Canon XL2

Advantages: Easy to use for beginner, built in 16:9 field of view
Disadvantages: Heavy in prolonged use (3.545Kg), quite short battery life

...Canon suggests that the XL2 provides "unprecedented flexibility" for the digital camcorder user. So, how good is the XL2? Straight out of the box the camera seems impressive. The build quality is good and each camera component feels strong and well built. The supplied user manual leads you through the step-by-step assembly of the camera although some of the stages are not explained very clearly. However, the connection of each of the camera's components to the main body is very logical and could be undertaken without using the manual. Once assembled the camera does feel quite heavy with the centre of gravity leaning slightly towards the front of the camera. Initially this is not a problem but with prolonged hand-held use the camera can start to feel a little too heavy. The camera provides 3 1/3" progressive CCD sensors...

kollerto 20.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Canon XL2 camcorder - Mini DV

A sure-fire bet with Shure SM 58 LC mic!

Advantages: Great professional sounding mike for under £100
Disadvantages: Its only disadvantage is its not the wireless version for this price ;-)

...~~~The product itself~~~ The product itself is a shure SM 58 LC professional microphone for vocal singing. ~~~Make & model~~~ It is one of the most recognisable microphone's on the market with its graphite grey body and dull silver head. It comes complete with a mike stand holder and a soft case, as well as the box it is supplied with. I purposely bought this model without the on/off switch as a friend told me he had some trouble with a switch on a Shure, (although it was after ten years of solid use with a hired pa system). It is availabe to buy with an on/off switch though if that's what you prefer. ~~~Sound Quality~~~ Fantastic. I've been complimented so many times on how good a sound i get out of this mic. I plugged her in and off she went, no feedback, crisp clear sound, in fact she was so good i vowed to cherish her...

pe2euk 31.05.2006 · Read review
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Review of Shure SM 58 LC

DVD Player... or... Night On The Tiles?

Advantages: Cheap and Function Packed
Disadvantages: None As Yet

...In order to satisfy my technological needs and not having had a product to review in this genre for nearly 6 months now I thought I had better purchase something?well that?s one of the excuses anyway. With an impending move ahead of me back to my hometown Norwich from Leeds, I decided to leave my old single region DVD player, despite its smart style, with my girlfriend who didn?t own one. Scouring the Internet revealed a possible successor: the Yakumo DVD Master XL2. Amazon seemed to stock these little beauties at £35?. yes that?s right £35!!! Now I had Amazon vouchers to the value of £20 and was almost stupefied that I could get this delivered for a sum total of £15 with Amazon?s Supersaver delivery? not bad but there had to be a catch, didn?t there? Surely £35 meant that I was buying a budget item that either wouldn?t work properly...

heideroosjes 03.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of Yakumo XL2

Sharp Aquos LC46

Advantages: Cheap, simple to use and good picture
Disadvantages: Basic in features, better picture on more expensive sets, poor EPG

...As we allready own a Sharp Aquos LC 32 (analogue) we decided to upgrade to a 46" Digital model. The TV is simple to instal and tune and the menu easy to follow. The backlight feature is not so good as it is set on maximum as a factory standard. We could have done with a bit more backlight as the picture can appear dark at times. The Electronic Program Guide is not the best in the world but suffient for use. It takes forever to browse through the week ahead as you have to move one program at a time. Most EPGs allow you to skip days. To obtain the best results, you have to adjust all of the colours and tints to your own standards but this is easy to do and the menu is user friendly. It is very light for its size and easy to mount on a wall fitting. The remote is easy to use but there is an added extra of the Aquos...

awb714 20.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Sharp Aquos LC-46DX1

Artistic Brilliance (LC-A Deluxe Pack)

Advantages: Small, Artistic, Unique, Original, Manual Functions
Disadvantages: Russian Manual, Expensive

...The Lomography LC-A is a compact Russian 35mm camera. It is small, black and of medium weight. It features adjustable aperture, focus and ASA settings along with a close-able lens cover. The LC-A's main appeal comes from the unique quality of the Minitar lens, and the camera has been promoted heavily through the Lomography Society International. I bought an LC-A deluxe pack from the Lomography store about one and a half years ago. I then proceeded to place the camera and equipment on a shelf whilst i argued with my conscience over whether i should have paid £200 or not. After a little while i decided that whatever the cost, I had forked out for it and i should use it. -------------------------------------------------- The entire bundle included the following: - Lomo LC-A camera - "Lomographiere" hardcover book - Two 35mm...

Aphasia 10.01.2007 (16.01.2007) · Read review
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Review of Lomo LC-A Compact Camera

Suvuki Intruder 1500LC

Advantages: Bags of grunt at low revs. Long wheelbase for stability when towing.
Disadvantages: lots of shiney bits to take off to do the most basic maintenance.

...and the bike still plays with it. Down side of the LC1500, the shiney bits. Even to top up the oil you need an allen key to take off the shiny side cover. This is the storey with all maintenance jobs, spark plugs, battery, etc. all hidden behind shiny bits. But again, that is what this type of bike is all about....Looks. I would consider an essential bit of kit with this type of bike is a hydraulic bike lift. I have found it so useful and time saving. As the bike has no centre stand (who but a body builder could haul it on to one), used to support the bike vertical at ground level makes basic maintenance and saftey checks so much easier, and jacked up to the top, dropping the back wheel for new rubber is so much easier than a complete strip of the back end to get the wheel out. Summary, as i could talk for ever. Having covered several thousand...

bikernut1500 24.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Suzuki Intruder LC1500

I would NOT recommend the 37LC46

Advantages: It's OK with an HDMI upscaling DVD Recorder
Disadvantages: Without one, you end up with *downscaled* images, not upscaled

...but with a slight compromise in resolution - but it's better than what you're stuck with with the LG. It appears the problem with the 37LC46 is that its 'native' resolution is 480i - meaning that a standard UK television picture is not getting UPSCALED by the on-board video processor, but DOWNSCALED - i.e. to a 'proto-NTSC' 525-line analogue equivalent picture (and at 60Hz too which makes movement look jerky). In fact, when I switch the Philips DVDR to 480i I get exactly the same picture on the 37LC46 that it gives on its built-in DVB-T tuner or directly from SCART inputs, and indeed it goes back to 480i if I ever power-cycle the DVDR because that's the 'resolution negotiation' that gets sent over the HDMI. I can't send it back because it's not 'faulty' as such, but if I'd known that I'd have to spend another £150 on another device to...

mbvs 16.02.2008 (15.02.2008) · Read review
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Review of LG 37LC46

LC26GA6E good LCD TV

Advantages: Easy to set up and use, lots of connections
Disadvantages: price a bit high, stand a bit bulky

...This TV is a 'real' HD ready TV with Screen resolution of 1366 x 768. Not like the other LC P55E or P70E models of similar price which were previously advertised as 'HD ready' but in fact they are not. They are EDTV i.e. screen resolution can go up to 900 x 540, not really high defintion. Strangly enough, the sharp UK website did not have the specfication of LC26GA6E but the others mentioned above. You can hang this TV on the wall without professional help as it is not heavy. Or, you can use its own (quite strong) table-top stand although it seems a bit bulky to me. I like the design of the speakers all at the bottom so that the screen is almost the same width as the set i.e. full use of the width. For those that have side speakers, they looked bulky. The speakers are 2 X 10W, better than most of the others for normal use...

volcano 23.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Sharp LC-26GA6E

Quality DVD without the price tag

Advantages: Great quality and sound without the price
Disadvantages: Not really compatible with LG sets

...The DVD Master XL2 is Yokumo?s first plunge into the world of DVD Players and have started with a red hot deal. The XL2 is a stylish looking player packed with features with an astonishing low price. Playing all formats i.e. DVD (-R, +R, -RW, +RW), VCD, SVCD, CD-audio, Kodak Picture CD, JPG-CD, MP3, CD, CD-R and CD-RW media shows the excellent value and first class product you are getting for such an outstanding price. With all the required connections (coaxial digital out, stereo-analogue, Dolby digital (AC-3), DTS digital out, SCART out, composite video out, coaxial digital out and s-video) this player can be hooked up to anything. With extra features like picture-by-picture slow motion, programmable playback sequence or random play, zoom, manual title-search, parental lock as well as subtitles and multiple view angles go to make...

mike_ire 01.03.2004 · Read review
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Review of Yakumo XL2

Review Of Acer Laptop model 1362LC

Advantages: Cheap As Chips and Powerful Enough Desktop Replacement
Disadvantages: No DVDRW if that affects you

...Hello There! Thinking of buying this Laptop? Then read on and let me tell you a quick bit about it! Having previously owned a doomed Tiny A360 laptop (big mistake) I sold it for spares, and funded my purchase of a new Laptop. I opted for this unit, purchased from ebuyer at the bargain price of £470 (inc VAT) Quick Rundown of the laptop The Acer Aspire 1362LC is the budget end of the Aspire range. Powered by a Mobile AMD Sempron 2800+ chip, the CPU provides a well struck balance between power and battery life. The unit comes as standard with 256MB RAM of the DDR variety. Upgradibility of the RAM is effortless as one screw removed from the access panel allows you access to the spare slot available. The laptop is equipped with a XGA 15"TFT which is bright and clear, with no dark spots anywhere. Also it has several contrast...

csujamie 28.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Acer Aspire 1362LC