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Comment on Audio-Technica ATR-6550 Video Camera Condenser Shotgun Microphone by WestlaFdwy

WestlaFdwy — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:03:28 +0000

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent Value, good performance, April 13, 2010

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This review is from: Audio-Technica ATR-6550 Video Camera Condenser Shotgun Microphone (Electronics)

I've used this mic on three different types of shoots so far and it's performance is pretty impressive for the price. Of course if you are an audiophile and you are comparing this to a top of the line $1600 sennheiser I'm sure you will find plenty of things to gripe about, but if you are looking for an affordable, immediate step up from your on camera mic, this works great.

I shot a scene in front of a courthouse a few days ago, and there were so many buses going by that I ended up screaming out most of the dialogue - it was a little bit deafening. The performance of the mic on its regular mode was OK, but on telephoto mode it completely blocked out the sound of the buses (which were behind the camera).

Later that same day I followed a guy around on a busy street at night while he was performing some magic, and the sound (also on telephoto) was really good. I was far enough back with the camera that I couldn't hear a lot of what he was saying, but the mic picked it up - clean, good volume, and intelligible.

Two warnings, make sure the mic wire is not touching anything or bumps into anything because it will get picked up on your audio. And if you are in a slightly loud environment use the telephoto. In fact, I'm sticking with the telephoto permanently for now on. I'm leaving 4 stars because I have only used the mic a few times and I don't know how it will hold up, but so far I am very happy with my purchase.

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Comment on Audio-Technica ATR-6550 Video Camera Condenser Shotgun Microphone by a reader

a reader — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:00:23 +0000

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

Decent performance--but unreliable, March 3, 2010

a reader (Western Washington) -

This review is from: Audio-Technica ATR-6550 Video Camera Condenser Shotgun Microphone (Electronics)

This is a good option if you want to use shotgun techniques with a consumer video camera. It gives sound that, after compression for youtube-level playback, would be difficult to distinguish from a professional mic. The sound is comparatively thin, it generates a small amount of internal noise, and its cabling is subject to indoor electrical noise, so it would knock a project out of contention for broadcast quality. But it pairs well with inexpensive camcorders and is an improvement over on-camera mics, especially if you don't mount it on the camera. It balances in a shock mount better than others in this price range.

Its cable is 3 feet long and coiled, and it's hardwired to the mic, so it picks up more electrical interference than a straight cable of the same effective reach. Simply having a jack would allow the option boosting the signal closer to the mic before a long cable run from a boom, for example.

But its biggest flaw is that it's unreliable. Mine had a bad internal wire connection and failed in its first hour of use. I've seen this happen with other sub-$100 shotguns. Audio-Technica has a generous lifetime warranty, and it's great to be able to trust the manufacturer to make it right; but one needs to be able to trust the gear itself. I wouldn't take this mic on a shoot without a backup, and then it's not such inexpensive option.

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Comment on Audio-Technica ATR-6550 Video Camera Condenser Shotgun Microphone by C. Spencer Reynolds "Business Coach - Book Af...

C. Spencer Reynolds "Business Coach - Book Af... — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:01:22 +0000

162 of 163 people found the following review helpful:

ATR6550 is the mic to buy for easy, good quality!, March 26, 2010

C. Spencer Reynolds "Business Coach - Book Af... (Farmington, UT USA) -

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This review is from: Audio-Technica ATR-6550 Video Camera Condenser Shotgun Microphone (Electronics)

Customer Video Review Length:: 3:10 Mins

The ATR6550 is a GREAT $50 mic. If you are going to interview others, or recording in a room with echo, USE THIS MIC! The video explains my reasons for choosing this one...

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Comment on Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 8x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full 1080p HD Video (Purple) by Matthew Prieto

Matthew Prieto — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:31:56 +0000

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Great Quality.. After a Few Tweeks, October 21, 2011

Matthew Prieto (CA USA) -

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This review is from: Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with Full 1080p HD Video (Blue) (Electronics)

I purchased this camera as a replacement to my Canon SD870IS which I was very happy with. The features that really caught my eye in the 310 HS were the 1080p video, 12MP images (I print LARGE poster size images at time), the large LCD screen and the new flash technology. I didn't want a touch screen as my interface so I went with the 310 instead of the 510.

So far I've taken about 500 pictures and 20 videos (some 1080p others 720p) with the camera both inside and outside. Overall I'm impressed with the quality of the pictures and VERY impressed with the video quality.

Pictures:

When you set the camera to Auto is does a decent job at detecting the environment. It adjusts the focus/lighting accordingly and takes a decent pictures. However, there are times where I have been taking a wide angle scenic view and it decides to focus on the nearby post and adjust to macro. When it does that, the picture comes out a little grainy and some areas are out of focus. You can't see it on the LCD screen, but when you get it out of the camera and on a larger screen it really shows.

The Image Stabilization (IS) feature is really nice to have. You can watch the camera adjusting for your minor movements that you may have when holding the camera up.

The camera offers the ability to take pictures in numerous formats. The default is 4:3, but it also offers, 16:9, 3:2 and 1:1. The manual mode allows you the ability to changing lighting, ISO, scene, white balance and compression. There are way too many modes to go into each one (26 in total).

If you want to take excellent quality pictures you need to be aware that Auto isn't always what you want and if you move that switch to manual and adjust the settings the pictures will come out looking sharp and cleaner.

Videos:

This is really where the camera shines. The videos are fantastic. You can shoot at 1080p and 720p or your standard 480i. The IS for the videos works flawlessly. My first "test" video was of my kids playing soccer and me purposely moving the camera to see how the IS works. After downloading it and viewing on a 60" TV there were times where we though the camera was placed on a tri-pod. The IS works that good. The video quality is top notch and most of the time I shoot at 720p.

The format of the videos are MOV. Previous Canon camera shot videos using AVI. This camera will not play back any AVI files (as I found out because I swapped memory sticks from my old to new).

Shooting a 1080p results in a video total bitrate of roughly 36K kbps at 23fps and audio bit rate of 1600kbps. Shooting at a 720p resulted in a video total bitrate of 25K kbps at 29fps and an audio of 1600kbps. Audio is 2 channel stereo at 48kHz for both.

However, there are two things that I wish this camera did different when it comes to video. The first is the size of the videos and it's compression. At 1080p a 1 minutes and 45 seconds the video is 460MB in size. Given this is a HD video, but other cameras and even some phones offer the same quality and time with less space. The second is the removal the "Time Lapse" feature of videos. With my SD870IS it had the ability to record a video as a time lapse that would allow it to take a pictures every 1 or 2 seconds and stitch it into a video. I utilized that feature on numerous occasions and it has been removed.

Battery:

The battery claims to take 250 pictures on a single charge. However, I was only able to get about 180 (no flash) on the first charge before I had to insert a different fully charged battery. Perhaps it will increase overtime and as the battery becomes more used. I would recommend that you invest in an additional battery and carry that with you as well. From the time that the "low battery indicator" came on I was able to get about 15 more pictures before it shutdown.

Design:

I was hoping that they would offer the Red of the 510HS on the 310HS but I can't fault them for that. The case is nice and well put together. It's very functional and the buttons are intuitive and properly placed. I have not had an incident where I pushed the wrong button.

Overall I'm really impressed with the camera and it's feature set. It will take some adjusting to make sure that Auto is taking the pictures that I want it to take, but overall it's a great camera.

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Comment on Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 8x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full 1080p HD Video (Purple) by Amy Matsuno

Amy Matsuno — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:49:42 +0000

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

Amazing camera, way better than the 300 HS!, October 15, 2011

Amy Matsuno (Martinez, CA USA) -

This review is from: Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 8x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full 1080p HD Video (Silver) (Electronics)

This camera is FANTASTIC. After losing my Canon SD 630 (which I've had since 2006), I was nervous I wouldn't find a camera that I would love again. I had originally ordered the 300 HS, and had it for about two weeks and then I found out that the 310 HS was coming out so I decided to return the 300 HS. I also wasn't really impressed with the 300 HS to begin with. There are tons of great reviews about it out there but I really was not satisfied (shutter lag was horrible -- even though I had an 8 GB memory card, pics came out blurry a lot, the exterior felt and looked cheap, and the quality of the pics were not that great considering that it was rated so highly). This is ridiculous considering that this camera was made 5 years after my old one, and I still thought my SD 630 was better quality! I took my chances on the 310 HS after reading all the specs and improvements and I am beyond glad that I made the switch to the 310 HS.

The color in the pictures looks beautiful, pictures look vivid, the video is superb (literally, the quality looks like a legitimate video camera), the exterior is sleek and glossy (unlike the scratchy cheap look of the 300 HS), the zoom is unreal (i went to a concert and was standing very far from the stage and was able to get a 32x zoom on the singer's face and the picture looks completely in focus and clear). Pictures so far on this camera often make it look even nicer than what the actual setting looked like. In addition, the 3 inch screen is a huge improvement over the smaller 300 HS screen. It's super vivid! I'm in love!

Quick note: You should totally buy the purple version of this camera! I got it after debating between the plain black or the metallic purple. It looks very modern and makes you stand out in the crowd. I like the glossy/shiny look of it and it doesn't make it look cheap (which was my biggest concern when I chose a color instead of silver or black).

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Comment on Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 8x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full 1080p HD Video (Purple) by Larry M. Chaney

Larry M. Chaney — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:18:21 +0000

68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

Very Impressed By the performance of this camera, October 3, 2011

Larry M. Chaney (San Diego, CA, US) -

This review is from: Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with Full 1080p HD Video (Blue) (Electronics)

I have to say that I was happy to be one of the first people to buy this camera. I actually received it before it was being officially marketed at BestBuy stores. I saw a lady online post that the camera was in storage at many of the stores but that you could request for them to retrieve a box from storage, and they couldn't refuse you to buy one for a sale. I didn't believe this tactic, but I went to a BestBuy, and tried it. The guy told me that they had it in the back, and came back with three boxes. I was so surprised, and he then asked me, "Which color would you like." Apparently, it wasn't being officially marketed, but you could still unofficially request one, and be allowed to purchase it. I felt lucky. I used it on my birthday (Sep 30). I freelance with photography as a serious side hobby, and I own a Canon 60D. I have been waiting impatiently for this Elph 310 HS to come out, due to it's new HS system, larger and 450,000 dot per square inch Hi Def (improved) 3" screen, and the improved 8x optical zoom (which btw worked wonders). When I started using this at Disneyland, my friends and I was amazed at the clarity of the pictures. Being a serious freelance photographer, it have a lot of high standards when it comes to picture quality, shutter speed, and overall satisfaction. I was blown away by this camera. Not only that, but I was also blown away by the 1080p quality of the video (wow). I didn't buy this for video, but geese-it's great! I will, however, advise anyone buying a camera with any megapixel count over 3mp, to buy a high speed memory card. Do not be fooled into buying a cheap memory card. The standard is this. Buy one with at least 20MBPS speeds or more (nothing less This will cost at least 39 bucks for a 16Gigabite card, and you will thank me later, trust me. Try buying that cheap, crappy, slow card, you will notice shutter lag, video will stop all of a sudden while you are recording video 10 seconds into recording, and you will notice that your camera is super slow when trying to take pictures. Remember that your memory card is like a computer processor. The slower it is, the slower your computer will perform calculations. Keep this in mind. Suggested brand and memory capacity? Sandisk 16GB (Class 6) SDHC card (it's labeled SANDISK ULTRA). Well worth your buy. I hope this helps you all. You will not be sorry with this camera. One thing I will say is that the menus took some getting used to, and the buttons are way too flat for my larger sized fingers, but most of you will probably not have the same trouble I do with that issue, lol. I'm 6.5'with large hands. Any questions, please feel free to reply. You won't believe the results of your new Canon Elph 310 HS. Trust me. I know what I am talking about. Ask away.....

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Comment on VideoSecu Dummy Fake Imitation Security Camera with Flashing Light LED Cost-effective Security CCTV Simulated Dome Camera 3PZ by eTech

eTech — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:44:18 +0000

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Good buy, September 25, 2011

eTech -

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This review is from: VideoSecu Dummy Fake Imitation Security Camera with Flashing Light LED Cost-effective Security CCTV Simulated Dome Camera 3PZ (Electronics)

We installed it at the same time as a real security system, so that probably contributed to its apparent authenticity. Camera looks real and I like the flashing red LED light. Everyone who visits thinks it is the real thing.

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Comment on VideoSecu Dummy Fake Imitation Security Camera with Flashing Light LED Cost-effective Security CCTV Simulated Dome Camera 3PZ by William

William — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:04:58 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Very realistic !, May 12, 2011

William -

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This review is from: VideoSecu Dummy Fake Imitation Security Camera with Flashing Light LED Cost-effective Security CCTV Simulated Dome Camera 3PZ (Electronics)

Install easily, and look realistic enough. Easy to install, the flashing red led, can be seen very clearly and is a good deterrent to any one with bad intent. for a price this item can't be beat.

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Comment on VideoSecu Dummy Fake Imitation Security Camera with Flashing Light LED Cost-effective Security CCTV Simulated Dome Camera 3PZ by Han

Han — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 01:36:14 +0000

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent product, May 10, 2011

Han -

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This review is from: VideoSecu Dummy Fake Imitation Security Camera with Flashing Light LED Cost-effective Security CCTV Simulated Dome Camera 3PZ (Electronics)

Everything was as expected. We installed it out of door. It looks so real that neighbors asked me when I got them. And the flashing light works very well. I have enjoyed used for outside and warning thieves away from our house. So great!

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Comment on Canon PowerShot SX150 IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD (Red) by Luna

Luna — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:19:24 +0000

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

Perfect Step-up., September 4, 2011

Luna -

This review is from: Canon PowerShot SX150 IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD (Red) (Electronics)

Just got the new Canon PowerShot SX150 delivered today. I am IN LOVE!!! I am looking forward to learning about all the manual settings that I can play with but even the preset settings are just amazing and super easy. I was taking pictures minutes after opening the box. If you are looking for a step up from a really basic point and shoot but not quite ready for a SLR I highly suggest this camera!

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