BLU Studio 5.5 D610a Unlocked Dual SIM GSM Phone (Grey)

BLU Studio 5.5 D610a Unlocked Dual SIM GSM Phone (Grey)..

GET BLU Studio 5.5 D610a Unlocked Dual SIM GSM Phone (Grey) By BLU

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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful.
great phone
By easmith9140
okay first background:
coming from an iPhone 5c to this. (nothing wrong with iPhone except that it died and i needed a less expensive alternative)
i am in college, do a lot of emails, web browsing, app usage, messaging, and using maps(cuz i can never find anything in this town)
first off look at the specks- this phone is huge compared to an iPhone but very similar in it's build to a samsung galaxy. so if you don't want a big phone then this isn't for you. i didn't look at the size before ordering and was very mad at myself until i opened the box. this is a sleek phone with a bit of a grippy back casing; like what you would get with an incipio case. it is not heavy at all compared to it's size and it's very thin and well built. no rattling and no squeeks anywhere. back stays on well. screen is nice and bright and very clear. i honestly can't see a difference between this display and my iPhone. i have used the camera and the pictures come out fine; i don't use a phone for a camera religiously though. this is an android based phone which i love. the voice command and voice to text application come built in and are WAY BETTER than siri ever was for me. (the voice to text is an option while in the message screen) the phone volume is loud, music is crystal clear even in head phones and also in my car aux. i haven't had any issues yet and it's been about a month. if anything happens I'll update.

so pros:
good sound
light but durable
clear screen/good display
good software (easy to learn since I've never dealt with it)
easy to set up and work
easy to text/ use touch screen

only con: was the size until i got use to it. (so easy to read on this phone and i can actually watch videos. i was so close to sending it back but i love it now)

so in conclusion: great phone for the price. i really don't have any issues so far and I'm very pleased with my purchase. i got more than expected and i am pleasantly surprised.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful.
Great Off-Brand Phone! You won't regret your purchase!
By Gerren Jones
Ok, I have to say that I am super impressed with this phone. If your reading this review, you are probably just as skeptical as I was when considering buying an off-brand phone. I don't write many reviews, but I always rely on others reviews so I want to help others with their hesitation to purchase this phone. I switched to T-mobile to save a little cash from being a Verizon customer for many years. First, the shipping was really fast, which was one of the reasons I got this phone after looking at other unlocked phones; this was available for Prime shipping.

Now for the meat and potatoes...once I turned the phone on, it started the normal Android first use process. And since I was going from a Note 2, I already had Google information. The phone was set up with my info in about 3 minutes and started downloading the apps I had on the Note 2. Then went to T-mobile to purchase a sim card ($10). They entered my info activated the sim card and the phone was up and running in about 2 minutes. Full bars and 4G!! I've been playing with the phone for about 2 days now and everything is good to go with no problems. Only problem I had was transferring my number from Verizon and that had nothing to do with the phone itself, but the process of porting a phone number between companies.

If I had to give any dislikes, I have 2...which isn't a deal breaker to me. One is that the phone doesn't have a lot of storage, but I added a 16gb micro sd and that dislike is solved. This phone will take as much as a 64GB micro card by the way. And the second dislike would be the camera. And I'm only comparing it to the Note 2 since that what I switched from. But like I said, not a deal breaker for me. This phone says 5.0 mega autofocus on the camera.

Overall I'm very happy with this phone and I don't think I'll get a name brand phone ever again when I look at the cost comparison. This phone works about 98% as good as my old Galaxy Note 2 and I love Samsung products. Just not Samsung prices. If you have read this far of my review, go on and buy the phone. You won't regret it.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful.
Bang for your buck!
By Bradley T.
I am posting this after using the phone for 24 hours:

Looks: Straight out of the box the phone looks like a name brand phone. Sleek, subtle, and straight to the point.

First Use: I put my (AT&T) SIM card into the phone and booted it up. I went through the 3 minutes Android/Google setup and viola! everything was working. I just had to add the settings to get my multimedia text working. Everything else worked automatically, even data. (I had read from another reviewer that it didn't get 4G speeds but I don't think he understands the difference betweeen 4G and LTE. I am very happy with the (data) speed of the phone.) The screen isn't super clear but it is very nice for what you pay. The camera was also sub par but once again you get what you pay for. The quadcore processor is very responsive and leaves very little time for lagging.

Overall: I paid $170(something) for an unlocked 5.5 inch (screen size) Android device and can not complain. If you want a replacement phone without renewing your contract or paying $500+ for an unlocked device, this is what I would purchase. Before reviewing the phone remember that you are reviewing a $170 phone, not a Note 3. If anything changes over the next few weeks I will update the review but has of today I am extremely happy.

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Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs..

GET Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs By Canon

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929 of 969 people found the following review helpful.
The answer to the crop sensor problem.
By Jim Krupnik
My take on this lens is that it is an "L" quality optic in a fine, non "L" package. There is nothing else on the market to compete with it (nothing at all), and it produces supurb images. It isn't an f/2.8 lens, but it is close enough for most uses. The competition from Tamron is a full stop slower, not as sharp, and is awful in dim light compared to the Canon 10-22 lens (sorry, Tamron fans, but the Tamron lens isn't even playing in the same ballpark).

I use this lens on a 30D body, and I always keep it on hand if I'm doing any indoor, or tight group photography. It is the perfect solution to the perennial problem of not having enough room to capture all the kids at a birthday party in one shot because your back is up against a wall. This lens will just about get your toes into the picture at the widest setting, yet delivers tack sharp, colorful, and contrasty images. The auto focus is spot on, silent, and fast. It is a must have lens for the active amateur, or any pro using a 1.6 crop factor camera. You simply can't beat this lens with anything available on the market today.

That beng said, do not try to convince yourself that this will make a good "walkaround" lens. It isn't. Even at max length, it is far too short to live on your camera as a standard lens. You need this lens, even if you don't know it yet, but it should not be your first lens, as it will only be used 15 to 20 percent of the time. At those times, it's performance simply cannot be equaled by any other zoom lens on a 1.6 crop factor camera. You will be amazed by the quality of this lens. It rivals the performance of modern prime lenses, presents a bright viewfinder image, and delivers the goods in tight situations.

This is not a casual assessment, nor a Canon "feel good" moment on my part. I developed my first B&W contact prints in 1964, in my own darkroom at the age of 9 (my parents were concerned:)), and have been an avid photographer ever since. Small, medium, and large format cameras and lenses have passed through my hands over the years, and Canon has become my favorite small format brand. Still, Canon builds some trash lenses that should be avoided. The 10-22 USM is not one of them :).

Before you go out and buy this lens, you should already own the EF-S 17-55mm IS f/2.8 lens. That is the king of 1.6 crop factor standard lenses, and includes the awesome Canon IS feature. It will end up being mounted on your camera 80% of the time, and keep you smiling after every shoot. Get that lens first. Then, get the 10-22mm lens. Then, let your imagination run wild, and plan on serious telephoto lenses for the future. Trust me or not, the two lenses mentioned above will provide you with photographic tools that will astound you. Get them in your kit as soon as you can afford them.

A little warning about either lens.... Some here will argue the point, but with either lens, get a GOOD quality UV filter that is multi-coated on both sides, and built extra thin to avoid vignetting at wide lens settings. A good filter will cost a little less than one hundred Dollars, and can cost up to one hundred forty Dollars. The minimum brand would be Hoya Pro 1 multi coated filters, and the ante goes up from there.

Everything else is garbage, including the Canon "sharp cut" filter that costs less than fifty bucks. No kidding, no conjecture. If you use cheap filters, you will never see what your lens can really do. Ever. No doubt that many will respond with claims that their twenty Dollar filter works just fine, but they simply don't know any better, and have never used their expensive equipment to it's full potential. It's akin to a Chevy owner passing judgement on a Mercedes Benz. The Chevy might feel real good, but until you own the Mercedes, you just have no clue.

Bottom line.... Make sure that the quality of your filters exceed the quality of your lenses. Yes, at a hundred bucks a pop for a 77mm filter, it hurts, but you will never regret it. Also, Amazon does not stock lens hoods for all non L Canon lenses. The price is stupid high for those hoods, but they make a night and day difference in in picture quality. Whenever you order a non L Canon lens, find a web seller who has the hood in stock, and get it right now. Again, you will never regret owning it.

That's it for my review/rant. Buy this lens. Buy the 17-55 IS f/2,8 first. Buy the lens hoods for both. Toss any "kit" lenses that came with the camera in the trash bin (where they belong), and be very happy.

277 of 294 people found the following review helpful.
The best lens I own
By M. A. Filippelli
I have had this lens for several months now and let me start out by saying WOW. I looked at the lens in the store along with the Sigma 12-24 and I was in total awe of what I saw though the view finder with the Canon 10-22. This is an ultra wide angle lens that is incredible. I went home and thought about where I would use this lens and determined that I would use it quite a bit. I went ahead and bought the lens and I continue to be more impressed with it every time I use it. I have used the lens for both close-up (which can give you some very interesting distortion shots)and wide angle shots with great success.

The 10-22mm is equivalent to 16-35mm field of view using a canon 20D which is not a full frame sensor. With a minimum focal distance of .24m (about 9.5 inches) you can get very close to objects and still get alot of focal width in the photo. There is incredible clarity in the lens. The photos I have taken are very clear with only a slight hint of softening at the corners at 10mm; everything else is sharp after that. There is a little barrel distortion at 10mm but everything else up to 22mm is nice. I have not gotten any light flare in my photos. The Ultrasonic motor is very quiet. The depth of field is outstanding. A slim UV filter helps prevent some slight vignetting at 10mm. With a maximum aperture that ranges from f/3.5 to f/4.5, the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens is a medium speed lens. I would recommend using a tripod if you are at all unsure about your ability to hold the camera still for action shots with this lens. The lens it's self is fairly light weight. If you are going to use filters the lens requires 77mm.

The lens can produce some interesting distortion shots if you are taking close-ups and are not perpendicular to the object. For close-up shots with out distortion it is best to be perpendicular to the object.

Inside the lens housing there are three aspherical lens elements and a Super UD element that produce clear vibrant shots. The lens it's self sturdily built and comfortable to handle.

UPDATE 7/30/2011: I still love this lens. It functions every bit as well as it did the day I got it.

600 of 648 people found the following review helpful.
Very good lens, but expensive
By Svend
I am very impressed with this lens. I didn't realize just how wide-angle this lens was. At 10mm, I can stand just a few feet in front of a 13-story building, and get the whole thing in the picture, from the entrance to the top of the building.

As with all very-wide lenses, you have to be careful that you don't have people at the edges of the frame or too close to the lens, or they will appear very distorted when taking pictures at 10mm. Also note that a wide angle lens is not easy to use at first to create compelling images, as it's very easy to include too much clutter in your compositions.

PROS
- optical quality is excellent (deserves an "L" lens designation)
- uses the higher quality ring-type USM focusing
- minimum focusing distance is very close
- surprisingly lightweight
- very flare-resistant even without hood
- the only option for EOS digital cameras (Rebel, Rebel XT, 20D) to get true wide angle shots due to the smaller APS-C sensor in those cameras.

CONS
- It's expensive! But at least it is cheaper than a year ago.
- The lens is a little soft in the corners at 10mm, but is very sharp at 12mm and up.
- Canon has not formally committed to how long they will continue to make cameras and lenses using the EF-S system.
- The lens currently only works on the lower-end dSLR cameras -- the 10D, 1D, 1Ds, and 5D cameras cannot use this lens.
- The hood is not included with this lens, but it's such as ugly hood and the lens doesn't have flare problems, so I don't really think it is necessary anyway.

In 5 years when you upgrade your camera, there is a possibility that it will not support this lens. This depends on what direction Canon goes in making camera sensors:
1) continue to make cameras that use the smaller APS-C sensor, and keep improving its density to support more and more resolution. This will help keep the dSLR cameras smaller and lighter, and will necessitate making EF-S lenses the standard.
2) make the sensors match the size of a frame of 35mm film. And at the same time increase the density to yield even more resolution. Right now sensors this big are very expensive to produce.

I now think that #2 is more likely to happen. All the other lenses out there are built for a 35mm-film-sized sensor, and now that Canon has released another full-frame camera (5D) at a lower price, I'm betting that in another few years the APS-C sensor will be practically obsolete. A 5D body and 16-35 or 17-40 lens will give you better results than a 20D with this lens, but the difference in price between the two setups is a few thousand dollars right now.

The 10-22 is an excellent lens, but it will probably not hold its value as well as the Canon 16-35 and 17-40 lenses. A slightly more affordable alternative is the Sigma 10-20mm, which sounds like it nearly equals the optical quality of this lens.

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PAC SNI-1/3.5 3.5-mm Ground Loop Noise Isolator Works with iPod/Zune/iRiver and Others

PAC SNI-1/3.5 3.5-mm Ground Loop Noise Isolator Works with iPod/Zune/iRiver and Others..

GET PAC SNI-1/3.5 3.5-mm Ground Loop Noise Isolator Works with iPod/Zune/iRiver and Others By PAC

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68 of 71 people found the following review helpful.
Works well with my iPhone and the aux-in on my Prius
By C. Chapman
I don't normally write reviews, but I didn't see any for this product and took a chance on buying it, and it worked out well, so I thought I should write one.

I have an iPhone that I use to play music via the aux-in port in my Prius and there was a lot of noise in the signal, especially if the headlights were on, and this was particularly problematic if I turned the volume way up for soft music (e.g. Renaissance lute music).

With this noise filter, that problem is gone.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
A miraculous device!
By Adam Scaduto
I have a car stereo with an AUX-in port. Unfortunately, when my car is running and I have my iPod plugged in, I get a very obnoxious electronic whine (more noticeable during the summer at night, with the headlights on and the ac running...the more electrics running in your car, the louder the whine). It would get so bad that it would make listening to music more of an annoyance than anything.

Searching on Amazon for an auxiliary charger for my iTouch, I came across this in a "Buy these two devices together and save" item. And I am happy to say it completely eliminated all electronic whine/feedback. It could not be simpler to install...plug one end of the isolator into your AUX port, and the other end into your iPod/mp3 player/auxiliary accessory(Griffin AutoPilot FM Transmitter for iPod, Kensington LiquidAUX Auxiliary Car Kit with Remote for iPod; iPhone 1G, 3G, etc.) It works like a charm. The way it works is its circuitry isolates any ground loops in your stereo (depending upon how it was installed, you may have a bad ground and that can cause an annoying whine).

HIGHLY recommended for anyone who wants to listen to their music and charge at the same time.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Cheap and works great.
By J. Hinkle
Completely eliminated the ground noise I was getting from the Belkin Bluetooth receiver I bought to get music and hand free calls over my car stereo.

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