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TrustedReviews Christmas List 2008

Author	TrustedReviews Team
Published	27th Nov 2008

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Nikon D700 Digital SLR

I've been into photography for over 20 years and have enjoyed witnessing every moment of the global transition from film to digital. In that time I've owned all sorts of SLRs including a Canon AE1, Pentax P30n, a trusty old Russian Zenit 11, a Canon T90 (loved that one!) and a string of Canon EOS models covering the 100, D30, 10D, and 1D Mark II. But after I lost the latter to the sea at Widemouth Bay, I've been pining for a new DSLR ever since.

So post 1D Mark II death, I've decided I want a full-frame digital SLR and Nikon's D700 fits the bill very well. The idea of returning to the same field of view and shallower depth of field I remember from the days of 35mm film coupled with a build quality I got used to with the 1-series Canon (magnesium alloy chassis with protective dust and moisture sealing) really does it for me. It's also not as big as the 1D making it even more portable while its 3in VGA screen is simply lovely.

There are of course other new full-framers. Sony's 24-megapixel Alpha A900 and Canon's 21-megapixel EOS 5D Mark II for instance are both very tempting, too, but I've been mightily impressed by the virtues of the 12.1-megapixel D700. Namely, great low-light low-noise performance (helped by a big pixel pitch), an 8fps burst rate (when the battery grip is attached) and 51-point autofocus for that extra bit of precision.

Quite simply an awesome Christmas present.

Apple iMac

This will be the first Apple product I've ever owned. Not interested in the iPhone, not interested in an iPod, and not interested in a MacBook, but for me there's something very alluring about the all-in-one minimalism of the iMac. Put simply, I'm fed up with the traditional desktop/tower PC and now I want a system that isn't as noisy, doesn't suck in so much dust, and basically looks neat and tidy.

I've also no shame in admitting that I'm a Mac OS newbie and would savour the opportunity of giving the Apple operating system a whirl. And if I miss Windows that much I can always resort to the Boot Camp utility.

And why the 24in version? Well for the bigger 1,920 x 1,200 resolution of course - plenty of room to tweak the pictures taken on my shiny new Nikon D700. Performance? Well I want the best - 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 512MB nVidia GeForce 8800 GS, 4GB of 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM and a 1TB SATA hard drive will do nicely.

Orange P7 Pro

Life for me involves a lot of sitting. I wake up, get ready, and then sit in my car on my way to work. I then sit at my desk and work, after which I sit in my car on the way home. I cook, and then sit down to eat, and then more than likely I sit at my PC or sit on the sofa to watch a film or read a book.

I guess this is my way of saying I need to do some exercise. Which brings me on to the wild card entry on my Christmas wish list - a bicycle.

Or more precisely, the Orange P7 Pro - the classic steel framed hardtail that put Orange on the map. It's pretty much a legend among serious XC mountain bikers. Talk to anyone in the UK who has been riding for years, and the chances are they will have owned a P7 at some point.

And there's a reason why. The £1,200 P7 Pro is a great ride - plain and simple. The steel tubing makes for a comfortable feel, the ride geometry is tried and tested, it has a great pair of 140mm coil forks, and it's dressed in some very fine gear, including Shimano XT shifters, Race Face cranks, Hope Pro II hubs and Avid Juicy 5 brakes.

So if anything is going to get me back in the saddle (I was actually a keen mountain biker back in the late '80s and '90s) then this is surely it.

Latest 4 of 28 Comments

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Ardjuna said on 2nd December 2008

@Xiphias: Yes, I was thinking of the DreamColour model... but then I'd have to buy an advanced security system to protect it against theft, and I'd never want anyone else... more

Wackywavinginflateablearmflailingtubeman said on 5th December 2008

"For a start, it looks stunning, as our recent Awards attested (though many of you disagree). Indeed, I will take this opportunity to challenge anyone to name a better looking... more

Ardjuna said on 15th December 2008

@Wackywavingetc.etc.: You ARE cruel, Sir :) But I can take it. I've seen worse.

Ohmz said on 30th December 2008

Whoa name change, but I'm back!

I wanted to do an update since I got two things on my list. :D

First off the Zune 120. Amazing piece of kit (OMG, is that a British term?) First impressions were very good, not as nice looking as an iPod, but still good nonetheless.

Build quality is excellent and it feels really nice in the hand. Solid, the glass and aluminum are really nice. Only problem is the glossy black!!!!

The Zune pad is much better to use than the click wheel. It's super intuitive and very responsive. Navgation through the device though is a bit of a pain as it takes too many steps just to play a song. When you start the player you have to select music, than the song and then for some reason you have to press play??? I have no idea why you have to press play after selecting a track, one would think it would just start playing automatically. Kind of annoying. At least the menus are big and bold, really easy to see, and the screen lock feature is a nice addon.

The Wi-Fi is a complete GIMMICK. I have never used it and find it of no interest, Microsoft should have put in stereo bluetooth instead, and noise cancelling.

The screen is big, bright, and beautiful. A joy to use for browsing my music and watching videos; although the only videos I watch are podcasts, don't care much for having my DVDs on there. I'm a little disappointed that the resolution isn't higher. I guess I shouldn't have looked at that iPod Touch before I bought eh!? I was actually contemplating the Touch. but I only had about $300 to spend, so it was a 120GB player versus a 16GB player, hmm....

Don't regret my choice though, although there is one downside to the Zune and that is the sound quality. Now I am not an audiophile my any means and I don't pretend to be, but I can definitly tell the difference between my old Walkman (see: http://tinyurl.com/582p7f) and the Zune. The sound is a bit flat compared to the Walkman. But it will suffice. I'll trade some sound for the massive screen, storage capacity and some other features my old player didn't have.

But one thing about file format suport, turns out the Zune doesn't support Microsofts' own WMA Lossless! Amazing, all my music was ripped to that and then upon syncing, it converted to WMA. Well done Microsoft, well done, *rolls eyes*.

The FM tuner, I'm glad to have you back! Sometimes I just want to listen to the radio for varieties' sake.

Podcast integration is really great as it seperates between video and audio; although I wish I could see them all at a glance.

Now to the software, it's slow at times and buggy at times (maybe time to but a new PC?) But I find it excellent. It's simple to use and keeps everything nice and organized. I haven't checked out the social much because the Marketplace is not here in Canada still!!!!! Wtf Microsoft? Release the player but not the store for it? But it's coming soon, they promise, *rolls eyes again*.

All in all a great player, if not this, almost certainly this http://tinyurl.com/8zy2el. I miss the exceptional sound quality, I really do, but the features make up for it. A good buy for $250.

I hope you guys get it soon over there, it really is nice and a great competitor to the iPod. I am hoping for a TR review sometime next year okay?

P.S. Ardjuna, I'm sure you've seen worse, I've seen Tony Blair in action! ;)

P.S.S. Got faster Internet too!!! Dad finally realised it was cheaper to pay for a faster speed with a 60GB cap than a 2MB plan with a 20GB cap, go figure! Damn caps!

Whoa name change, but I'm back!

I wanted to do an update since I got two things on my list. :D

First off the Zune 120. Amazing piece of kit (OMG... more

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