Digital SLR Reviews Blog

Seagull SC 5 Hot Shoe Flash Adapter to PC and Standard Hot Shoes for Sony Alpha Minolta Maxxum Cameras

Seagull SC-5 hot shoe adapter is designed to connect all standard shoe flashes to the proprietary Sony Alpha / Minolta Maxxum hot shoes. This adapter will allow you to use any flash or accessory having a standard flash shoe with Sony Alpha / Minolta Maxxum cameras, including digital & film series. This adapter is fully compatible to work with all Sony Alpha & Konica Minolta Maxxum SLR Cameras.

It also allow to trigger external flash with PC sync cord similar to the more expensive Sony FAST1AM Sony Sync Terminal Adapter and Konica Minolta Maxxum FS-1100 PLUS. Provides PC sync socket for cameras that doesn’t have it.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Doesn’t work
I bought one to use on my Minolta Dimage Z1 and have yet to get it to work. The problem I suspect is with the camera as the flash will fire when I touch the correct copntacts on the adaptor. I wanted to use an external flash that I already have rather than buy a new one. May just buy another camera of another brand.

4 Stars Small, cheap, effective
Sony do a lot of things write when it comes to DSLR, but that Minolta hot-shoe attachment can be a real pain when you’re working in a studio and trying to fire off a bunch of studio flashes.

The Sony answer comes at a hefty price… this version is simpler, smaller, cheaper and just as effective. Simple to use, universally accepted (so far) and small (a previous, borrowed version had cut into my cheek) this was as good a buy as I’ve made this year

3 Stars didn’t work with my flash
I was trying to use an older flash and it wouldn’t work with it. I returned it because since I had to buy a flash, I will get a minolta compatible one.

Cost me a total of $13.00 shipping because I had to pay both ways.

1 Star Doesn’t work with A100
The hot shoe appears to fit, but neither the PC terminal nor hot shoe will fire two different standard flashes. Might be OK with automated flashes, but my old Vivitar’s don’t fire.

4 Stars Works Great
The Seagull SC-5 Hotshoe adapter works just as well as the Sony/Minolta adapter. For a whole lot less money.

Processing and shipping of the item could have been a little quicker

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Joby GP2 D1EN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod for Digital SLR Cameras with Bubble Level

The Joby GP2-D1EN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod is designed for Digital SLR Cameras and it comes with a bubble to help you level your picture.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great travel tripod!
I love this little guy! I take it with me everywhere I take my Nikon D5000! It’s a quick way to stabilize your camera in a hurry without lugging around a full size tripod.

1 Star Make sure your camera isn’t too heavy!
We purchased this tripod for out Nikon D5000 fitted with a 18-200mm lens. The weight of the lens was too heavy for this particular tripod, causing the entire camera/tripod unit to keel over. Luckily, we tested it out on a table top at home rather than out in the field. We did not notice any weight/lens restriction in the packaging or amazon description which might have warned us about this.

5 Stars Great tripod. Make sure you choose the right one for your type of camera.
I don’t agree with the negative review about this tripod, because the wrong size was chosen by the buyer. There are different sizes of Gorillapods for different sizes of cameras and lenses. This one is specified for smaller cameras, and for that purpose it works great (at least for me it does). My advice: before you buy andy Gorillapod, check on Joby’s website which one’s right for the type of camera and lens you have, and then you can come back to buy it cheaper @ Amazon.

3 Stars Strong enough for a DLSR my ACE!!
Sorry, but this is a joke. Please don’t label something DSLR capable when it’s barely strong enough to hold a super zoom camera.

Maybe I got a poor copy, but if I didn’t, don’t expect much out of yours.

I LOVE the idea, I have other Gorillapods for standard size cameras and they are exceptional. I LOVE the quick release and the level that comes standard.

This thing can’t hold my canon 5d mark II with a tiny 50mm lens.

Sorry, but that’s disappointing!

I’m not returning it because it works well for so many other things.

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Nikon D40 18 135mm Lens Kit

For a limited time only, purchase a qualifying digital SLR and save 10% on select accessories from Bogen, Metz, Kata and Lastolite. Simply add both items to your Shopping Cart and we’ll take care of the rest. These offers apply only to purchases of products sold by Amazon.com between May 20 and June 02, 2008, and do not apply to products sold by third-party merchants and other sellers through the Amazon.com site.

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Pentax D LI50 Li Ion Rechargeable Battery for Pentax K10D and K20D Digital SLR Cameras

Battery allows approximately 500 shots per charge under normal conditions / For use with Pentax K10D DSLR camera body

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars So far so good.
I am very happy to have a second power source. Plus I am happy to get the manufacturer brand for such a good price. My local store wanted almost twice the price. I also got it in 3 days. Wow!

5 Stars battery
Great response from this company. I received this item well before the ship date stated.

5 Stars Great long lasting battery.
I got the extra battery for my BG2 battery grip on the K20D.

My wife and I take alot of pictures and with the 2 batteries being used at the same time (alternating through the pictures) these batteries seem to last forever.

5 Stars Long lasting, reliable
I bought two, but have only used one, since the battery life is very long on the K20D. (More than double what I got on the Lithiums for my *istD). It also holds a full charge for months.

5 Stars No more Out of batery messages
I haven’t had any low battery warning since I got the battery grip, I’m glad of using this original battery on my camera! ecomended to anyone!

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Nikon D90 DX 12 3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18 105mm f 3 5 5 6G ED AF S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens

Fusing 12.3-megapixel image quality inherited from the award-winning D300 with groundbreaking features, the D90s breathtaking, low-noise image quality is further advanced with EXPEED image processing. Split-second shutter response and continuous shooting at up to 4.5 frames-per-second provide the power to capture fast action and precise moments perfectly, while Nikons exclusive Scene Recognition System contributes to faster 11-area autofocus performance, finer white balance detection and more. The D90 delivers the control passionate photographers demand, utilizing comprehensive exposure functions and the intelligence of 3D Color Matrix Metering II. Stunning results come to life on a 3-inch 920,000-dot color LCD monitor, providing accurate image review, Live View composition and brilliant playback of the D90s cinematic-quality 24-fps HD D-Movie mode.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Best I’ve owned
The Nikon D90 is the best camera I’ve ever owned. I currently own a D90 and D700. However, the ease of use, the portability and the utilitarian characteristics are amazing on the D90. The picture quality is equal to professional levels if you learn how to use this camera. I simply took pictures non-stop for six months and began to learn how to adjust settings. While I use the non-automatic settings you can get great pictures using the automatic settings as well despite what the books and critics say. I like nature photography and the fast setting has given me some great shots of birds in flight and animals on the run (horses, coyotes, deer, rabbits, etc). I recommend getting a Nikkor 70-300mm lens for telephoto and a Nikkor Micro 105mm for close-up work. You can use the 70mm-300mm without a tripod because it comes with vibration control. Very nice, indeed. With the 18mm-55mm lens that comes in the kit this is all the lens you will need to cover a wide range of shooting. I have photo’s in galleries from this camera. I am a serious photographer and have read the manuals, books, and watched video’s on this camera. I have also taken some courses on photography in general. While I use the D700 for some of my work I use my D90 for most of what I do. I highly recommend this camera to anyone.

5 Stars Great for the semi-pro
I have a D40 and a D60 and was about to purchase a D5000, but after looking at all the reviews I could find of each model, I chose to add the D90 to my collection…so glad I did. The quality is great for the price, and the pictures are amazing. I have added a wide angle (11-18) lens and I am so impressed with the results. I belong to a retro Thunderbird club, and getting 70 T-Birds in a clear concise photo was a major concern. Even large prints of the pics I took are of poster quality…which means, blown up, much detail can be seen. Great camera!

5 Stars The D90 Rocks!
I am an amateur photographer by far but got tired of missing the great moments waiting for my piece of junk ‘point and shoot’ to figure out that I wanted it to take a picture. After missing every attempted shot at my daughter’s gymnastics meet, I told my wife we are droppin’ some coin on a nice camera. I did a lot of web research reading reviews and talking with friends who had nice cameras. I had to go to Bestbuy to handle a few cameras because Montgomery ALABAMA does not have a single camera store……capital city too! NICE!

Bottomline – this camera does more cool stuff than I had realized. Download the owner’s manual from Nikon and see for yourself. I will not miss a great moment again. I could go into all of the features but others have done a much better job at writing reviews. I have never owned a Nikon nor a dSLR camera for that matter so I really have nothing to compare it to except my crappy ‘point and shoots (misses)’. Try Cameta Camera on eBay because they offer the same package deal as on Amazon but for $40 less. Still a good deal on Amazon with the extra lens, case, battery, etc.

3 Stars After the first 3 days, noticed 3 issues so far…
* Amazon customer service is second to none

* Nikon tech support is very responsive and seems knowledgeable, BUT, they will not tell the truth on certain issues, pretending that they have never heard of it before, which is common practice for most companies anyway, but I wish they would change that.

Aside from the following issues, the camera is perfect in most other respects, and I’m “VERY” picky, when it comes to choosing the right camera for me. I have been in the digital camera accessory business for over 10 years. No camera is perfect, if it was not for these issues, I would’ve given this at least a 4 star.

Here are some of the issues I’ve encountered so far.

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Oct 6, 2009

Received first camera from Amazon

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Oct 7, 2009

Shot about 200 pics, received the “F- -” error. Called Nikon, they instructed to remove and reattached the lens, which worked. They stated that it is a known issue, but they do not know the exact cause.

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Oct 8, 2009

I was reviewing a pic, suddenly, I noticed the AF assist lamp was on steadily, not sure for how long before I noticed it, I then pressed a button, forgot which one, the lamp went off, so I didn’t think of it as anything major.

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Oct 9, 2009

After about 500+ pics. I was shooting in HI continuous mode, when I went back to shoot again, the camera would not focus at all and displayed the “ERR” message. I pressed the shutter all the way, just to see what would happen, I did hear the shutter snapping sound, do not remember if it actually took a pic, then it was completely locked up. Called Nikon, they stated if releasing the shutter does not get rid of the “ERR”, return to Nikon for service. I removed the battery and that fixed the problem for now. Called Amazon, they are now sending me a new replacement, even though it seems to be working fine for now, I prefer not coming across any future issues.

Searched online about this “ERR” message and found a good amount of people having experienced the same or similar error problem, one or more times. Some also stated that by removing the battery will fix it every time, but not all have the same result.

I don’t really like seeing so many posts on this “ERR” message, so I’ll wait for the replacement and see what happens. I have two SanDisk Extreme III 8GB cards used for different devices, while I’m waiting, I’ll swap the cards and see if this “ERR” message comes up again.

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Oct 10, 2009

Called Nikon about this “ERR” issue (surprised they were opened on a Saturday), they stated that by removing the battery will work sometime, but not always. They claimed that “IF” I do need to send it in for service, they “WILL” be able to fix the “F- -” and “ERR” errors “FOR SURE” permanently. So far, from some of the posts I’ve read, that seem to be the case, but you may have to wait about 3 weeks to get the camera back (waiting is the tuff part).

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Will continue with updates…

5 Stars It’s a D300 for half price.
I had the D300 and loved it until this came out.

The D300 is great, but it can be complicated at times.

The D90 is a D300 in the body of a D70. Sure, there are other features on the D300; metal pro body and seals – but when it comes to speed, handling, and image quality – you will be hard pressed to see a difference.

Buy the D300 to impress people.

Buy the D90 to take awesome photos, and with the money you saved, you can fund that next awesome lens you wanted.

Seriously, it’s that good.

Former D300 owner, have also owned the D80 and D70.

Presently own the D40x, D90 (new – and love), F100 and a FE. Don’t ask me about lenses – I own too many as it is.

ps. I sold my D300 and got the D90.

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