Excellent, BUT, only for those with excellent vision
359403
An excellent and thorough study bible, but the font size is so small (to accommodate the book size) that it is very difficult to read.
3697476
I just got this book.  It looks great. So, far I have enjoyed the content.

I do have one major complaint and that is that the type setting is EXTREMELY SMALL.  It is printed in probably a size 8 font.  This is really bad for people like me who wear glasses and may want to read the book in lower light or on an exercise bike or commuter train.

If you have any difficulty at all with your vision, it might be best to buy an electronic version of the book.
544687
This is a most wonderful scope, although there is a bit of a steep learning curve.

The one major flaw this telescope has is the tripod: it is crappily made, super light, and any minor contact will set everything out of whack.

I still give the scope a five star rating because once you learn to use an equatorial mount to track objects, and you collimate the mirrors (getting whichever collimation eyepiece you can afford is a must) you will never want to use anything else. The light touch required to track objects without losing them through the eyepiece will require a delicate "dance of avoidance" around the crappy tripod anyway.

I initially got a lot of aberration and difficulty focusing on objects with both the Barlow lens, and the 4mm eyesight. After a very insane and obsessive process of progressive collimation, I have been able to get rather sharp images of Jupiter using the 4mm eyepiece, with some very faint banding noticeable (especially if you avert your stare from the center of the eyepiece), and up to 5 moons very clearly visible. At this point, the further from the center of the 4mm eyepiece, the more aberration visible. I can perform my "dance of avoidance" to consistently track Jupiter with close to the center of the 4mm eyepiece with the equatorial mount rather easily.

Also, you must learn to align the main optical tube with the finder scope. The farther the object you use to align with, and the better your alignment, the easier it will be to find objects, and even track them while somebody else is watching (great for those of us with other humans of astronomical inclinations in our lives).

The 20mm eyepiece does provide much better image quality than the 4mm eyepiece, yet if you learn to delicately switch out eyepieces (see "dance of avoidance" above) and have properly aligned the finder scope with the main optical tube, all you will have to do is turn the focusing knob (delicately!) between eyepiece changes.

The tripod problem can be solved by pre-tightening all wingnuts, and providing ground friction. I now carry a phillips screwdriver in my "astronomy bag" (an old laptop bag that fell into my lap courtesy of a friend) to tighten the top screw-wingnut combination on top. The ground friction problem (only existent on concrete surfaces) can be solved cutting square pieces of welcome mat to place the tripod feet on (the lady in my life still does not understand what sort of wild animal would chew through rectangular pieces of welcome mat, but has turned a blind eye to the incident).

Once you see the images possible of the Orion Nebula, realize the advantages of an equatorial mount, and are willing to spend the first few nights playing the "alignment game", you will find yourself in the possession of a wonderful gateway to the stars. And you will never go back to altitude-azimuth mounts ever again. Ever. Pinky promise.

This review was placed right after ordering the Celestron AstroMaster Motor Drive and a universal T adapter (to hook a camera up to the beast). 'tis surely the season!
1855148
Hello Folks,

This is an absolutely beautiful monitor. I could not ask for/don't need more crisp definition, faster refresh rate, and/or more vivid colors.

There is one big problem though: GLARE

If you are like me, and have windows behind you, know that you will get enormous amount of glare. That "bright view panel" is acting like a sheet of glass.

I still give it a 5 star rating because it is such a beautiful monitor...but please be mindful of where you are going to have this monitor in relation to nearby lighting.

John
977420
The good: the pixels are perfect (no "stuck" pixels), and the image is excellent.  Windows 7 recognized the built-in speakers without the need for software installation.  The monitor packaging is excellent, and Amazon did a great job of providing an outer box to protect the monitor's original packaging.  Also very good is the complete connection choice:  HDMI, DVI, and VGA.  The IPS (in-plane switching) technology does provide for a very wide viewing angle.  Very nice built-in horizontal screen adjustment.  I was just asked about color adjustment, so in case you don't see the comment, I'll say it here:  The color adjustments are: sRGB, Bluish, Cool, Native, Warm, and User Color. The User Color gives you complete freedom to dial in whatever you want, in case one of the presets doesn't work for you.

The not so good: the controls are tucked in below the screen and are hard to get to.  If you are someone who changes your monitor settings frequently, you may not be happy.  I adjust it once and forget it, so it wasn't a significant problem.  There is no vertical height adjustment; mine's sitting on a phone book ;).

The other issue is the default settings are alarmingly bright.  I turned down the brightness with the built-in controls as much as I could (leaving the contrast setting towards the high end) and it was still too bright.  I then turned down the brightness using my graphics card software control, and got a picture I am happy with.  Even with that, however, the black level is not as good as a 23" Samsung LCD panel sitting with another computer six feet away.  I use a "blank" screen saver, which is pure black, and the black level of the Samsung is deeper, even though I have the brightness about as low as you can get with the ViewSonic.  I didn't do a full-blown calibration of the monitor, like a serious photographer would do, so maybe that would help the black level of the ViewSonic.  The black level is an issue only when the screen saver is on and I compare it to the Samsung; otherwise, the colors are very rich and saturated in the ViewSonic.

To summarize, aside from control accessibility and screen saver black level, the image of the ViewSonic is great, and I'm very happy with the purchase.
3988902
These are pretty great specs ... if you have a small head. The lens size is right for big heads, but the frame is not. Most people have a "four-head." I have a "five-head." See what I did there? ;)

$15 isn't worth the hassle of sending these back, or I would. They'd be good for anyone smaller than 6'5", I think. I'd keep wearing them, but I can actually make them crawl up my head just by moving my eyebrows and wiggling my ears; meaning they're too tight. ;)
4248431
Excellent field of vision, but the vibration at highway speeds drops the grade a little.  For the price they are a pretty safe bet if you're looking for an attractive and functional set of mirrors.  Recommendation to the manufacturer, offer these in long stem, and try to do something about the vibration.  You could double the price and it would still be well worth it.
572071
As many reviews have stated, both here and on other sites, this is a wonderful device.  The device itself is intuitive, the touch screen well done, it's built like a tank and the navigation through the screens and all the various tools is simple and well thought out.

My only problem: I can't read books on the thing.  The glare/reflection gives me a wicked headache after less than an hour.  It's due to the touch screen being layered on top of the e-ink screen.  I actually returned it because an electronic reading device is of no use to me if I can't comfortably read on it for long periods of time.  Many folks say they can ignore the glare, adjust angles, etc.  If you can: more power to you.  Personally, I don't want to have to worry about angling it just so to read my book.  I want to forget I'm using a device.

That said, when I returned it, I bought a Sony Pocket Edition (PRS-300, one step down and no touch screen).  If you can stand the glare, enjoy it.  If you can't, take a look at the Pocket Edition.
1963763
Yup: if you loved The Tree of Life, see this ASAP; if not, skip it. This is pure arthouse: superb direction, cinematography, and editing, very fine score, sometimes slow pace (enlivened by some dance action), and a very slight story. The two lead performances are very good, the others perfunctory (they're all non-professionals).

For arthouse fans, the 5th star is going to depend on how much metaphorical meaning you draw from the title phenomenon. For me, the film left too many dots for the viewer to connect (which is to say, all of them). The "fits" would have seemed more meaningful to me had the elements of the story that they seem to symbolize (coming of age, the need to conform to one's peers while remaining an individual, etc.) been fleshed out more in the literal story. As it is, they stand in for these themes rather than connecting to them (since they're not much there to connect to). I can understand why some arthouse fans would rather have it the other way around, though.

In the meantime, this is a stunning directorial debut, in terms of behind-the-camera talent. There are images as breathtaking as anything you're likely to see this year.
1754403
Fantastic image, but does have some cons as far as I'm concerned:

- Only two HDMI ports
- No picture-in-picture (if you care about that)
- No HDMI-CEC
993168
I bought this TV from Amazon about one month ago and have used it for watching a variety of programming (both HD and SD) and gaming.

I did a fairly substantial amount of research on HDTVs and basically learned that, until OLED or SED become commercial, there's not a "perfect" solution.  Each technology has its own inherent advantages and disadvantages, and each company has its own ideas about implementation of those technologies and differentiating features.

To my eye, I found that this TV had the best overall "picture quality" of any that I examined - although picture quality is a subjective measure, and different people are put-off by different components.  I'm annoyed by the muddiness of DLPs (introduced by wobulation - not sure if there's a "true" 1080 / non-wobulated DLP out there - TI didn't feature one on their website, as far as I could find, although technology evolves), the visible pixels on plasma, which I see at even reasonable viewing distances, and the various LCD issues.  This TV has vivid colors that need to be toned down from the stock settings, excellent contrast, superior sharpness, and pixels that aren't easily visible (you can see them from 2 - 3" away but that's a little close for normal viewing).

However, there are trade-offs:  some DLPs allegedly can reproduce "reference standard" color, as can some plasma, and both plasma and LCD have a far more elegant form factor.  I found the JVC SXRD-equivalent (HD-ILA) to be inferior to my eye, appearing not as sharp displaying the same material, although whether inherent in the display or due to poorer video processing from inferior source material I don't know.  There is a minor "silk-screen" effect, inherent in all rear-projectors, but it doesn't bother me - I prefer it to the grid on plasma, for example.

I have found the Sony video processing to be excellent - of course, the quality of the source material is exposed because the TV can't "make up" missing information - but so far, I haven't found an upconverting DVD player to be necessary (might be nice, of course).  SD and some DVD material on TVs with inferior video processing looks REALLY bad, so this is something that's worth evaluating carefully.  If you are using a standard-def console for gaming, game mode is necessary - there is a lag from the processing that is noticeable, despite what CNET said.

The feature set is rich, with many inputs, all of which are easy to access.  Each input carries its own settings, too, so you can optimize one for cable, one for gaming, one for DVD, one for HDDVD/BluRay etc.  The VGA input seems to work fine with my video card, but your mileage here may vary.  I've read different reports.  The only issue with the inputs is a lack of random access; you have to cycle through, and there are 9 of them.

If you can tolerate 20" of depth (about the same as a 27" old-school CRT) - and if extreme-angle viewing, particularly vertical, isn't an issue, I would recommend this unit without reservation.  One other caveat is that, because this is a rear-projector, there is a warm-up cycle - it doesn't just flick on, it takes a few seconds to turn on and a few minutes to warm up.  I've heard that the guys who optimize these things wait at least 30 minutes for the set to warm before jimmying with the settings, but I've found it viewable after 2 or 3 minutes.

Oh yeah - the Amazon ordering process was easy, and the price was right.  Stay away from big-box retail unless they're running a special; specialty retail might have some value in terms of educated sales force etc., but big-box is both useless and expensive.

cdg
275480
The pictures are excellent. They are well exposed and colors are robust. It also does very well in low light, even without the flash. But it takes a good 3-5 seconds to process after each image on the highest megapixel settings in intelligent mode, which is very slow.
3697590
This product may be fine for someone who just needs a little help.  I have low vision and it's not that helpful for me.  I have another similiar product, "Owl", which I was trying to replace only because I thought the viewing area would be larger.  It is, but the magnification is not as good for my circumstances.
986665
There might be controvery with this camera due to the age of its design but as a previous owner of a 20d, I can attest to the excellent quality of this box.

The pros: Picture quality is astounding, viewfinder is bright, and high ISO performance is excellent. Thanks to the full-sized chip, I've shot at 1000 without any problems and it should have very low noise at 1600. The full-sized chip also provides prospects of great "bokeh" (if the lens is good enough), which is the out-of-focus areas truly being out of focus (and less distracting).

The cons: Weight, older technology, and sluggish focus performance. I have found that if I turn on only one focus zone, it does much better. Of course, then I have to reposition the camera and squeeze the shutter release the rest of the way. Hey, I hear the 5d Mark II has the same problem, so I hear you'll need to go Nikon to avoid this. This is the obvious camera if you truly love your 24-70 L and 70-200 L 2.8 glass. If you have no lenses, many people on dpreview.com seem to say to go Nikon. One interesting comment there said that Nikon does better at the wide angles and have lenses that favor cropped viewfinders (smaller chips). On the other hand, they said that Canon has better teles and their lenses favor full-sized viewfinders. So even if I had it to do over, I'd probably go Canon.
124162
Pros:
- Awesome, quick, straight-out-the-box pre-built! This kit is so beautifully already assembled. You only have like 3 steps to fold it back then you're done!
- High product quality and nice head strap.

Cons:
- The Bi-convex 37mm Diameter lenses for this kit are like BIFOCALS and blurry for me WHEN I wear my glasses and also without glasses. It's dizzy being nearsighted. With my glasses on, the screen is only clear in the center and blurry around the edges.

BUT with my contact lenses on, this kit works so much better. The older Google Carboard kits I could see perfectly fine without glasses on being nearsighted, but not with this kit.

This would have been 5 stars if it wasn't for the dizzy thick bifocal lenses.
4259166
Pros:
1.) Compliments my fantastic lens collection (Pana 20mm F/1.7, Oly 45mm F/1.8, and Oly 75mm F/1.8, Pana 12-35mm)
2.) Dynamic Range: on par with Canon full-frames, I recommend exposing to the right
3.) Color: Adobe profiles in LR are surprisingly good.
4.) AutoWB: Best of any camera I own(ed).
5.)  Image stabilization:  The best I have ever used.
6.) EVF:  Make sure to keep lag in check by changing the setting to fast.  This gives a 120 Hz refresh rate, the best I have seen to date.
7.) High ISO: Very impressed, the noise levels are near Nikon D7000, and the colors stay true.
8.) LCD Screen: Not the highest resolution screen but it does handle sunlight better than Sony NEX-5N
9.) Build and Weatherproofing: used it in Cascades during a winter storm with my only weather sealed lens and the combo worked perfectly.
10.)  Tonality: Similar to other top digital cameras with only the super Nikon D800 ($3k) being the exception
11.) Handling: The OMD is extremely customizable, only complaint is that MySet's names are not editable.
12.) Autofocus: Blazing fast and accurate.  The face recognition is great for close to medium distances, it will struggle on far away subjects.  Thankfully, the FNC buttons are configurable and I have mine to zoom.

Neutral:
1.) Metering:  It does ok, but has a tendency to underexpose if left on its own.
2.) Battery Performance:  I shoot with the EVF without auto review.  With these settings, I can shoot around 500 photos.  Otherwise, expect the advertised 330 shots.
3.) Low ISO: Disappointed Olympus chose 200 ISO for it base.  With a MFT camera I like to shoot wide-open as much as possible and preferably below F/4.  With a 200 ISO and a 1/4000 shutter speed I am limited.  A neutral density (ND) filter is an annoying must.

Cons:
1.) Handling: It is almost too small, I highly recommend using a leather wrist strap to improve confidence and usability.  The optional battery grip adds girth to the handle, but that is $300!  This is the only glaring design flaw.  Sony NEX models have this in Aces.
2.) JPEG: The highly touted Olympus Pen JPG Engine does not work well with this sensor (oversharpens and noise reduction destroys all fine detail). ALWAYS SHOOT RAW!
3.) The AutoFocus points are way too large. If shooting people at a distance with high contrast backgrounds it will focus on the background. I hope that Olympus will update the firmware to give the option of shrinking the size
4.)  Only ONE SD card, having a backup is huge plus, they could have made room for a second slot by making the grip larger.  WIN WIN
5.) Predictive AF on mirrorless cameras is pathetic, unfortunately OM-D falls into this same category.

Summary:
Shooting with this camera is just plain fun.  I still have my Full-Frame DSLR that I use for assignments but this is my choice for personal use.  If Olympus debuts a camera with two SD slots I will likely start using this system for my assignments.  I know full well that the tiny sensor cannot compete with a Full-Frame DSLR in super high ISO and super thin DOF.  But it also has its advantages, for one all of my lenses are razor sharp wide-open.  Having more DOF means I can shoot two stops wider open than with a DSLR and still keep the ISO speeds to a minimum.  This is why I ultimately chose MFT, having an APS sensor would mean compromise; I will not get the great bokeh of a Full-Frame, nor do get the greater DOF of MFT's.
68966
the material is great , but I have cataracts and it has fine print , so it is almost too much for the strain it puts on them, so I am reading  "The Law of One" on the computer, he has the most brilliant mind I have ever come across in my 78 yr's  , I have studied metaphysics since 65 , not to mention the hundreds of things that 99% of the pop. would not understand. I thank him for putting out all the info he does. one w/ the one , mary.