Reviews: Canon PowerShot A3000 IS sale: 170 USD OFF, Canon PowerShot A3000IS

Reviews: Canon PowerShot A3000 IS sale. 10 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD

Canon PowerShot A3000 IS Sale: $170.99 (68%) OFF at AMAZON.com

• 10.0 megapixels, 4x optical zoom, and built-in Optical Image Stabilizer
• Lithium-ion battery makes the camera lighter and offers an easy alternative to recharge
• New scene modes, including Super Vivid and Poster Effect; Smart Auto selects from 18 predefined shooting situations
• Large, bright 2.7-inch LCD
• Capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)

Canon PowerShot A3000IS Reviews:

By 35-year Technology Consumer "8-tracks to 802.11" (Mid Atlantic, USA)

Canon PowerShot A3000IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Electronics)

With the current Amazon sales price, you can't hardly go wrong with this point and shoot.

Depending on how you count, the A3000 IS offers up to 18 separate shooting modes, including video recording (.avi format). The 2.7 inch LED display screen is bright and viewable in even in direct sunlight. This camera is light and generally intuitive to operate. Still image quality was fine, and will provide enough resolution to print to 8" x 10" without loss of fidelity (the online description claims 13" x 9", but I could not test that large with my printer). Video is standard definition, and when used indoor, you can expect significant noise/graininess in the .avi output files. This still may be preferable to carrying a second video capture device if video is not your primary interest.

I did not install the included utility software that came with camera. Two separate Windows 7 machines (a latptop and desktop) immediately recognized it, and I was able to transfer and delete images and videos without removing the SD card. The user guide indicates that video transfer, metadata and image orientation can all experience difficulty if the Canon software isn't used, but I experienced none of these.

I didn't discover any show-stopping issues with this camera, and at the current discounted price, it's an excellent value. Why 4 stars? Three main reasons:
(1) No included user guide. You must either copy this (.pdf file) from the utility CD or download from Canon's site. Sorry: a printed full user guide should ship with the camera. And, the .pdf version should have included color (present only to differentiate labels for the two models of camera the guide is written for).
(2) No SD memory card included. I'm lucky to have some extras around. If you gave this as a gift to somebody without one...the joy would be delayed until the next trip to a brick and mortar store. Even if it were a low capacity one, a memory card should have shipped with camera.
(3) Proprietary form factor battery charger. Going on the road? Make sure you take it with you. While I'm sure this was a choice made to accommodate the camera's thin profile, the use of CRV or AA batteries would have been more user-friendly. The user manual indicates it will take approximately 230 pictures between charges. If you're taking a lot...that's not going to get through many shooting sessions. Aftermarket batteries are available on Amazon for less than 10 bucks; you might want to consider buying one or two and keeping them charged.

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By H. kim "newamazonfan" (nyc, usa)

Canon PowerShot A3000IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Electronics)

Got the camera one week ago and already had one problem. After taking about 200 pics (for work indoors), the camera stopped working. The screen went white and could not take any more pics. Took out the battery and hoped this would reset the camera but nothing. Was on the way home to return the camera and decided to try one more time to see if it works. It started up and for the past 4 days, no problems. I am debating whether to return or not so I am keeping the box and all packaging in case it happens again. The pics don't look great on the camera screen but when I downloaded them onto my computer, the pics were fine. I am not a professional and for $150, the quality of the pics are more than good enough. Praying the problem was a one time glitch.... If it does break down, I will definitely let everyone know so they will be aware of this issue.

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By Ricky

Review: Canon PowerShot A3000IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Electronics)

This ultra light weight digital camera has anything you would ever want for every day digital photography. It is light-weight,slim, has features that other digital camera's do not have such as auto red eye correction when taking pictures.

The camera has an amazing macro-focus so than digital pictures look more professional, an addition to that the camera is pretty easy to use, like all cameras, it comes with a usb, strap, and sometimes with a bag.

I have been through at least 4 cameras. This would have to be the best through them all. In order I went through kodak,sony, cannon, and this is the camera I am on. If you have red eye in all of your pictures like I do. I would recommend this camera for you since it corrects it once you have taken the picture.

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By HappyME "Hold fast that which is good... (Maine USA)

Canon PowerShot A3000IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Electronics)

Okay for the price... This is a rather nice little point-and-shoot and an decent value. BUT! There just is no excuse for not having a view finder. I know the low end p&s cameras don't any more but they should. I found I could adjust to shooting indoors and in high definition settings. But outdoors with a nondescript background, I can't find my subject. It's hit or miss on getting those shots and I hate that.

I do like the image stabilization and lithium battery. My previous camera for this application took super shots and had excellent image stabilization. But it was an "A" model that required AA batteries. Not only was it heavy but it was constantly "hungry".

I would keep this except that even being a good deal, it's money I feel I've wasted. If I can't use the camera for all-around casual work, it's just not a bargain at all.

If, at some point, I can afford a small Canon camera that does have a view finder, I'll certainly take a close look. Meanwhile, I'll stick with my A570 and lesson learned.

Canon PowerShot A3000 IS Sale: $170.99 (68%) OFF at AMAZON.com

Seagate Expansion 640 GB ST906404EXA101-RK Reviews, Sale: 25 USD OFF, Portable External Hard Drive

Seagate Expansion 640 GB ST906404EXA101-RK Reviews, Sale: 25 USD OFF, Portable External Hard Drive

Seagate Expansion 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST906404EXA101-RK
by Seagate
You Save: $24.04 (23%)

• The drive is powered from the USB cable, so there is no need for an external power supply.
• Plus, it is automatically recognized by Window operating system, so there is no software to install and nothing to configure.
• Saving files is easy too, just drag-and-drop.It's not just easy to use, but it's fast and energy efficient too.

REVIEWS:

The simple, no-frills drive everyone is looking for (but bulky), By Orrie "Orrie" (Pennsylvania) Seagate Expansion 750 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST907504EXA101-RK (Electronics) Pros: * Fast * Easy to use (plug it in, let Windows do its thing, go to town) * No extraneous software, security partition nonsense, etc. * Nice, tiny cable Cons: * Awful bulky, won't fit in most cases * No included backup software (that's okay, there are plenty of freeware options) * Fingerprint magnet Pretty good, overall. The important features (useability, reliability, performance) are spot-on; everything else is minor.

Yes, I'm using this with both Macs AND PC's,
By Speedway Girl "Speedway Girl" (Upstate New York, USA)
Seagate Expansion 750 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST907504EXA101-RK (Electronics)
Out of the box, no, I could not use this drive with my Mac. The drive is formatted in NTFS. Without installing additional software on your Mac, it won't write to NTFS. No worries. The afternoon I received it, I used the Seagate Disc Wizard (available on their website) to reformat the drive in FAT32 to be able to read and write with both OS's AND be visible on my PS3, WD Live Plus HD and Seagate Free Agent Theater HD. Not a problem since.

That said, it is SOOO nice to have a 750GB drive that does not require a power cable. I have gone through three (two Lacie and one Seagate) drives that were 3.5" drives that required external power. They are just too fragile for my crazy home, I guess.

So far this drive seems wonderful!


Good, but customer service sucks, By Dave (Boston, Ma)
Seagate Expansion 250 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST902504EXA101-RK
I got the 250 GB version for music and photos (you know, the important stuff in life). I plugged it in and the little green light showing it was running came on. I went to find the device but it wasn't there. I had this problem before with an ipod and knew all I needed to do was change the drive to something that wasn't being used but for the life of me, couldn't remember how! So I went to the website to see if I could find out how to change it. Of course, no. And of course there was no owner's manual so I then went about trying to find a number to contact customer service. It took me over 20 minutes (!!!!) to find and fill out a form before I could finally get a phone number to them. Once on the phone they were helpful and courteous, but for it to take such a longtime to get to a human being was awful! If you have this problem, here's how to fix it without wanting to toss your computer through a window (I have Windows XP Professional, may be different if you're using a different operating system):

Right click on "My Computer"
Select "Manage"
Select "Disk Management"
Change the drive to something not being used and it should show up

Outside of the awful website and lack of an owner's manual, the product itself has been operating fine and I have no complaints.


Nice drive,
By tideguy
Seagate Expansion 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST905004EXA101-RK (Electronics)
Just what I wanted: plug & play, no hassles.

Came ready to use on my xp systems. Quiet, cool, and much faster than I expected. I also have an older drive in a Vantec enclosure which works well, but this thing easily leaves it in the dust. Coulda paid a little more & gotten more capacity, but this has a 2yr warranty vs 1yr on higher capacity drives. I know Seagate makes quality drives and will stand behind its warranty, and for the forseeable future this is all I'll really need.

Has a small green LED that lights on drive activity, goes out when USB is unplugged. Since Seagate has incorporated a nice power management scheme, I just leave the power connected while it sleeps. When I plug the USB cable in to something, it wakes up in a few seconds and is ready to transfer files.

Only reason I don't give this top rating is, the connectors (usb and power) are cheap and I had a little trouble getting them inserted properly in the beginning. But this is a minor disadvantage to a nice drive. I'm happy with my purchase.


Excellent product for such a low price, December 3, 2010
By penguin
Seagate Expansion 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST906404EXA101-RK (Personal Computers)
Firstly, I purchased it to back up my research files.

Advantages: Easy to install initial software, very cool design, low price

Disadvantages: Larger than western digital models

After purchasing it, I noticed same deal for WD. I thought returning it back and buying WD, however after seeing the design I really liked it. Compared to standard rectangle design of WD, it really beats WD with its cool design.

I definitely recommend it.


Reliable, August 13, 2010
By M.G. \
Seagate Expansion 750 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST907504EXA101-RK (Electronics)
I've used this drive before, and so far it has been reliable (I'm using a 9 year-old computer, with WinXP). So far it's been great for my primary use of it, which is simple drag-n-drop data backup. It's certainly better than the 1TB+ drives I've used-- seemingly regardless of the manufacturer, very high capacity drives seem to be less reliable overall.

I ordered this one drive (in stock) with one other very common item (also in stock). Amazon has estimated that it will take a week to send out (4 days so far). This possibility of poor service is something one might want to take into consideration if you're in an emergency situation and need extra capacity quickly. This poor service on Amazon's part did not figure into my starred review; I ranked it purely on the basis of previous experience with the drive's performance.


My First External Hard Drive, September 18, 2010
By jodett - Seagate Expansion 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST905004EXA101-RK (Electronics)
I did quite a bit of research before purchasing the Seagate Expansion 500. Ultimately, I trusted Seagate brand the most and had an idea of necessary storage space necessary and price I was willing to spend. This item fit my criteria best.

When I received the product, I was impressed by how small it is. I really hoped it would simple to install and intuitive to use, as this is my first external hard drive. In my mind, I envisioned connecting the Expansion to my computer, being prompted by new hardware on my desktop, easy install and then drag-and-drop of files. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. First, I was prompted to register the product, which was fine. Then, I didn't know what to do next - there were no instructions or prompts. I pulled up iTunes to begin selecting files to drop into the Expansion, but there was no where to drag them to. It wasn't easy to figure out by any means. Alas, I played around a bit and searched for instructions online and figured it out. Once I knew where to select files and where to find the right place to drag files I was set. It's pretty simple now and the Expansion is perfectly portable.

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase and the product. I'd definitely recommend it, though I'd hope Seagate could improve the installation and set-up process.