
   Overall, a great addition. I needed it to shoot longer in the field. I'll be away from a power source for a few days.



3. Attached to the XSi body it adds some needed volume & mass. Only problem is that the "horn" which sticks out on the lower right side when used in landscape orientation prevents your pinky finger from wrapping around the grip in a comfortable manner. In portrait mode, it's great. It seems the ergo gurus at canon could have lopped of the offending "horn" to improve the ergonomics in landscape mode. I have an older A2E with a vertical grip and its supremely comfortable in either orientation. The body sans grip has no room for your pinky, unfortunately with the BG-E5 attached your pinky has to content with the aforementioned bulge which interferes with a solid grip.



4. A great add-on for your product. Doesn't add too much weight, and it feels well made.
   
   I just wanted to clarify something for future buyers of this item: you get TWO trays. One tray holds two canon LP-E5 batteries, and the other tray holds 4 AA batteries. That wasn't made clear to me before my purchase (i thought you could use the power sources simultaneously).



5. I love this grip. I would recommend this grip to any one who plans on taking many pictures and don't want to wait for a battery to recharge.

5 comments about Car Audio Tape Cassette Adapter for MP3 Players.

1. We had a Coby before this particular player. We usually have good luck with the Coby products but not the cassette adaptor we bought. We got this one so my wife could listen to her iPod in the car. This one has outlasted the Coby and really has taken a pretty good beating because of the heat in S. Florida vehicles during the summer. I am pleasantly surprised with its performance, and for the money you can't beat this one.



2. Even though its only a few bucks, don't waste your money. You get what you pay for. I took a chance and thought it would be 1/2 decent at least. Well, it wasn't. It works for the 1st 5 seconds you put it in then ejects itself.



3. The average price of these 'tape converters' is usually ridiculously high for something with a very high percentage of breaking.
   
   This is still working for me, and for the price, is definitely worth every penny.



4. This item went on back-order right after I ordered it. It took 3 weeks to receive it and when I did get it, it didn't work. Because I wanted to have one for a long car trip, I had to go spend $20 on one at Radio Shack because this one that I ordered did not work and arrived WAY too late.



5. This is a piece of junk. It did work, but very crappy sound quality. $1.61 plus S/H = $4.59 what a waste of money. I should have brought the Sony for just $12

5 comments about Philips Executive 30-Watt Micro Speaker System with iPod Dock (White/Silver).

1. I'm looking to down-size and simplify my life - including getting rid the the space-hogging component stereo system - this here is a very nice little all-in-one box as replacement - biggest drawback for me is the weak dim display panel - can only be read close up (by my eyes anyway).



2. This is a great little box in almost every way, and so it is more useful, I think, to say what the downside is.
   
   The CD player remembers where it was only during the pause-state, and the pause-state doesn't last very long. Turn it off, and you've lost your place. This is a minor issue, because a small pad and pencil an resolve it.
   
   Considering that the external FM antenna, in my location, does not have to be extended, it would have been nicer to have an FM antenna built-in and just have the external antenna for those of us far from a signal source.
   
   Other than that, my wife has been delighted to be able to listen to any kind of current CD, her iPod, or a USB flash drive with music files on it (the drive has to be formatted as a Windows flash drive, which can be done on an OS X Mac as well as on a Windows PC), or listen to the radio.
   
   The sound is very pleasant to listen to and is high quality considering the size of the speakers. In fact we intend to get a second one for another location in the house.



3. I was looking for an all-in-one micro music system / boombox, and Philips DCM230 provides everything I wanted. Many systems I searched around had one thing or the other missing. Some didn't have a USB port and others didn't have the Aux audio port.
   
   I am going to give this to my parents. I can just drag and drop some MP3 songs for them on a 2GB USB stick without needing to burn the songs on CDs. My mom and dad (they are old school) can just plug and play. The Aux port was needed for using Ipod Shuffle. And of course, there is the Ipod dock (which I will need whenever I visit them), CD Player and AM/FM/Clock.
   
   The sound is very good and the system looks slick. I'm seriously thinking about buying one for myself too. Overall, it's a good value for money.



4. I love this system. It plays CDs, including CD-Rs, allows you to dock your iPod effortlessly with the various adapters (which will accommodate all existing iPod models), and it plays AM/FM radio stations with great reception. The unit also has a clean and modern look, which will work comfortably with all rooms. Also included is a remote control that gives you total control and freedom in using the unit. This system far exceeded my expectations. And at a great price, I really can't complain. Excellent.



5. This is a nice little system for the money. It's sleek and small enough to fit anywhere. It offers Ipod dock, CD player, AM FM tuner and a slot for memory cards. On the downside the speakers are small and the sound isn't great.If you are looking for a replacement for a stereo shelf system, this isn't it. This is more suitable for a kitchen or small room.

5 comments about Sony HDR-CX12 High Definition Memory Stick PRO Duo Handycam Camcorder With 12x Optical Zoom.

1. This isn't a review of the features and performance of the camera. I am not an expert at comparing it to others. This is a review of what you can do with the files that you create.
   
   I got this camera and the 16gb memory duo card. So far so good. It stores between 2 and 5 times the life of a single battery in video.. hours and hours unless you pick the highest bit rate.
   
   The challenges come after you get your files home.
   
   1. Sony Vegas
   Probably this is the best solution for workflow from this camera, but it is windows only. Moving right along ..
   
   2. PS3
   Happily you can either insert the card into your PS3 (or into a multi-card reader via USB - a recent one, not an old one, as high capacity memory sticks can't be read by older multi-card readers). The PS3 sees the clips, shows moving previews, and they look fantastic. You can also put them on a media server (such as MediaTomb mac/linux) and connect to it from the PS3. Not quite as nice, as the thumbnails lack preview, but workable.
   
   3. Connecting the camera to your Mac via the included dock
   
   This works fine and I'll sub-divide what you can do at this point:
   
   3a. Using Final Cut Express (or Final Cut Pro).
   Neither of these programs will deal directly with the MTS files (which are AVCHD and 5.1 ac3) without the full directory structure of the card present! so don't copy the MTS files off, and delete them if you want to use FCE! At any rate, use FCE to import the clips, they are decompressed and blown up to an apple format that uses heaps more space! you can't edit natively in AVCHD using FCE. It isn't clear to me that you can even edit natively in FC Pro. Note, FCE down-mixes to 2 channel stereo during import!
   
   3b. Not using Final Cut Express - using other tools (linux users read this too)
   You can't play these MTS files reliably using Quicktime or Quicktime Pro despite the claim that quicktime pro can play h264 video. You can't even use the Perian codecs (which are available free and based on the open source libraries used by ffmpeg). They claim h264 compatibility but unfortunately they do not read the sony h264 stream properly. You may see various problems: missed frames, half speed, crashing or lots of errors. It may be that a SD camera setting on this camera is more reliably usable, I got bored trying so many different things. This also means you can't use ffmpeg or mencoder under linux, despite their flexibility. The latest version as of time of this review just does not deal with all your clips. It might deal with some, reading and re-encoding if necessary to mpeg4 or whatever, but you WILL get frustrated. The same problems apply to mplayer, vlc, MPEG Streamclip, and so on, as they also depend on the same libraries.
   Note: xportdev will demux MTS files and TMPGenc will decode the video correctly, you CAN use these two tools to create mpeg4 or whatever.
   see http://www.sonyhdvinfo.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40 this forum for more info.
   
   3c. Not using Final Cut Express - using VoltaicHD
   VoltaicHD will convert the clips properly but there are no options to speak of. It creates much larger mov files that can be used in typical mac utilities, quicktime, etc.
   
   3d. Using Toast Titanium
   I believe this produce accepts AVCHD files. I haven't tested it, obviously you have to buy the product. It appears to be capable of writing DVDs or even bluray discs after the edit is done.
   
   4. Uploading to vimeo (the HD version of youtube)
   Vimeo does not accept MTS files, it tries to accept h264 video if packaged in an avi or whatever, but will not process them correctly. It accepts mpeg4, or re-encoded h264 as output by mencoder. It probably also accepts mov files from VoltaicHD and obviously you can get FCE to output a file that vimeo will take.
   The problem I have with this is the chain of encoding and decoding:
   image --> camera --> encoded to avchd --> decoded in voltaicHD or FCE --> re-encoded to mpeg4 or whatever --> uploaded to vimeo --> decoded --> re-encoded to their On2 codec --> played by flash.
   As you can see this chain is ridiculous and the result will not look as good as the ideal, which is:
   image --> camera --> encoded to avchd --> played
   
   My conclusion is that your frustration level will vary according to what you want out of your clips. The camera offers very limited editing: you can chop a clip into two and delete any clip, so you can basically throw away bits you won't want to waste time on.
   
   If you want to show them off on your HDTV via the PS3, without mixing them into a "movie" then everything is great. They look really good.. the interlacing is really not visible when the PS3 plays them, resolution is outstanding at least depending on how high a bit rate you pick.
   
   If you want to burn DVDs then I expect Toast Titanium or FCE will be reasonable but there is some quality loss from the inevitable decode - reencode cycle.
   
   If you want them on the web at vimeo, although the result is heaps better than youtube, it certainly isn't high definition. I believe the vimeo bit rate is limited to 2000 kbit, for example.



2. Well, i am an amateur when it comes to camcorders, so my review may NOT be very technical. I love this camcorder, this is my first HD camcorder and the picture quality is real amazing. I use this camcorder mostly to take home videos and for our trips. The camcorder is real sleek and fits nicely in your hand. I dropped SR12/SR11 just because of their weight and their bulky harddisk. One down side is that this camcorder uses just a memory stick, they are expensive, but they are reliable. i have been using memory sticks with my Sony digital camera as well and no issues until now. If they could provide one more slot for relatively inexpensive SD/SDHC cards it will be a killer camcorder. A nice feature is the smile shutter and it takes stills of your subject without you being aware. It is a nice feature and will bring smile to your face. The PMB software that comes along with the camcorder is good enough to transfer and view the HD videos in your laptop. However, for advanced editing, you should probably order a video editing software like Sony Vegas movie studio or vegas Pro as your budget and needs are. I have just ordered the Sony vegas movie studio platinum pro 9 and hoping it will be fun to edit the videos. The still picture quality is very good. I tried the night mode in dark, it works, but subjects will look like ghosts, so not using that one a lot. a good buy, will recommend it. Amazon ships it fast too.



3. I got this digital HD camcorder because I prefer having SSD storage media(no moving parts)such as memory stick to store my video footage. I feel that memory stick and should be more robust and resistance to shakiness when I shoot the video.( I also own a PSP so the memory stick should be able to work too)
   The features worked very well as advertised but there are some thing to take note, there are additional purchase to get full out of the device:
   1. Get a new lithium battery. The supplied ones won't last for a full
   day if you do lots of shooting.
   2. Get a camcoder bag. Good bag protect your investment from scratch and
   dust.
   3. Get a protective plastic filter for your LCD display.
   4. Get a UV filter for attachment in front of the cam. This is to
   prevent scratches and dusts going into the lens when shooting.
   5. Get a soft wiping cloth. To get rid of dust off your cam in the end
   of day.
   
   If you need a good camcorder with quick 'ON' time and good quality video, I highly recommended it. The only down side is the memory stick is a bit expensive and highest capacity in the market right now is 16Gig .



4. Well, if you always use the best, this should be your choice. Top model of the handycam world. Memory Stick PRO Duo instead of hard disk drive, 1920 x 1080 full HD video and 10.2 megapixel still image capture (which means you don't need a camera anymore). You won't believe the quality of the recordings when you watch them on 55 inch TV.
   Plus, very handy and lightweight.
   Strongly recommended...



5. Just had it for a few weeks, and it is my first camcorder, so nothing to compare against. It delivers what promises.
   Good image quality for video, and the smile shooter is great!
   The software is on the down side: With a dual core HP laptop 1 gb ram and vista it took me about 2 hr to create a SD DVD from a HD movie of about 40 minutes... slowwwww and you have to download the files to the computer. Very easy to use, however.
   Suggest additional battery and memory stick.

5 comments about TDK 4.7GB 16x DVD-R (100-Pack Spindle).

1. I got these when they were priced super low awhile back, but I might as well have coughed up more cash. The error rate on these discs is very high. I'm getting a bad disc at least 1 of every 3. A 33% error rate is ridiculous.



2. I have done plenty of burning over the years and I can say that this would have to be the worse batch I ever received. Amazon was awesome with the return process though.



3. There is a vast array of DVD burners and writable DVD media, in terms of companies. These TDK DVD-R disks seem to be entirely incompatible with a NEC ND-3550A DVD burner. Rather than throw them away, which I should do, I think I may just keep them on the side until lite-on makes a blueray burner (with DVD burning capabilities) in a reasonable price range. I've been looking for a blueray burner, hopefully it will be able to handle these disks.



4. I have been purchasing these from Amazon for quite a while now and even ordered them in bulk for work -- you cant beat "no tax and free shipping", but today, i go to order and the price jumped from $19.99 per piece to $35
   
   So much for using Amazon on these!



5. I bought a spindle of 50 discs for the purpose of transferring my videotapes onto DVDs. Every one of the 50 has worked fine, both in recording and on playback, not only on my several DVD players but also on other peoples who I have burned discs for. Worked so well I just bought another order of 100. Excellent product.

5 comments about Sony Mdr-Ex75/Slv Ex Earbuds Headphones with 9mm Hi-Sensitivity Driver (Silver).

1. I've bought several moderately priced headphones over the past few years looking for clear a sound that had deep, but not overpowering base. These are the best of the bunch by far. I was very tempted to buy a $100 plus headphone (though that would be a big spurge for my budget), but these Sonys sound so good I can't imagine that the expensive phones would be significantly better. These phones are also very comfortable and I like the optional cord lengths.



2. I listen primarily to 'classical' music and found the sound of this product unacceptable. Tinny, lots of hiss. Had to mess around for an hour with the iTunes equalizer to get anything approaching a listenable sound. Getting distortion even at low volume levels.
   
   Tried them with some blues and got heavy distortion and poor bass response.
   
   I generally like Sony, but not this product. I have Bose QC2 and am happy with those, but wanted something small for the office.
   
   Bought my daughter some JBuds for Christmas, we'll see if those are any better.



3. They sound great when listening to quality music..........which is about anything but country and rap.



4. I bought these ear buds for my husband because he has a problem with his hearing.....especially when watching TV. He loves them. The sound is clear, with the right amount of bass. They are light and with the option to change the size of the ear bud, it will fit almost everyone.



5. I bought these over a month ago and found the sound quality and fit in the ear to be a big step over the older sony earbuds. I used to have sennheisser cx 300 earbuds, but these out perform them in quality of sound. The only issue I have with these and older sony earbuds are that the wires get tangled easily. I really wish sony would make the wires in some fabric like material like the V-modas, that would add to the quality of the product.
   
   I am not an 'audiophile' so I cannot comment in detail about the sound, but as other reviews have mentioned it is definitely a little bassy. I take counter that with the equalizer in my ipod. Personally, I feel there is a good amount of depth to the sound, and very good clarity.

5 comments about Premier Mounts FLIP LCD Flip-Down Mount.

1. Although this mount is a little big for my LCD, it is well made and a good buy for the money.



2. I installed this into my travel trailer to save desk top space. I have a Sanyo 20" LCD HD television that I mounted to it and it works Great! I don't use it in the folded position as it really stresses the area that it's mounted to. It would do better when mounted to a more rigid surface (like a kitchen cabinet). This is worth every penny of its economical price.



3. I was a little concerned at first due to the price. The store we bought the TV from only had mounts available in the $100.00 range. This mount is well worth the price! It works, it's sturdy and a great product. I wanted to put a flat screen in our RV but didn't want to make holes in the wall or ceiling nor are they very strong to hold a mount. We had a 17" space under the cabinet in between the windows. This mount was ideal. We don't have space to flip it but it is great because the holes and hardware are hidden under the cabinet if we ever trade in and take it down.



4. Title should tell it all - and good that I saved a shortcut to the review section.
   
   I mounted a 19" LCD tv/computer monitor to the ceiling over my raised bed (computer and stuff is underneath).
   After a week of use, and several adjustments to the tension clamps, I can honestly say this is a great product and brought further into that status with the price!
   I can quite easily pull it down to any angle I desire and then rotate the tv for perfect viewing.
   The materials and workmanship appear to be of good or better quality. I did have one of the supplied screws head strip on me while installing but was due to my not drilling a large enough pilot hole. So get this, there was an extra screw provided!
   Last words again Great !



5. This product works GREAT!! Very good price and value - A small hint - do not use the mounting screws sent with the product - go to the hardware and get bolts and nuts of the appropriate size - Much better for cuboards and particle board. I hung a 19 inch lcd tv - no problems.

5 comments about Verbatim DVD-R 4.7GB 16X Branded 50pk Spindle.

1. Verbatim is compatible with my computer and my DVD recorder, works well in both and never end up with any coasters.



2. I have used most of the other well-known brands - Sony, TDK, Maxell, etc. - and none of the others have delivered as consistent result as Verbatim. I give up trying others just because they're on sale. They're on sale because that's the only way most people will buy those brands. Verbatim is by far the most dependable brand I have ever used. It will always be my brand of CHOICE.



3. 
   I barely find a coaster on the Verbatim DVD-R's. It is as par as with the Maxells, Sony's, TDKs and RiDatas that I have used before. Try to stay away from unknown brands that is kind of a hit or miss. The thing with DVD's or CD's is that when you find a bad one, it seems to be bunched into the same stack as they were manufactured at the same place and at the same time. My recommendation is not to burn DVDs or CDs using the maximum speed, the chance of a bad burn tend to be much much less if you use the next slower speed indicated on the media. Same as filling up the data capacity, 4200mb seems to work best for me as filling up the DVD to the edge may become problematic.



4. i'll make this short, since these are DVDs, what can i say about them?
   they worked where others didnt.
   you know these times when you burn something, it doesnt work, you get upset, you burn it again, it doesnt work again, you ask yourself what were you thinking buying this cheap brand DVDs, order Verbatim?
   yeah...
   skip that.
   just pass go, collect $200 and a pack of these and stay happy.



5. I have used about 15 of these already, without any problems. I would buy again.

5 comments about Targus CPT400 17 Platinum Deluxe Notebook Case.

1. I own a DELL 17" Inspiron 1720 Laptop and I couldn't have found a better notebook case than the Targus CPT400. I love this bag. It has many compartments that hold so much. I even carry my laptop cooling fan and many more accessories. You will NOT be disappointed with this purchase. Very Sharp looking and Durable!!!



2. very practical, good quality, OK price, holds 17 inch LT w/ bunch of other stuff. I'll rank this product 5 out of 5. There is really nothing wrong w/ this case.



3. Great case. I just wish it was a little thicker so I could cram more stuff in it. If I could give 4 and a half stars, I would.



4. It is all I expected. An excellent laptop computer case. Also has enough pockets for the accessories.



5. Notebook case is well made, and as a gift, my husband was very pleased with it

3 comments about Alkaline Battery Bulk Pack.

1. This price is pretty good for the pack of 40.I was concerned just for the life of these batteries, but it's ok and these are long lasting.



2. I have used 8 of the batteries so far. The first 4 were so weak that they would not power the toy I put them in. I tried 4 more from the opposite end of the bulk pack and they were OK. I don't know if the remaining batteries are OK but based on the initial 50% failure rate, I would definitely not buy this brand again.



3. After reading a Consumer Reports article about batteries I purchased these. Basically for regular use they didn't find much difference in the brands, so I went with price and so far have not noticed any difference from the more expensive brands. We normally buy generic if possible so I would stay with this product and we got free shipping.