Fitness - weights, exercise

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I am very satisfied with this product. It fits well, is neither too tight nor too loose, and can be worn comfortably for long periods (5 hours + so far for me). They are easy to put on and take off, and the thumb rings provide security if you will be partiuclarly active. You can also velcro them on with the thumb out if you are not concerned with slippage.



Please note that the photo on Amazon as of this writing is inaccurate: the lime-green trimmed weights are Reebok's 2 lb (4 lb set) wrist weights. The product you are ordering has purple trim and is half of that: 1 lb weights to make a set with a TOTAL weight of 2 lbs. I didn't know that at the time, but let my error be your lesson. Reebok Thumblock Wrist Weight (2-Pound Set)

as described, can tighten until very snug or very loose and does not cause skin irritation, can manage tightening using both hands, but that is the only drawback being a little tricky to close. Worth the effort

These are great weights, hands down (no pun).. With the thumb lock they stay in place well and slide around very little. That said, I did have one of the rubber tabs rip off while I was putting them on one day. Was quite disappointed that it happened as it makes it difficult to get it snugged down now so that it doesn't slip.



Beyond that, I love them and have ordered a set of the 4lb weights as well to compliment these when I need to up my workout.

These weighted wrist bands were just what I needed to bring my cardio workouts to the next level. They stay put due to the thumblock and the velcro is strong. Also heavy enough without looking too bulky for Zumba or Step.

why so many good ratings I JUST don't understand. I got these for turbo kick boxing. I own like 3 different sets. This one does not slide so that's the only benefit but they are NOT made for ppl w/ small wrists. I am 130 lb and 5'2 so I don't consider my frame that small, however the thing is so long that 1/2 of the part does not stick to the valcro and it just sticks out. Most of the other TKB class mates that own these had the same issue so its just not me. They do stretch out after 1 use too. So now these are like my back ups that I leave the in car.

I like these wrist weights very much. They give me a good upper-body workout when I wear them for my daily chores and activities. They fit my skinny wrists quite well and are very comfortable. They also make a good cushion when I type at the computer. They might not be so good for a man, or for a woman with better developed wrists and forearms than mine, but for me, this is a very nice product. - Weights - Wrist Weights - Exercise'

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Convertible Pants - men, breathable

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Good water protection. They didn't offer an option in these pants in terms of "short" or "tall" lengths. They are a tall fit. I usually wear 34/30 pants. I ordered these pants in large. The waist fit is great but they are probably a 34 length. A bit shorter would be ideal. It would be best if they offered short and tall options. large is your size if you wear 34/34 pants. Columbia Men's Thunderstorm II Pant,Black,L

Light-weight and relatively inexpensive product. I bought these in one size larger in order to fit over my regular pants. Might need a slight alteration to adjust the length, but otherwise these definitely work well.

I got these for working and walking outside on snowy days. They cut the wind, repel the snow, keep me warm and dry without being bulky. They are light shell protection, comfortable, have pocket holes to get into your pants pockets and a sturdy draw string for your waist. They are now available in short lengths but I still had to hem mine and its held up fine because the material is good quality.

I bike year-round in New York City and I bought these pants to keep packed in my bike bag. The first two weeks I had them I used them almost every day. Very happy with the range of movement and breathability. I have the Columbia Omni-tech shell and I am equally happy with that as well.

After trying to get-by with some super-economy rain gear (which promptly fell apart), I was looking for a solid and cost effective solution for cycling to work in Oregon (Fall/Winter/Spring is either cold, wet, or cold and wet :).

My commute is short (about 10 minutes), so I wanted something I could easily slide over my office garb, and these ended up doing the trick. (My initial hopes were to get the set that our Costco's carry each year (I know SEVERAL people who have and LOVE them for general use), but my timing was a little off)



Since I'm all legs, and 6'3", I was keen on the reviews saying that the legs run long.

Nonetheless, I still ordered the Large-Talls. I'm happy I did.

If my primary use was in a standing position, the Large may have sufficed, but the extra length works well for my application.



They're still pretty new, and are holding up great so far (I've got about 50 cycling hours in on them). They've kept me completely dry, and have been great at keeping arctic breezes from chilling to the bone.

I used it at the last 49er game. Even thought it did not rain much durning the day. It was comfortable and easy to use. I'm not sure if the pocket access will keep out water in a down pour. If the fabric is really waterproof. It will keep you dry. I was a bit long for me but you can roll it up or hemp it.

thunderstorm II is definitely what you need for rainy days. it is packable and light so you can easily carry and use it over your regular pants when you need. order one size larger for using over regular pants. - Skigear - Cycling - Breathable - Men'

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Landscape Photography

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Canon 5D Mark II



Never Ever: Rent, borrow or use the Canon 5D Mark II, if you do, you will have to own it. It's that good!



Pros:



Crazy high ISO performance

Fantastic amazing image quality you have to see to believe!

Great menus, sharper, brighter, easier to read then 40D

Video, did someone say video? I love it! You will need a tripod!

Fantastic rear LCD that you can check actual photo sharpness

Super low light high ISO photographic tool with 25,600 ISO!!!

Feels great in your hands, the grip texture is easy to hold and is well balanced

Low 50 ISO allows photos at F/1.2 aperture out in bright sunlight for shallow DOF



Cons:

No Built in popup Flash

A little slower shooting then the 40D

Very demanding of lenses, high end L lenses are a must have

Huge files: you will need larger memory cards and a larger hard drive

Ultra large bright sharp viewfinder makes my 40D finder seem dim and tiny

Hum... I'm thinking..



Intro:



I have had my Canon 5D Mark II for a little over two weeks now. And I'm having a hard time putting it down.



I tried switching back to my Canon 40D and the very first thing you notice is how small, dim and fuzzy the viewfinder on the 40D is compared to the 5D Mark II. Especially if you are older you will really appreciate being able to easy see and read information in the viewfinder not to mention you can actually manually focus with it. It reminds me of my switch from the Canon Rebel XTi to the 40D. It's that big a difference.



The Images are huge and quite simply stunning. Plus I find that I can get away with very low noise all the way up to 3200 ISO on the 5D Mark II where the 40D was very noisy. In fact I would not hesitate to say the 5D Mark II photos has less noise at 9,600 ISO then the 40D does at 1600 ISO.



Lenses:



I have never had the pleasure of owning a Camera that is this demanding of the lens you use. It's like an instant lens test. I haven't seen much in-depth lens as used on 5D Mark II information on the other reviews and decided this would be good to be included in my review.



All of these lenses are brighter in the viewfinder and focus much better on my 5D Mark II then on my 40D.



So, with that said after several hundred photos I can give you a rundown of my most used, most favorite, best performing and least used lenses that I have used on the 5D Mark II and a few un-expected surprises along the way.



1. Canon 200mm F/2 IS L lens. This lens is my new master of resolving power. Even wide open at F/2 it is sharper then any other lens I have ever used. I could go on and on but here's a few highlights: Lightening fast auto focus, F/2 speed at 200mm, unbelievable perfect 10 Images, public attention hog, otherworldly image stabilization, great build quality, weather sealed, fantastic perfect buttery smooth Bokeh and what a lens case! If you crave attention and demand the absolute best there is the do what ever it takes to get this lens on your Canon 5D Mark II. If you do not like public attention you may want to skip to number 2 in this list as I have never been asked so many questions about a lens as this one. But it's all worth it as the clarity, sharpness, Bokeh and colors are: otherworldly, insane, impossible, rare, perfect, out of sight, crazy!!



2. Canon 85mm F/1.2 II L lens. Without a doubt at F/4 (after the Canon 200mm F/2 of course) this lens delivers the clearest sharpest and most resolving power onto any photograph you care to take with the Canon 5D Mark II. The clarity has to be seen to be believed. At F/1.2 the Depth of Field (DOF) is scary thin and the edges are super soft which is great for female portraiture. The super soft creamy dreamy Bokeh at F/1.2 is much smoother on the 5D Mark II over my 40D. But stop this lens down to F/1.8 and it gets scary sharp and clear. Step it down to F/4.0 and it's at its sharpest and the only lens I have that gives you 100% pixel peeping razor blade edge to edge top to bottom perfect clarity in every single area of the photo. For some reason this lens is even sharper on my 5D Mark II then my 40D or Rebel, don't know why but it is. Guess it's getting the full resolving power to the 21 megapixel sensor.



Looking at a photo on my iMac taken with a 5D Mark II with this lens stopped down to F/4 is like standing there looking through an open window at the actual scene! You feel like you could actually open up the computer screen like opening a window and climb in!!!



The 85mm F/1.2 is your low light monster on the 5D Mark II, I don't have to harp too much on what an F/1.2 aperture and an ISO 25,600 can do for you at night. Let's just say you can go out into what appears to be a dark night and do hand held photos.



Not all is perfect as it's: expensive, heavy, and hard to focus wide open, focus lock does not work and it eats camera batteries at twice the rate of my other lenses. Also it doesn't focus as close on the 5D Mark II as it did on my 40D so you can't get head filling close ups. This isn't really a problem, as with 21 Mega Pixels I can crop no problem. However, all this is forgiven when I get back to my iMac and view the results. This is the very first lens I will reach for when using the 5D Mark II and the one that's on it 90% of the time. If I could have just one lens for a Canon 5D Mark II this would be the one! [...]



2. Tie! Canon 135mm F/2 L. It's small light and stealthy and has fastest and best auto-focus of any lens I have ever owned (after the Canon 200mm F/2 IS L). It even focuses pretty close on the 5D Mark II. This lens is amazing, the Bokeh looks like sweet candy and it's sharper wide open then the Canon 85mm F/1.2 II L lens is wide open and stop it down to F/2.2 and it's as sharp as any lens I have. It's not a zoom so it's not as versatile but it's a great waist up portrait lens out in public and in larger studios. It's one of my most used lens at outdoor public events along with the 85mm F/1.2 II L (renaissance festivals etc.) where I'm photographing people. For some reason this lens is a little sharper on my Canon Rebel and 40D I guess because I'm using the center of the lens and it's sharper on these cropped sensor cameras.



3. Canon 100-400 F/4.5 - F/5.6 IS L lens. This is the second most used lens in my 5D Mark II arsenal. This lens was my biggest surprise of the group. Its Ok wide open but it's a monster of clarity at F/7.1 like it never was on my Canon 40D. It also becomes useable on the 5D Mark II in wider shot situations where on the 40D it was only usable as a longer lens. Sporting the longest zoom range of any Canon zoom this lens has to be without doubt the finest Zoo lens ever made, [...] You can frame almost any animal in almost any exhibit perfectly. This is also my lens of choice for taking photos of people at events with the 5D Mark II and is the King of versatility on a full-framed sensor camera. This is my sharpest and clearest zoom lens by a long shot (no pun intended. It's as close to the you are there feeling of the 85mm F/1.2 lI lens as any zoom lens I have. It's only drawbacks are it's a little heavy, is slow aperture wise (that's Ok with the 5D Mark II high ISO capability) and it gets a huge amount of attention out in public. I don't care it's all worth it this is a must have lens with the 5D Mark II. Again, for some reason this lens is even sharper on my 5D Mark II then my 40D or Rebel, don't know why but it is.



5-26-2009 100-400 update: So I came back from the Riparian Bird Preserve yesterday where it was rather dusty and I noticed that my sensor and mirror box were full of dust. I decided to do a test on my 100-400 lens and sure enough it does pump dust into the camera body.



If you turn the zoom friction ring all the way loose and zoom in and out with the bottom end cap off there is no resistance. If you put the bottom end cap on tightly and zoom you can feel resistance. Then if you loosen the end cap just a little you can actually feel air being sucked in and out around the end cap as you zoom in and out.



Thank God for my FIrefly digital sensor cleaning system! And be forewarned if you own this lens.



4. Canon 17-40 F/4 L lens. This is my sleeper lens. A so so walk around lens on my 40D becomes a wide angle monster on my Canon 5D Mark II. This lens is soft wide open at F/4 but sharpens up noticeably at F/4.5 and becomes a super wide angle take it all in landscape and interior monster when stopped down to F/9 on a Canon 5D Mark II. This is a lens I always carry with me now since I never know when I might see a wide angle opportunity. Doesn't have the you are there feeling when viewing the photos on my iMac as much as the above three lenses but it's closer to perfection then you will ever see on a cropped sensor camera. I keep hoping that Canon will make a wide angle zoom that matches the performance of my Canon 100-400 IS L zoom lens. This lens has a similar sharpness on both the Canon 5D Mark II and cropped sensor cameras like my 40D.



5. Canon 70-200 F/2.8 L lens. This lens is actually about even with my Canon 100-400 IS L Lens in the zoom sharpness and clarity department but it's no where near as versatile on my 5D Mark II as the 100-400. Still it's a must have lens when shooting weddings when you need the super Bokeh background melting power of an F/2.8 aperture and lower light power of an F/2.8 aperture. The sharpness and clarity at F/2.8 that was Ok on the 40D is much improved for some strange reason on the 5D Mark II. And the Bokeh is much smoother creamier and richer on the 5D Mark II.



Just have to mention a great alternative lens the Canon 70-200 F/4 I/S L lens which I think is a sharper and better lens then the 70-200 F/2.8 as not only does it have a fluorite element but I did some back to back testing with my friends F/4 and my F/2.8 and the 70-200 F/4 was indeed better and at a great price. Additionally it's much lighter in weight and smaller physically. However keep in mind at F/4 it is a slower lens.



6. Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L lens. This is the lens I reach for when I'm shooting closer photos at a wedding and I need the versatility of a zoom. It's also the lens I reach for when shooting videos with the 5D Mark II. If I could shoot all day with the Canon 85mm F/1.2 II L I would. But at a wedding where you can't always zoom with your feet I reach for the Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L. Its good on the 5D Mark II but not as good as the 17-40 L but has better reach then the 17-40. But it does not have that uncanny you are there feel of the first three lenses on my list. The Canon 5D Mark II clearly out resolves this lens and that is very disappointing for an L lens that costs over a thousand dollars. Thank GOD for the auto peripheral as this lens is a Vignetting monster when shot wide open on a 5D Mark II, it was not on the 40D. With the Vignetting control built into Digital Photo Professional (DPP) and the on-board 5D Mark II auto control it's perfect and Vignetting is not a problem. This lens is also very fragile and has required sending back to Canon for recalibration but is a must have in my arsenal only because I do weddings. I'm hoping Canon will come out with an Image Stabilized improved version that has that you are there feel of the 100-400 zoom. Once again it seems like this lens may be losing it's calibration and I am starting to lose my patience. If you need this lens then get it just beware of possible maintenance problems.



7. Canon 50mm F/1.8 II lens. This lens which was pretty decent on the 40D and Rebel XTi comes completely apart on the 5D Mark II. No surprise since it's only $89. I guess the surprise was how well it had worked on a Canon 40D and Rebel XTi. If you own a 5D Mark II then don't bother. If you own a cropped sensor camera its a great little lens.



8. Canon 17-50mm F/2.8 EF-S L lens. Why am I mentioning this lens here? It's a shame this cropped sensor only lens can't be used on the 5D Mark II. It's one of my most used and sharpest lenses on my Canon 40D and Canon Rebel XTi. In fact it's my daughter's favorite lens on those two cameras. Because it's such a great sharp low light monster because of the Image Stabilization (IS) it would be fantastic on the 5D Mark II. Canon please make us a wide angle L lens with IS. It's been very reliable un-like my 24-70, I highly recommend if you have a cropped sensor camera!



9. Canon 15mm Fisheye! This lens is a hoot on the 5D Mark II. A full 180 degrees of wide angle fun! Put it on and shoot the inside of a small car, or airplane, or take it to your local baseball diamond or anywhere you would love to see a 180 degree shot. And the curved effect on a full frame camera makes everyone who sees one of these photos go oooohhhhhh yeah cool shot. I listed this lens last because its one of those lenses you don't want to over use but one that you just have to just have to have. It's pretty sharp wide open but gets sharper at F/4 and reaches maximum sharpness at F/8. It has the old style focus system that's a little noisy and slow but it really doesn't matter as there isn't much focus range anyway everything is close to infocus at 15mm.



Three old 5D complaints answered:



1. Vignetting or peripheral lighting issue

2. Dust on the sensor

3. The rear LCD



1. Vignetting:



You can either have the 5D Mark II auto-correct peripheral illumination on board for JPEGs or adjust images using Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software that came with your Mark II. I have noticed on the full framed 5D Mark II my Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L lens with the peripheral illumination correction turned OFF the 5D Mark II images will severely vignette or be dark in the corners when shot wide open (F/2.8). It's almost like looking through a dark tunnel. It's especially noticeable shot wide open with the sky as a background. Auto-correct to the rescue!! With the peripheral illumination correction turned ON it's almost magical the darkening in the corners is gone! If you want you can even shoot in Raw mode and adjust the amount of Vignetting or darkness in the corners for effects such as when shooting portraits and you want to emphasis the person in the middle of the photo. Just open the Raw photo in DPP and click on the NR/Lens / ALO tab and select Lens Aberration Correction Tune and adjust the peripheral illumination to suite by dragging the slider or entering and amount. Or select all the photos in a directory and you can correct all your photos at once.



2. Dust on the Sensor:



The old 5D was a dust hog, no-one ever said it was not. The new one though now as a new fluorite coating and ant-dust shake. I did get some dust on my sensor after going out and switching lens in the field shooting birds but un-like my 40D I successfully blew off all the dust using my Firefly Digital Dust sensor cleaner. This new fluorite coating must make it much harder for the dust to stick to the 5D Mark II sensor then the sensor on my 40D.



3. Rear LCD



This has to be seen to be believed. The rear LCD is so sharp and so bright its shocking. The one on the 40D is now just OK. And I could never be sure if I got the shot or not. On the 5D Mark II you can zoom in an check fine focus. The only thing you may want to turn off is the auto light level adjuster so when walking in and out of shaded areas the brightness level does not change when the ambient light levels change. Some people may like it some may hate it. I like it myself as I can now see the image out in the sunlight unlike on the 40D where it's totally washed out. Thing is Canon lets you decide and you can turn it on or off. When off it stays the same no matter the ambient light.





LOW ISO:



Holy cow 6400 ISO I can shoot at F/4.5 in a dark room!!!! Took some night shots in and outside of the house and downloaded. Booted up DPP and WOW!



Photos are great at 3200 ISO even in Raw mode with standard noise reduction. Once you apply the correct amount of noise reduction and converted to 17inch JPEG's the 3200 ISO photos are AWESOME!!! The night shots of my Christmas tree at 3200 ISO on my 40D are almost unusable. But with the 5D Mark II they are fantastic. But my 24inch iMac seems a little slower looking through the photos... In fact it seems to be crawling! I ended up having to upgrade to a Firewire 800 external hard drive to fix the problem.



Black Dots:



I finally got a single photo with black dots by shooting at 25,600 ISO at night around some Christmas lights. You have to zoom in to 200% and pixel peep to see them. That's one shot out of several hundred night shots! Still haven't found any dots in day time photos.



Memory Storage:



I'm going to have to buy larger Compact Flash Cards my 8GB card only holds about 267 shots when the 5D Mark II is set to Raw only. But it's worth it especially for high ISO shots. At times I'm hard pressed on-screen to tell 1600 ISO from the 5D Mark II to the 100 ISO out of my 40D. It's that GOOD!



Video:

I for one never thought I would be in this love for video. But this camera is awesome, low natural light great Bokeh low depth of field video. Just in time for the holidays. The only thing is after viewing the videos back on my iMac computer no matter how steady you hands are you will need a tripod. The tiniest movements when playing back on a computer or TV seem to be magnified no matter how steady I try and hand hold the camera.



40D to 5D Mark II transition:



Well, it looks a lot like my Canon 40D but the controls on the back are on the left instead of the bottom.



Has a similar feel and weight to me at least maybe just a touch bigger and heavier then a 40D. Focus is better in low light for sure. Looks great with a Canon 17-40 F/4 L lens mounted. Maybe a little more rubbery grip on the grip.



This will be a much easier transition coming from the Canon 40D to the Canon 5D Mark II then my transition from the Rebel XTi to the 40D as the control placement and use are very similar unlike when I switched from the Rebel to the 40D and everything was in a different location.



Setup:



Put the strap on while I'm waiting for the dead battery to charge.



Ok battery is charged now, put it in, turn it on and set the time and date.



Then plug into the Mac and set my preferences under the styles and choose my lenses under the peripheral illumination correction. Very nice and very easy.



Put in the owners Information and copyright info. Gotta love that it's automatically on every photo now!



Menus:



Menus are a little different, but hey they are much sharper, this LCD is really sharp and bright!!!



Who the heck put 10 images as the default for skipping on review!!! That's another one of the first changes to go!



Bottom line:



Bottom line is if you own a big L lens collection and do any shooting at all in the dark without flash and don't have a full framed camera the 5D Mark II is a must have addition!



1-11-2009 Update:



I installed firmware update 1.0.7 which is supposed to correct the black dot problem and now I can't get it to make a black dot photo at all. So hopefully this was the fix we were all seeking.



This full framed sensor camera continues to impress me and the sensor continues to be dust free!



4-1-2009 Update:



This full framed sensor camera continues to impress. Just got back from shooting the 2009 Arizona Renaissance festival where I shot both the 40D and 5D Mark II and looking at the photos the 5D Mark II just walks all over the 40D in image quality. So much so that I don't reach for the 40D much any more the 5D Mark II is that much better. Got one spec of dust from lens changing at the Renaissance but it was easily blow off with my FireFly sensor cleaner.



4-27-2009 I just got back from photographing the World Premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and once again the 5D Mark II was awesome. I ended up mainly using two lenses the Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L zoom and Canon 100-400 IS L zoom lens. When you have only one chance to get Hugh Jackman riding by on his Harley you want to make sure you have reliable quick focusing equipment.



6-25-2009



Still very in love with my Canon 5D Mark II. See photos and videos I have taken with this camera at http://www.flickr.com/photos/grantbrummett/sets/72157621665984915/ Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21.1MP Full Frame CMOS Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)'

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Ethernet Bridge - gaming adapter, 80211n

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I purchased this device to connect my Samsung BlueRay 1600 player to my internet. I tried the Samsung Linkstik, but due to the position in my house and the inflexibility of the Linkstik, my connection kept dropping. I connected the Cisco bridge via a wireless connection to my NetGear 300n router and presto, no problems and downloaded movies began immediately from Netflix.



My only reason for the downgrade from 5 to 4 is that none of the documentation that I saw stated that it could only run one device through the bridge. I find that to be rather ridiculous for the price. At least two to four ethernet connections should have been enabled for $95. So my downgrade is related to the price for function rather than anything wrong with the device. Cisco-Linksys WET610N Wireless-N Bridge

I bought this because it's part number was a recommended product for use with my newly purchased Sony Blu-Ray player. I needed to connect my Blu-Ray player to my home network via this Wireless N Bridge and my Wireless G Broadband router by Linksys. I plugged in my Blu-Ray player, a 32GB USB memory stick I had laying around, and power. I followed the instructions contained with the unit and presto I was up and running with no problems. Now I can watch you tube videos and a lot more on my TV in HD. You can purchase and download movies using this setup but I haven't yet tried that. I have a very high speed internet connection through Time-Warner cable service that makes smooth running possible.

I purchaed this product in order to make my directtv HD DVR receiver internet ready and get access to more features and on demand videos and movies. I just have a DSL wireless connection at home that is not very strong but this CISCO product picked up the signal in a flash and the process was done in less than five minutes. It is a great product for those of you who might have an appliance that needs internet in order to access features like a blu-ray player or a game console. The installation is dummy proof, so it could be done by anyone. My 9 year old did this one all by himself (he is not a dummy, by the way). The signal is always working, the unit is small enough that fits anywhere. Excellent product!!!

I wasted several hours trying to set this thing up. This is the second Cisco product I purchased recently and both turned out to be equally difficult to set up and inferior in other respects; will stay away from it in the future.



The bridge comes with a setup CD that only works with Windows or MacOS, not Linux. You are led to believe that you can only set it up from the CD. I wanted to use it with a Linux box but no problem, I also had a Mac book. I ran the CD, got to the point when it was supposed to find wireless networks but this step took forever without a single network found, so I had to give up. Ran a google search, found that it also had a web-based configuration utility, spent another hour reading web pages and manuals until it finally worked. I can only imagine how long it would take me if I didn't go through similar ordeal when configuring a cisco router.

This thing may work if your router is also from Cisco. The customer service rep in India was rude and impatient. I bought it from Amazon because the closest retail store is 50 minutes away. I probably wasted about 5 hours of my life trying to get this thing to work. Eventually I just ran an ethernet cable. - 80211n - Ethernet Bridge - Gaming Adapter - Best Router'

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Alarm Clock Radio - clock radio, battery backup

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Not the niftiest, nor the most elegant clock radio available but the price and features make it about as good a buy as you'll find.

All the important features - battery backup, automatic time synch, intuitive alarm setting, good (but gentle on the eyes) time visibility.

There's a dual alarm version available for a few bucks more too.



We liked this one enough to buy another for our guest bedroom - guests won't be befuddled by this model...



BTW, radio isn't high fidelity but its not bad, a good Sony quality product.



UPDATE 10/28/09: Two years down the road and the two of these radios we bought are still going strong. One of the things I failed to mention in the original review was that this unit does NOT, repeat, does NOT have a power brick - just a nice old fashioned wall plug on a wire - sweet. I take note of the comment by others about the intensity (or lack thereof) of the clock LED. Myself, and upon further inquiry, my wife find the intensity to be 'just right'. Perhaps there is some variation in the units or maybe its just a matter of your sleeping environment. We're former Sierra Nevada 'country' folks who now live on the edge of a small Ohio town. Between the street light, the neighbor's lights, the wifi router and a couple of those green 'limelite' nightlights we DO have sufficient ambient light at night to move around without stubbing the old toes. BTW, I've dropped both of our units more than once, and accidentally kicked one across our guest suite - no discernable damage. Oh yes, the wife says that they'd show the dust less if they were white. Sony ICF-C218 Automatic Time Set Clock Radio (Black)

I've had this for 3 days now, and i'm very happy with it...and i put alot of research in everything i buy. The Radio works perfectly, picks up all the stations clearly, the alarms sound starts out soft and gets progressively louder..so you will get up. The Built in battery is also a plus, that way i'll never lose track of time.



for this price this is a great product..and oh yes huge green lights for the display and many more features...wake up to the radio or the buzzer...



enjoy....

Unfortunately, I am not able to rate the Sony ICF-C218 as highly as my colleagues. Not that this clock radio doesn't have numerous good features. The radio got good reception and the sound was of better than average quality. The controls, as others have pointed out, are intuitive and easy to use even without ever resorting to the instructions. The alarm, as is common, can wake you up either with the radio or with a buzzer. The only missing feature that would have been nice would be a dual alarm, though for the price this lack cannot be complained of.



The problem with the unit, and it is a serious one, is the brightness of the display. Of the other two reviewers who've rated the ICF-C218 at three stars, curiously one complains that the display is too dim and the other that it is too bright. My experience agrees with the later. I didn't notice until I tried sleeping beside this unit, but once your eyes are accustomed to the darkness the nicely-sized display is simply far too bright. It casts shadows on my ceiling and was a distraction when trying to fall asleep; I was forced to angle it away from myself or face the opposite direction. This is simply inexcusably poor design in an alarm clock and is a deal breaker for me; I'm going to be returning my unit.



A more minor complaint would be the AM/PM indicator. Most clocks have a single light that is lit when it is post meridiem (or ante meridiem, depending on the model), but this one has two lights, one about 7 mm above the other, which indicate morning or afternoon. That's fine when the room is light and you can read the AM or PM text next to the two lights, but at night you'll simply have to remember which light is above the other one and how far each is from the top of the display. Not a big deal for most, but another small design flaw.



This isn't a bad clock for the price (Wal-Mart carries it for even less, $9.96) but the brightness issue makes it unusable for me. The addition of a dimmer switch, fixing the AM/PM indicator, and adding a second alarm setting would make this clock easily a five star item, even at a slightly higher price.

I was so happy with this purchse, it really has a lot for such a small price. As soon as I pluged it in within seconds it had not only set the time but the date too. It small enough to fit on the night stand, easy to set for the alarm,and it has great reception on the radio. I live in an area where there are so many trees you have to go outside to get cell service. I have several Sony radios and cd players in the house and they are the only brand I have not had a problem in getting great reception on FM and AM, and they have such incredible sound......

This is just about as basic as you can get. A great clock at a great price. I've had many different clocks in my life, but here's why this clock was above the rest.

1. Easy ON/OFF buttons. If you want to quickly check the volume of the radio before setting the alarm, it is very easy

2. Fantastic alarm setting "toggle switch". So many clocks make it long and tedious to set the alarm. You just toggle the lever left or right, and the alarm is set in seconds. VERY helpful.

3. Great reception - The FM radio uses the power cord as an antennae.

4. Internal battery - Power outages won't mess you up in the morning.



There are other good reasons to list, but these were the best things I've seen. One of the best $10 I've spent. - Battery Backup - Sony Alarm Clock Radio - Alarm Clock - Clock Radio'

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Camera Accessories - camera accessories, tamrac

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First, this should really be called a Photo DayPack. It has two distinct areas: one well padded area for photo gear, the other unpadded for things like sweaters, etc.



The camera compartment is not huge, but it will accommodate most peoples digital SLR, mid-range zoom, telephoto zoom and flash, and a few other modest size accessories. It's not a very good bag for a gadget freak you can't decide what to take, so takes everything.



The top compartment serves two useful functions. It gives us a nice, somewhat roomy area for carrying odds and ends; and it extends the bag length so that it fits comfortably on the back. This design is also much lighter than most backback designs, which makes it more suited to those such as myself who don't like to lug tons on my back. Tamrac 5547 Adventure 7 Photo Backpack (Red/Black)

For those of you wanting to lug around all of your gear - then this bag is not for you.



I on the otherhand don't have a lot (canon 20d, 70-200 lens, 18-55 lens, flash and charger. I can fit all of my stuff in here fine. And if I know I don't want to carry all of my stuff - great.



The top is actually bigger than what I thought. For now, I leave my 70-200 lens attached to the camera and put it in the top part. ANd I put my wallet and keys down below instead. This is only because I don't have a smaller zoom lens yet that I want to leave attached which will then store the camera in the bottom section as well as the 70-200 lens in the bottom section. I on'y do this because that's the lens I always use and don't want to attach and detatch on account of dust. So - there you have it. It's not HUGE and it really does hold alot.



There are mesh compartments on the side that do hold water bottles. There are mesh compartments in the top that hold my wallet/pda and keys and sunglasses.



The bottom has rigid compartment barriers which I like but it's all about your taste.



Bottom line - if you don't have 200 dollars to sink into a bag - then this is a great bag. I wanted a bag that I could afford so I could spend more money on a better lens.

I bought this by mail order rather than the 5546 model on the basis that it had a larger top compartment which would fit "a light jacket, lunch or other stuff". Don't believe a word of it. Although the bottom compartment is fine and the pack has some cool features, once you squash in a lightweight parka there's not much room for anything else.

If you need a backpack for an all day trip or travel, the Lowepro Rover AW series would be a better choice, even with the strangely excessive waist straps. In the Rover's top compartment you can easliy fit a parka, lunch, thermos, sun block, cell phone, film, maps etc with room to spare. Any extras can go on the outside secured by the bungee straps and protected by the AW cover when raining.

The reason for buying these sorts of packs is threefold - to protect your photo equipment, to carry other gear that you might need on a short tramp or trip and to be comfortable doing so.

I like Tamrac gear, but sorry, this is not up to its larger tag. If this 5547 model had more room up top for other gear (gussets or another front pouch?) it would get 4 or 5 stars. It is fine if you know its limitations and want small or if you want very small go for the 5546 model.

I hope this review helps those who are debating whether to purchase this backpack. Here is what I have in the lower portion of my bag right now (which is all my equipment) compare the dimensions provided to what you own:



- Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Black Body Only) (which is attached to:)



- Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras According to Sigma's website: Diameter 76.6mm X Length 122mm (3.0 in. X 4.8 in)



- Tamron Autofocus 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) for Canon SLR Cameras (off the camera) According to Tamron's website: Diameter x Length = ø73mm x 92mm (2.9 in x 3.6 in)



- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens (off the camera) Dimensions (Diameter x Length)= 41.0mm x 68.2 (1.6" x 2.7")



- In the last two bottom compartments (which could hold lenses instead of what I carry) I have:

- Four 67mm colored filters each in their own HUGE hard plastic protectors

- One camera cap

- One back lens cap (for the attached Sigma)

- One pocket guide for the Canon XTI (very tiny)

- One 67 to 52mm step ring in flexible plastic



How does it fit? Very well. I have NOT manipulated the dividers and they are in their original place. I have room to stack another short lens on top of the Canon 50mm if I ever buy another short lens. It is important to note that the Sigma 70-300 attached to the XTI is a smidge too tall and pushes lightly into the top compartment space (which is separated by material filled with what I guess to be foam padding).



Now I guess it is time for my complaints...

I am a huge fan of the BIG purse movement. I LOVE room for all my personal belongings. I love being able to carry EVERYTHING with me. In my purses I am able to hold a hoodie, six chapsticks, several lip glosses, a few games, checkbook, oversized wallet, snacks, calendar, Tylenol, water bottle, hand wipes, cell phone, two pairs of sunglasses, breath mints, pens, coin purse... oh I am sure I am forgetting things. Nevertheless, I assumed a backpack would be able to fit at LEAST this in the upper portion. I was wrong. I knew the dimensions before buying and tried to simulate the size at home. I figured I would have to cut back on my "essentials" but I didn't realize how much. My compromise? The hoodie will be slipped through the belt buckle and tied in place and I will have to learn to live with a little less when I travel with this backpack.



So with the upper size constraints, why did I buy this pack?



Obviously, (from my purse contents) I needed a daypack. The Tamrac differentiated itself from others in several ways. It was necessary for me to have the water bottle pockets. Cold and wet water bottles do not mix with electronics (cell phones, cameras, etc.) and paper (checkbooks, calendar, etc.) and the mesh outer pockets became a deciding factor. This ruled out the Lowepro Orion Trekker II Camera Backpack (Black). The Tamrac Adventure 9 Photo/Computer Backpack (Grey/Black)was another contender (because of the slightly larger size) but I hated the idea of extra weight due to the notebook pocket I would never use. Additionally, I did not like the way the bottom portion of the Adventure 9 opened. From the photos it seemed like a security risk and had the potential to spill out on to the sidewalk. (Though I could be wrong)



Hope this helps! - Tamrac - Photography - Camera Bag - Camera Accessories'

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Refrigerator Water Filter - refrigerator filter, refrigerator water filter

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First, I saw that one reviewer has a problem with leaking filters when used in an older Frigidaire. I've had no such problem with the original filter and two replacements that I've installed. (And yuck! to see what those filters have removed from the city water!) So, maybe higher than normal water pressure is the problem and could possibly be regulated. Just a thought.



My Rating:

The filters are 5-star performers but even at Amazon's lower price, I still consider them "pricey", so I dropped a star.



My Tip:

I kept my last filter in until performance (delivered water flow rate) had diminished considerably. It was sort of an experiment in economy. I was surprised when my ice maker started to jam with the under-sized "cubes" (they are actually shaped like half of a large thick coin) resulting from the slower water flow through the old filter. One or more of the ice ejector cogs would get jammed with one of the "runt" cubes. What obviously happens is that the water fill operation is controlled entirely by a timer, so reduced flow results in less water delivered to the tray cavities. The cycle continues and results in small cubes of ice for which the ejectors are not designed.



So my tip is that if you try to extend the life of the filter by accepting the slower water delivery rate, pay attention to the size of the ice cubes. When they are reduced to about two-thirds normal size, the ice maker is likely to become jammed. It's easy to see the problem after removing the cover from the ice maker, but the only solution is to install a new filter. Once I cleared the jam easily by hand but had to (carefully) use an ice pick the next time - and then immediately installed a new filter!



Regards,

EdB

This filter is for my Frigidaire Side-by-side, 26.0 cu ft, Stainless Steel refrigerator. Model # FRS6LF7JS0, S/N: 4A81707239. Manufactured April 2008.



I first operated the water dispenser on 08JULY08. After the RED light came on to change the filter, I kept putting it off...over and over until I became accustomed to seeing the pretty RED light. It complemented the GREEN ice dispenser light very well, especially during the winter holidays.



I finally purchased the replacement filter and replaced it on 14MAY10...yes, that's right, 22 months of filtering and at least 13 months overdue for a change. The filter, being see-through, allowed me to see the bits (albeit small) of debris that floated about when I shook the old filter. It was something of a gagging effect I experienced in my thoughts. I should have changed the filter a lot sooner was the thought thereafter.



The point I wanted to single out is that even though the filter would definitely not pass a health inspection, the water that came out through it was relatively clear...I mean it! I would have never known that the filter was mucked-up had it not been for the RED "change me now!" light. Therefore, this filter is a very good filter.



However, the manufacturer states that this filter is to be replaced after 6-9 months of use or after a flow of 400 US Gallons, whichever comes first. I am assuming that the RED "change me now!" light is initiated by the filter backing up (Differential Pressure a.k.a. Delta-P), if not by this means, then perhaps by a flow meter? Whichever it may be, change your filter when the manufacturer says so. The price is high per unit, but if you were to change the filter out every 6 months, the price per day is approximately $0.19 (approximately $0.13 if every 9 months).



After you install the new filter, the manufacturer says to run water through the filter for 3 minutes. This will cycle out the air in the new filter and kind of give it a rinse at the same time. The water, at first, will come out somewhat like heavily diluted milk, due to the teeny-tiny air bubbles making their way out.



Don't forget to reset your RED filter light (if you have one)!

The PureSurse2 started to leak after 3-months in use. As mentioned in other reviews, my previous PureSourse2 had a plastic shield over the two nipples that plugs into filter compartment. This model does not have the shields and I believe as a result over time, pressure builds up and gradually loosens the connection resulting in the leak. I believe that the maunufacture changed the design as a way to save costs during the maunufacturing. As a result this new design leaks to happen easier.

I bought my Frigidaire SS refrigerator in 2006. It worked great and I usually left the Puresource2 water filter in for 9-12 months between changes. This year the water filter leaks large amounts of water directly from the filter whenever you use the water on the outside of the freezer door. I've replaced this expensive filter every 90-120 days this year. Apparently it's a pretty common problem and the information I've found is that Frigidaire redesigned this filter 2 years ago and now it leaks. Guess they weren't making enough money with a product that worked the way it was supposed to. - Water Filter - Fridge Filter - Refrigerator Filter - Refrigerator Water Filter'

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