tkod
tkod's Stats
- Review Count9
- Helpfulness Votes32
- First ReviewJanuary 1, 2015
- Last ReviewJuly 23, 2016
- Featured Reviews0
- Average Rating4.4
Reviews Comments
- Review Comment Count2
- Helpfulness Votes11
- First Review CommentSeptember 1, 2015
- Last Review CommentJune 2, 2016
- Featured Review Comments0
Questions
- Question Count0
- Helpfulness Votes0
- First QuestionNone
- Last QuestionNone
- Featured Questions0
- Answer Count8
- Helpfulness Votes3
- First AnswerJanuary 1, 2015
- Last AnswerJuly 18, 2016
- Featured Answers0
- Best Answers1
tkod's Reviews
LapGear - Smart-e Memory Foam Lap Desk for 15.6" Laptop or Tablet - Silver
This LapGear Smart-e Lap Desk is the ideal companion for those who switch back-and-forth between working and entertainment. Prop your 11-Inch tablet into the media slot for hands-free use at an optimal screen viewing angle or use the work surface for your 15-Inch laptop. This Smart-e® Lap Desk’s memory foam lap pad is designed with an anti-tipping shape for comfort and piece of mind in your lap. The foam-padded wrist rest is an ergonomic feature that provides comfort while typing or completing any task on the surface. When you’re ready to head out, use the reinforced carrying handle to take this lap desk with you anywhere.
Simple product, performs the task
Customer Rating
4.0
Granted there's not too much to expect from a product titled, lap desk but i'll try and be thorough with the review. So first off, i don't often use this on my lap. I actually bought it initially because i use my laptop in bed quite a bit and having a laptop lay on a soft comforter is like a laptop's nightmare. Laptops need to breathe, even though some have exhaust vents on top by the screen, or on back, the intake vents are almost always on the bottom. Guess what happens when you place your powerful new ~$1000 laptop on a soft bed.. no, not that you dirty person! I joke, your laptop will not be able to breathe any intake it will pull through all its sensitive internals will be dust and linen fibers and whatever else- hair in my case :/ This if you did not know, is very bad for laptop, laptop not like heat and dust, and worse off, now laptop gets angry and hot starts slowing down so as not to overheat, now you're wondering why your relatively new laptop is so slow- this can most certainly cause that (not always duh).
To the product, so this product has a nice hard, flat surface perfect for allowing your laptop to get the cool, clean air it deserves, laptop happy, laptop user happy. So the surface of the lap desk looks like a silver carbon fiber weave, obviously it isn't but it's textured and it seems real durable actually, I've had no issues with cracks or scratches or anything though i'm not rough housing the thing so ymmv. The built in wrist rest is cushy and does a good job though my complaint would be that it picks up dust and stuff as it's porous, though thankfully this won't affect your laptop, it just looks bad and i'm particular to these kind of things.
My biggest con, and the reason i did not rate this 5 stars is that the surface while textured, is not grippy. Every time i want to put it on my lap and lean it away a bit my laptop slips off (away from the wrist rest). I don't like this and it seems like a major design flaw as your lap is not always a perfectly flat surface, most of the time it won't be an issue-until it is. Now for me, this only warrants one star removal because as i said at the beginning, i don't use this on my lap very often, i use it more as a stand to place on the bed as i sit in front Indian style or however in front of it. Aside from that, the bottom is also soft but no so soft as to compress under the weight of the laptop which is a good thing. The lap desk has a handle on the rear of it though even while using this at the store carrying it to the register i felt rather doofy, it is light though which is good for the traveler (if you'd bring this traveling i'm not real sure why).
Also a note, there is a slot on the top toward the back for sliding in tablets and this is actually what is shown on the package material though personally i don't see why you would buy such a large product to slide a <10" tablet in as there are much more compact options out there, however for those interested i tried it with my Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4" and it is solid/reliable enough, in the landscape orientation-which if i were to ever use this i don't imagine using portrait- the bottom of the screen is cut off because of the depth of the slot. I specified the name of the tablet so you can see the thickness of the side bezel and think how your tablet would fit accordingly.
Good luck if you got through all that, i see no point in writing 3 word or 2 sentence reviews as their are plenty of people who already do that. I try to write the review i would appreciate reading were i in the market for the product and had to spend my hard earned money.
To the product, so this product has a nice hard, flat surface perfect for allowing your laptop to get the cool, clean air it deserves, laptop happy, laptop user happy. So the surface of the lap desk looks like a silver carbon fiber weave, obviously it isn't but it's textured and it seems real durable actually, I've had no issues with cracks or scratches or anything though i'm not rough housing the thing so ymmv. The built in wrist rest is cushy and does a good job though my complaint would be that it picks up dust and stuff as it's porous, though thankfully this won't affect your laptop, it just looks bad and i'm particular to these kind of things.
My biggest con, and the reason i did not rate this 5 stars is that the surface while textured, is not grippy. Every time i want to put it on my lap and lean it away a bit my laptop slips off (away from the wrist rest). I don't like this and it seems like a major design flaw as your lap is not always a perfectly flat surface, most of the time it won't be an issue-until it is. Now for me, this only warrants one star removal because as i said at the beginning, i don't use this on my lap very often, i use it more as a stand to place on the bed as i sit in front Indian style or however in front of it. Aside from that, the bottom is also soft but no so soft as to compress under the weight of the laptop which is a good thing. The lap desk has a handle on the rear of it though even while using this at the store carrying it to the register i felt rather doofy, it is light though which is good for the traveler (if you'd bring this traveling i'm not real sure why).
Also a note, there is a slot on the top toward the back for sliding in tablets and this is actually what is shown on the package material though personally i don't see why you would buy such a large product to slide a <10" tablet in as there are much more compact options out there, however for those interested i tried it with my Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4" and it is solid/reliable enough, in the landscape orientation-which if i were to ever use this i don't imagine using portrait- the bottom of the screen is cut off because of the depth of the slot. I specified the name of the tablet so you can see the thickness of the side bezel and think how your tablet would fit accordingly.
Good luck if you got through all that, i see no point in writing 3 word or 2 sentence reviews as their are plenty of people who already do that. I try to write the review i would appreciate reading were i in the market for the product and had to spend my hard earned money.
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 3464057955
+8points
8out of 8found this review helpful.
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NETGEAR - AC1200 Dual-Band WiFi USB 3.0 Adapter - Black
The NETGEAR AC1200 WiFi USB 3.0 Adapter with high-gain antennas provides 3x faster access than USB 2.0. Wirelessly connect your notebook or desktop computer to an 11ac network for applications such as lag-free, multiple HD streams throughout your home.
Matches my old in-PC Wifi, Wireless N review
Customer Rating
5.0
I'll start this from the beginning and try and keep it short. I originally had a PCI E WiFi card (that means it plugs in INSIDE the computer) which worked great, never a problem no dropped connections. Well why am i using a USB adapter then? Well for some reason the slot on my motherboard, the only one i could use without effecting anything else (my graphics card mainly) went dead out of no where. So on to USB WiFi adapters which i had not used previously in many many years as they were not nearly as reliable or fast back then.
USB WiFi adapters: I bought a Netgear N300, it was one of the cheapest if not the cheapest and it had wireless N which is the fastest band my router supported anyway. Long story short every once in a while it would drop my WiFi connection COMPLETELY, sometimes it would get it back sometimes i would have to literally unplug it and plug it back in. Ridiculous for a modern product to be so terrible at doing one job. For $30, i guess i got burned.
*This product. So second time around, i got high end i want all the bells and whistles not necessarily for speed (the N300 was fine speed wise) but for connection reliability. I don't want to deal with dropped connections when my router is a floor below me and literally right below my desktop, in a house mind you, not a concrete bunker. Well, it cost me a bit more but here a little less than a month later i have not had 1 dropped connection. My desktop is on essentially 24/7 as i am on and off it constantly and i am a heavy data user, something in the neighborhood of 250 Gigs a month, seriously. My signal strength is always maxed, my speeds are always great, and my connection is steady. That's all i can ask for. A tip for good connection is to use the included USB 3 cable to keep the adapter away from your computer and preferably away from any other electronics that could cause interference, that is why it's included.
*I am using this on wireless N band not AC so keep that in mind in your decision, though I've looked up some reviews after the fact and it compares quite well with it's rivals in most things even on AC.
*I am using this on wireless N band not AC so keep that in mind in your decision, though I've looked up some reviews after the fact and it compares quite well with it's rivals in most things even on AC.
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 3464057955
+3points
5out of 7found this review helpful.
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Motorola - Moto X Pure 4G with 16GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Black
Moto X Pure Unlocked Cell Phone: Surf the Web, capture crystal-clear photos and videos and run your favorite apps with this cell phone, which offers a brilliant 5.7" display made of Gorilla Glass for durability and rapid 4G LTE speed. A water-repellant coating guards against damage.
Excellent value for a wonderful device in 2016
Customer Rating
5.0
I bought this phone a few days ago for around $300 and i love it. I very much like the Moto actions- wrist twist for camera is handy, the flashlight chop took me a while to master but is great. I thought i would miss the knock to wake from my previous phone, the LG G2, but being able to wave my hand over the phone to wake it is just as good- though i miss being able to turn the display off with a double knock but not too big a deal. I appreciate the Attentive Display which is not a feature bespoke to this phone but with its 3 sensors works very well here. The big thing this phone is missing-if i can say anything, for the year 2016, would be a fingerprint reader which for me makes no difference but for some, might.
My main criteria with a happy phone upgrade is that it does everything my old phone did but as good or better- never worse, and i can say this phone has fit the bill for me. I bought it new with Android Marshmallow already on it which was an awesome surprise. I haven't had any issues getting through the day with it (battery wise) nor does it get warm from menial tasks such as web browsing - which drove me nuts on the G2. Also, even when the battery gets run down the phone charges FAST fastest on any device i've owned so far, Motorola says 15 minute charge gets you 10 hours and i wouldn't go that far but it will give you a significant % of battery charge- it works better the lesser battery you have left for instance if you're down to 15% and charge for 15 mins you will at least double that and i'm pretty sure even more but i haven't formally tested it and don't want to over quote it. It's VERY fast though.
My main criteria with a happy phone upgrade is that it does everything my old phone did but as good or better- never worse, and i can say this phone has fit the bill for me. I bought it new with Android Marshmallow already on it which was an awesome surprise. I haven't had any issues getting through the day with it (battery wise) nor does it get warm from menial tasks such as web browsing - which drove me nuts on the G2. Also, even when the battery gets run down the phone charges FAST fastest on any device i've owned so far, Motorola says 15 minute charge gets you 10 hours and i wouldn't go that far but it will give you a significant % of battery charge- it works better the lesser battery you have left for instance if you're down to 15% and charge for 15 mins you will at least double that and i'm pretty sure even more but i haven't formally tested it and don't want to over quote it. It's VERY fast though.
The Micro SD card slot- is fantastic! I was able to get the 16 GB version of the phone- which these days would be a usability nightmare (with android itself @ 6 GB) and have been able to put all my media and the apps i want on the SD card keeping the phone light and fast whilst storing everything i need/want and saving me $$ on admittedly pricey upgraded versions of the phone with higher capacity storage.
The Camera- so far, excellent. I am a DSLR user for main photography however i use my cell camera for work as well as when i don't have my main camera, so it is important to me. This will not replace a standalone camera however in day light i have been quite impressed with the results so far. It shoots 4k which my DSLR won't even do and shoots 720p Slow Mo- awesome. In low light the phone struggles but the flash does an ample job. I'm not big on selfies but from what little i've used it, it seems sufficient if not better than average as it includes a flash.
This phone includes Bluetooth 4.1 LE, NFC, Wireless AC with MIMO all the good stuff you want for wireless connections. The phone includes the more battery friendly 'version' of the snap dragon 810, the 808. It has 2 fast cores for when you need them and 4 lower power slower cores for battery preservation. I have never, using anything, been left wanting for more processing power. It includes 3GB of ram which is an extra Gigabyte more than my G2, which may not sound like a lot but is 50% more, and it IS noticeable! Where on my G2 if i had a bunch of apps opened and went to switch to one of them (the browser was a big offender here) it would have to completely reload the app. On this phone i have yet to wait for an app to load when switching to it- YES!! these are the things that bring satisfaction in a phone purchase. It's funny but with all the reviews out there on cell phones, so many do not mention the quality of phone calls. I guess that is just a sign of the times. I haven't made many but i haven't had any complaints from who i spoke to nor have i had any issue with hearing anyone, or dropped calls- that's about all i can say on that!
Software! It is basically plain Jane vanilla android and that is a GREAT thing!!! None of the bloat and space hogging resource wasting apps that come with phones these days. Just all the apps you need, a few very handy Motorola apps and that is all. This is the first phone i've bought in a very long time where i did not need to spend ANY time deleting spam apps.
Display- I can be pretty picky with displays, i tend to notice black light bleed, and dark colors and shades either being boosted and washed out, or dark and lacking detail. The screen here is a 5.7" 1440p display. It is an IPS screen so it isn't immune to the inherent problems with this technology, however i have not seen black light bleed and colors have been lovely and vibrant to my eye. AMOLED will almost certainly be better with contrast and most of the time color, BUT they will not get as bright and there are a few other trade offs including the big one- price. Indoors i have rarely raised my screen brightness above maybe 25%..at 100% indoors the screen is blinding and outside in the Summer sun i can clearly see the screen.
Size and handling- For a phone that has a screen half an inch larger than my last phone i did not notice a big difference in usability, oddly enough. The phone has a curved shape on the back from side to side as well as a gradual thickening from the bottom to the top on the back. This shape has proven to be easy to handle and i haven't had any additional problems from the increase in screen size. I would suggest however, for those not used to 5" + screens to go to the store and try them first.
So in the end, this phone came out almost a year ago and came down in price and has given me what i need and even a little more. It even included a clear, plastic 'bumper case' as an intermediary protection before you are able to obtain a proper case (if you plan to). This is not a big deal or a big cost to the company but i have literally dropped a brand new phone and damaged it because i had ordered a case online which had not arrived on day 1. I have heard of people cracking their screens on this phone from drops, which isn't unheard of for full front glass featuring phones but should be noted, and is why i am searching for a case and screen protector now. The phone does have Gorilla Glass 3 which from my experience does an EXCELLENT job with scratches but still can crack if not properly protected. So, is this the fastest phone on the market? No. Will all but the most powerest of power users and tech talking reviewers notice? Probably not- and i'm all about technology and speed, though i'm not a big phone gamer so i can't speak to that aspect and you will have to look elsewhere. There are a good amount of phones in this price range, many with similar features, some with better components here and there, but for the whole package, the looks, the feel, the experience, ALL of it, i have NO regret on this purchase.. Now i'm sure i missed something here but i tried to cover what i remember, what i like and don't, from a users perspective anyway and hope i was thorough enough and helpful. Good luck and have fun!
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 3464057955
+3points
3out of 3found this review helpful.
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Toshiba - Satellite Radius 2-in-1 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 750GB Hard Drive - Brushed Metal
Toshiba Satellite Radius Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: Stay productive with this touch-screen laptop, which offers Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity for syncing devices and a 750GB hard drive and media card reader for storing and transferring files. An HDMI output with 4K Ultra HD capability allows you to view movies and presentations on the big screen.
beautiful laptop held back by a slow hard drive
Customer Rating
4.0
Well i've had this laptop for a few days so i can't speak to its long term durability but for now I am quite satisfied.
CREDENTIALS. I will first say that this is my first purchase of a laptop since a Lenovo S10 Netbook in something like '06-'07 back in the Circuit City days. I am however very knowledgeable with computers and their inner hardware. I am primarily a desktop user of which i have a self built gaming rig currently. So with my credibility check out of the way, i want to say i was very impressed with the laptop.
THE HARD DRIVE. I knew right away from the start up time and opening various things the laptop as a whole was being extremely limited by it's hard drive. So after doing some quick research online this laptop seems to harbor one of the slowest disk drives of any of its comparable rivals. So me being the computer builder i am i went searching for some guides and some idea of how hard/easy/possible it would be to replace the hard drive. I've opened some laptops of friends and family to help them install ram or SSD's in the past and i already knew some can be a nightmare. I am used to desktops- just opening a panel and having loads of room to work and for the most part-easy plug and play, no screws even! Laptops however are a whole 'nother bag, they used to come with easy access doors that would open directly over the part you would want to replace. This laptop doesn't have that BUT luckily it is not that difficult, it is 10 screws on the bottom and the bottom cover comes off and everything is accessible- awesome. SO if you have a little knowledge and feel comfortable enough with doing this yourself i would highly recommend changing your drive to an SSD. I now can boot up from off in about 25 seconds or so with the 850 EVO i put in, and absolutely everything opens and runs without lag as fast as my desktop. I haven't yet run any heavy CPU programs, photo editors, etc. but that will obviously be slower than a desktop. Browsing with 18 windows in Chrome open currently is no different than having 1 open. The laptop has not got very hot since i switched out the hard drive which is a nice plus and also the battery life has certainly gone up, I have been keeping the screen on low brightness and i can say with certainty with web browsing and YouTube videos i am getting 7+ hours of battery life, i set a custom power profile for mostly battery optimization. There ARE a lot of bloatware programs installed from the factory which is a shame when you spend so much money on a device but at least they are removable. Plus is, there is year subscription to McAfee Antivirus which i was even (legally) able to put on my desktop as well!
THE KEYBOARD is back lit which was an absolute must for me as i am often in dark rooms or areas and even in regular lit rooms it helps typing- there IS back light bleed around the keys but it does not detract from the effectiveness of having the back light. It is spacious and easy to type on even coming from a full size desktop keyboard! And it has the number pad on the side!! I absolutely hate using a keyboard without a number pad! Even though i don't use it much, when i need it, it makes keying in numbers quick and easy- this may be a small feature to some but to me the little things are what makes something excellent as opposed to good.
THE SCREEN is great! The color accuracy as measured by the big laptop reviewing websites (such as laptopmag) is excellent, hovering around 100% sRGB coverage and low Delta-E score, which when looking at and editing photos is a huge plus and another reason i chose this laptop. The screen has some back light bleed at the top of the screen in 2 specific areas and only seen on a completely black background at above about 70% brightness- this isn't specific to this screen or this laptop, however it is very often a side effect of IPS panels and to me it isn't an issue. It only shows up at all when there is complete black at the top inch or so of the screen. If you are using this laptop mostly for watching movies that will have black bars on top and bottom however this might be a deal breaker, otherwise it will most certainly never be an issue. Having the touchscreen and using the laptop in tent mode or tablet mode is awesome. The screen is absolutely massive when you use it as a tablet and it is the coolest thing ever. Browsing photos or even the web is absolutely pleasure! Note that i tried using a regular phone/tablet stylus on the screen and it doesn't work well at all, it seems to be optimized for the finger (which it does extremely well) but i'll be looking to see if there is a stylus or pen available which i can use for more delicate scenarios- such as the sliders in light room!
THE TOUCHPAD has been great, normally i am almost immediately attaching a mouse to use laptops because i can't stand touch pads but with this it will register gestures for scrolling and all the other windows 10 gestures which is awesome and makes navigating the OS simple and pleasurable. Pinch to zoom is even possible ON the track pad! There aren't too many track pad gestures on Windows 10 but the ones that are there are totally useful!! so learn them they will make your experience with the laptop that much better!
Final thoughts: At the price this laptop is going for now; i paid around $700 out the door- it is an absolute awesome deal for what you get, and i am all about value. Great battery life, robust processor, clear and accurate screen, great big full keyboard, accurate gesture ready track pad, no slowdowns with an SSD installed. The specs here are quite good as a whole package, 2.2Ghz base speed-2.7Ghz is only boost speed with good cooling it'll stay there, but with laptops there are thermal constraints so it will fluctuate between 2.2 and 2.7Ghz with intensive tasks. For a dual core 4 thread CPU 2.2Ghz may not seem good at all, but broadwell has great IPC so every tick of that Ghz does more work then a similar or even higher clock-Ghz- AMD processor, So don't be turned off by this. I haven't had anything installed to test graphics but videos and movies have played fine, low end games will run i'm sure but mid to high end games will most likely be unplayable- this should be expected and is not a con to the laptop, gaming laptops are double+ the price and have dedicated graphic chips. So far i think i covered everything i have discovered with the laptop and i like to be thorough and helpful as possible. I only review the very bad, and the very good and this most certainly falls in the latter.
*If you buy this laptop and don't plan on switching out the hard drive you may very well be disappointed with the speed and this is really unfortunate because that is not necessarily a fault with the laptop but with the hard drive. I don't know why manufacturers handicap their laptops with such slow drives, SSD's certainly cost more but there are faster disk drives available also, the original installed hard drive is extremely slow even for hard drive standards, but if you want to unleash the full potential INSTALL AN SSD. I personally put in a 500GB drive because i tend to use a lot of data storage, you could always get a smaller drive if need be, a 120GB SSD at Best Buy can be bought for ~$70 and factored into the cost of this laptop you'd still be getting a deal, and as i said accessing the innards is quite easy but just look online to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into, if you're uncomfortable have Geek Squad do it or something. I sincerely hope there comes a time where SSD's are standard across the range of laptops as they make such a difference in performance but obviously there is still a price premium for them and until people say their ok with a low capacity solid state drive over a large capacity hard drive, performance enthusiasts will be switching them out ourselves. Unfortunately the laymen computer buyer looks for the highest GB on the spec tag even when they are sacrificing performance for it, but that is another topic for another forum.
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 3464057955
+6points
6out of 6found this review helpful.
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Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Standard Lens: Whether you're a beginner or professional, you'll love this compact, lightweight lens from Nikon. The normal angle of view captures approximately what the human eye sees, making it a great all-around lens. Plus, the f/1.8 maximum aperture is ideal for creating softly blurred backgrounds and shooting in low light.
Great Second Lens for the DX Series
Customer Rating
4.0
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I bought this lens for my D3200 being a secondary lens to the kit 18-55. It's full frame equivalent length is something like 52mm i believe so in some ways it falls into the "nifty fifty" category you hear about. It's pretty great for street photography where you are close to people but you also don't have to put the lens in their face. I also use it for low light shooting because it is considerably faster and lets a few stops more of light into the camera than the at best, f/3.5 18-55 lens.
Also the bokeh is nice for the money at f/1.8 or even up to f/2.5 or so depending on the situation. The sharpness is considerably better!! This lens on the D3200 body received a score of 24 on DXOmark- the website compared to 12 for the 18-55 lens and in general just seems to get more out of the scene and more out of the camera and i'm sure would do better on higher end DX body's. The one negative which to me is pretty big is the chromatic abberation. My goodness if there is something a bird, a tree branch, a railing on a light bright background there will almost certainly be a noticeable purple fringe around it. I shoot raw so i'm not sure if when shooting JPEG the camera software automatically compensates for it i think it is supposed to but i can't speak to that. I am usually able to correct the issue in post processing in Lightroom but it's still quite annoying and i pretty much just try to avoid putting lines or shapes on any sort of bright background. As big of an issue this is to me it is not a deal breaker, the lens is well made even if its plastic. It has a metal mount, its very compact like half or less the size of the 18-55 and still has the same size filter mount (52mm). Night shots and low lit shots are fantastic, sharp, lots of detail even at fairly high ISO's. So yes CA is annoying and this lens does have an issue with this in a lot of situations and i removed a star solely because of this, but it also does a lot right and for the price literally, cannot be beat.
I've included a shot of a life guard chair in front of a setting sun where the Chromatic Aberration can be seen on the horizontal wood slats of the chair. This image has been cropped into this very specific area only to show the CA. The second image is after processing to remove the fringing (just to be fair to the lens and review) again this is a very cropped portion of the full image only for demonstration and you can see almost all the CA distortion is gone and at full size uncropped the picture is great.
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 3464057955
0points
4out of 8found this review helpful.
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Nikon - D3200 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens - Black
Nikon D3200 DSLR Camera with 18–55mm VR Lens: Ultra quiet and powerful, great for taking candid photos. Or shoot full 1080p HD videos at up to 30 fps. Preprogrammed with auto options or choose your own settings to customize your shot, this compact camera can go anywhere with you.Memory card sold separately.
Fantastic Camera for beginner/affordable Secondary
Customer Rating
5.0
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I have been shooting with this camera for about 2 months and i have basically learned on it with help of some online videos and magazine articles etc. to gain knowledge on fundamentals. In other words, i am not a pro! However for me, going from shooting pictures on camera phones since they started putting cameras in phones, to a short stint with a Panasonic bridge camera (which was also very good for it's purpose), to finally going to the big boy DSLR has been great.
This camera has the biggest sensor you can buy for any new camera (APS-C or DX) under $1200 or so, those sensors being FX for Nikon, or "full frame". It captures awesome pictures even in dim light and it has a high Mega Pixel count which is great for printing large photos or for me, cropping into photos to essentially zoom into the picture and it will STILL be clear, even doing this (to a point)! I have used ISO 1600 and even 3200 and there is noise, of course as there would be with almost any camera but it is not obnoxious and is well controlled. I'll even upload a picture taken with ISO 3200 just to show this rather extreme range (most shots will not need to be taken over ISO 800, unless there is very little light and/or you want to shoot at high aperture (f-stops).
I have both the kit lens and the 35mm DX f/1.8 AF-S G which i also bought a best buy, it is one of the most affordable DX lenses and also is much faster than the kit lens, f/1.8 compared to the lowest-f/3.5 for the 18-55 Kit lens which is a considerable difference in available light and of course, background blur bokehhh :) !
I have both the kit lens and the 35mm DX f/1.8 AF-S G which i also bought a best buy, it is one of the most affordable DX lenses and also is much faster than the kit lens, f/1.8 compared to the lowest-f/3.5 for the 18-55 Kit lens which is a considerable difference in available light and of course, background blur bokehhh :) !
This camera is relatively basic, there's no built in WIFI, the LCD screen does not flip or swivel but is sharp, the physical camera body does not have image stabilization- if you need it-its important on long telephoto lenses and long shutter speeds-slower than 1/60s or so- the LENS will have to have it BUILT IN (It's called Vibration Reduction VR, on Nikon's) the kit lens will have VR, there are "only" 11 auto focus points- i personally haven't had a issue with this but if you photograph sports or take pictures with a lot of movement in your scene this may be an issue and you will have to buy a higher end body, and really any other gripe would be nit picking and even still this camera is amazing for its price point and i tried to make this review easy to understand, but put as much information as possible. If you have any issue understanding just look up the terms online or watch some videos as i have!
The picture i've uploaded is of my dog and isn't by any means the sharpest (the shutter speed was too slow) but plenty of people have put up pretty pictures showing the camera's prowess but this will show you the pretty remarkable NOISE PERFORMANCE which is also very important!! It was taken with the 35mm DX lens at night with only the TV light in the room.
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 3464057955
+3points
3out of 3found this review helpful.
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58mm Circular Polarizer Lens Filter
Constructed from premium-quality glass, this Insignia™ NS-CP58 58mm circular polarizer lens filter intensifies bright colors and reduces reflections and glare to help you capture brilliant shots, especially of outdoor landscapes.
Cut down on Reflections in your pictures
Customer Rating
4.0
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If you ever wondered how people are able to take pictures through a glass tank or display like at a zoo, or take beach/lake landscapes during the day without having the water be a "mirror" for the sun, and the sky being so bright it ruins the image, this is exactly what you need! It works by rotating the ring (this is a MUST and is why the ring rotates) until the reflections are gone or minimized- there is only so much a CPL filter can do in general and this is of course a budget model as it could be in some cases 1/10 the cost of a "professional" filter. I am not a pro but i can say that this filter makes shots which would otherwise; have a blown out sky (too bright) or reflections on glass when im taking pictures through a window or something else, clear and much improved. It also works to bring down light such as bright clouds during the day time etc. so you can more better expose the picture and capture the whole scene and not just a small part of it (if you want to). I am using this on a beginner DSLR D3200 and am pretty satisfied especially at it's price point, i ALWAYS use it in daytime, at night it's only useful in a minority of situations for specific shots and effects. I included an image at a low resolution to be able to upload it however the effect of having the sky and water clear and the whole scene exposed relatively evenly shows the effect of the filter.
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 3464057955
+1point
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ONE FOR ALL - 4-Device Universal Remote - Black
Control up to 4 devices with this One For All OARUSB04G universal remote that features a full on-remote database with 3 options for simple setup. Integrated rubber bumpers offer reliable protection against drops and shocks.
Spent an extra $20 for this remote but glad i did!
Customer Rating
5.0
So i went into the best buy store a few weeks ago looking around and also wanted to purchase a remote for my new tv as well as to control my AV receiver, Cable Box and Blu ray player. So 4 devices total. I was tired of having four different remotes and having to search around the room every time i wanted to go into the settings of one of the devices or to set something up. So long story short isn't that why you're interested in the universal remote? Now i was looking at cheaper remotes but i know i wanted key lighting which my cable remote did have however it was only on maybe a total of 6 buttons which was quite annoying when it was dark. So first, this remote has FANTASTIC backlighting, it is not an annoying green or blue it is more of an amber color, not too bright where you will be blinded when you wake up and realize you forgot to turn a component off, and it is not dim where you can't instantly find what key you want to press. I love it, i was unsure at first how it would be i even saved the receipt just in case, but after using it i am not disappointed at all. Second, the programming of your devices. Tired of going through thirty codes with 6 key presses each? Well with this remote, hook it up to your computer go to their website choose the brand of your component (they even had the off name of my cable box "Arris"- Verizon), and that was it. Amazing, if you do not have access to a pc it also has learning etc to make it easier than usual. I've bought a close to $100 remote a few years ago with one of those fancy lcd displays and honestly i never used it as much as i should as it over complicated things and just was rather unnecessary and i'm a TOTAL tech head I'm only 28 I'm not a Grandpa that doesn't know how to send a text message (no offense Grandpa's sometimes i envy your time). Anyway i thought it seemed expensive for "just" a universal remote, but after using the remote for a few weeks and easily navigating all settings, menus, everything! i have not had to pull out my other individual component remotes for ANYTHING, i am certainly happy! One plus one has come a long way from the remotes when i was a kid! Oh yeah one more thing, when you pick up the remote the light comes on automatically.. no fumbling on looking for a "light" button so you can see what the heck you are doing! awesome feature.
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 3464057955
+1point
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LG - 32" Class (31-1/2" Diag.) - LED - 1080p - HDTV
LG 32LB5600 LED HDTV: Experience shows, movies, games and other media in sharp, detailed 1080p resolution with this LG LED HDTV that features an MCI (Motion Clarity Index) of 120 and a 60Hz refresh rate to minimize blurring during fast-motion scenes. The Triple XD Engine delivers crisp visuals, and a USB port lets you enjoy JPEG image files and MP3 audio files stored on compatible USB devices.
Use it as a PC monitor - Gaming/Movies
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: tkod
on January 1, 2015
I bought this tv about a week ago after mistakenly buying the 720P "version" and subsequently returning that for this- wrote a review on that tv as well (long story). Anyway i use this tv as a monitor for my console killer pc and such ive gamed with it, read text with it, watched movies etc. The picture is actually pretty good there are professional reviews on the net you can research and im not a pro videophile or anything but if you name the input as PC and set the color profile to expert or cinema the colors are relatively accurate- Blacks could be better but coming from my old tv they're great and even in dark scenes i haven't had an issue where the dimly lit people/things are washed out or not seen because of poor contrast or blacks being too grey. If the sun is directly on the screen or in a bright room the tv will reflect a good amount of light so better to have the room on the darker side. My color temperature is on "warm 2", gamma on "2.4", and Black level on "low", this seems to get the most accurate picture although some people rather have a "cooler" picture this pretty much comes down to preference. The one negative i have of this tv is the text was difficult to dial in where it is not blurry- on web pages mostly but i've found with sharpness around 10 and using Microsoft clear type text is readable if not perfect. I also have a Radeon R9 290 in my system and am using virtual super resolution to run 2560x1440P and that definitely seemed to help the readability of text. You can look up what VSR is online, anyway i have also watched tv thru a cable box and have a blu ray player hooked up as well. Noteworthy is the tv only has 2 HDMI inputs, this should not be a deal breaker as a HDMI switch can be bought relatively inexpensively <$40, and i already had one. The picture on these inputs is fantastic. I labeled the second hdmi input as "Blu-ray" and you will notice labeling your inputs will change the picture as well as the options under picture settings such as LG Real Cinema and Motion Eye Care- these are not available under PC input and basically if you play around with the inputs these options will change but i honestly haven't had an issue with having these options off and having a bad viewing experience. I know there's a lot of options and settings and it can seem overwhelming but truly after playing around with everything for an hour you will know your preferences and what the tv can do. I'd definitely recommend this tv as a gaming monitor it has low input lag and decent refresh rate of 60HZ (anything over 30FPS to me is playable), but if you are only using it for blu ray and cable there are tvs out there with darker blacks and better contrast ratios but for me with the thin bezels and excellent color options and plethora of settings i am happy with my purchase but of course YMWV. Happy TV hunting, stay informed, and you will not regret your purchases! :)
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Motorola - Moto X Pure 4G with 16GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Black
Moto X Pure Unlocked Cell Phone: Surf the Web, capture crystal-clear photos and videos and run your favorite apps with this cell phone, which offers a brilliant 5.7" display made of Gorilla Glass for durability and rapid 4G LTE speed. A water-repellant coating guards against damage.
Can apps be moved to and run from the sd card or are they confined to the 3gb of internal memory?
Apps themselves, most not all, can be moved and run from your SD card as if it were native storage. The phone will prompt you to format it (this is done while its in the phone itself) and from there apps and files can be moved to it. The phone does not have ONLY 3GB of internal memory however, that is ram NOT storage. Storage on this phone comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB though when you get the phone, these numbers will be lower, as Android and some other things that come with the phone, use this storage space as well. Ram is what's used to run your apps and run Android etc. it is NOT used to store the apps.
7 years, 10 months ago
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Posted by:
tkod
Toshiba - Satellite Radius 2-in-1 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 750GB Hard Drive - Brushed Metal
Toshiba Satellite Radius Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: Stay productive with this touch-screen laptop, which offers Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity for syncing devices and a 750GB hard drive and media card reader for storing and transferring files. An HDMI output with 4K Ultra HD capability allows you to view movies and presentations on the big screen.
Is the Windows 10 Version in this laptop a PRO Version?
I would like to know if the OS is a Windows 10 Professional not Home. Thanks
It is home. I have pro installed on my desktop and there is not much difference honestly. However there are obviously more features with pro security and encryption and if you need them specifically then you will either need to upgrade or get another laptop. I only answer this way because i know in past Windows versions such as Win7 more mainstream features were left out of the lower versions but with Win 10 it is mainly just drive encryption and some other 'pro' features missing. Good luck though.
8 years ago
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Posted by:
tkod
Toshiba - Satellite Radius 2-in-1 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 750GB Hard Drive - Brushed Metal
Toshiba Satellite Radius Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: Stay productive with this touch-screen laptop, which offers Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity for syncing devices and a 750GB hard drive and media card reader for storing and transferring files. An HDMI output with 4K Ultra HD capability allows you to view movies and presentations on the big screen.
Can you add a ssd along with the hd?
Only one or the other. There is no room for a secondary drive in the laptop. Some laptops have optical drives which can be replaced with a second hard drive/SSD but this laptop does not. Good luck
8 years ago
by
Posted by:
tkod
Toshiba - Satellite Radius 2-in-1 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 750GB Hard Drive - Brushed Metal
Toshiba Satellite Radius Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: Stay productive with this touch-screen laptop, which offers Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity for syncing devices and a 750GB hard drive and media card reader for storing and transferring files. An HDMI output with 4K Ultra HD capability allows you to view movies and presentations on the big screen.
Is Graphics Card upgradeable or add a discrete card?
Can the graphic card/chip be upgraded, or replaced? I have an app that will not work on an Intel HD Graphics card.
You cannot install a graphics card or chip into this laptop and the installed hd graphics is ON the CPU itself so it cannot be upgraded. You will need to find a laptop with dedicated graphics which will be listed as a feature of the laptop as these are better than integrated graphics such as the Intel HD graphics.
8 years ago
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Posted by:
tkod
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Standard Lens: Whether you're a beginner or professional, you'll love this compact, lightweight lens from Nikon. The normal angle of view captures approximately what the human eye sees, making it a great all-around lens. Plus, the f/1.8 maximum aperture is ideal for creating softly blurred backgrounds and shooting in low light.
will it work for macros of gemstones
Just ordered the Nikon D3300, looking to take macro photos of gemstones I cut, will this lens work for that purpose? Will it work with the D3300?
You can get fairly close with this lens it will focus up to/down to about a foot, 12". It is not specifically a macro lens and to get closer you will have to crop into the image in post production. Nikon does however offer a specific macro lens it's a 40mm and focuses down to 6".
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/nikon-af-s-dx-micro-nikkor-40mm-f-2-8g-macro-lens-black/3187077.p?id=1218384138299&skuId=3187077
If you need the lens specifically for Macro it's worth the extra money, and you can still of course take regular pictures with it as well but when one gets a Macro lens it's best suited for Macro photography! Hope that helped, good luck!
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/nikon-af-s-dx-micro-nikkor-40mm-f-2-8g-macro-lens-black/3187077.p?id=1218384138299&skuId=3187077
If you need the lens specifically for Macro it's worth the extra money, and you can still of course take regular pictures with it as well but when one gets a Macro lens it's best suited for Macro photography! Hope that helped, good luck!
8 years, 11 months ago
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Posted by:
tkod
Nikon - D3200 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens - Black
Nikon D3200 DSLR Camera with 18–55mm VR Lens: Ultra quiet and powerful, great for taking candid photos. Or shoot full 1080p HD videos at up to 30 fps. Preprogrammed with auto options or choose your own settings to customize your shot, this compact camera can go anywhere with you.Memory card sold separately.
Does the d3200 have AEB function for bracketing
No, it does not unfortunately. It has no auto bracketing features you will have to go further up in the Nikon line for these features although which models specifically have it i'm not sure. This is usually an important feature so if you go on to their website and try the D5X00 series or D7X00 series (where the X is the iteration of the Model series such as D3200, D3300- D3300 being newer), AEB or Auto Bracketing, should be listed as a feature.
8 years, 11 months ago
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Posted by:
tkod
Smart set top box question
I have alot of movies on my HDMI equipped PC and want to be able to stream them to my 42 inch Sharp Aquos, (non smart) TV. Is a Smart Set Top Box the best way to do this? Or is there another way to do this. My TV does not recognize a jump drive with movies when I connect one to the USB port, only photos can be viewed on my TV.
Any help would be appreciated,
Any help would be appreciated,
You say your PC is HDMI equipped? As long as your TV also had HDMI you can simply connect the two with an HDMI cable. I too have this setup and watch movies, netflix etc from PC to TV. You just have to setup your graphics on the PC to either mirror the display on both "monitors" (essentially your TV is seen as a monitor), or you can also just use your TV as a single monitor and disconnect your current monitor (this is my current setup). Also, make sure your PC is set to the correct resolution of your TV for example 1920x1080 is a 1080p tv resolution, 1280x720 is a 720p tv- usually when you hook the tv up your operating system- i assume windows, will automatically detect the correct resolution of your tv,if not, set it manually. My tv is also a "dumb tv" and i've done this setup with a older pc as well as an older tv and it still worked. Good luck.
9 years, 5 months ago
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Posted by:
tkod
i want to buy a 3d television, but most of them are smart tv's. do i have to have the internet forceably?
You don't need the internet to watch the tv if that is what you're asking. If you want the Smart tv features such as Netflix, Youtube etc. you will need the internet as these are internet services. Good luck.
9 years, 5 months ago
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Posted by:
tkod