Before I get on to the price, I just want to tell you a little bit about the camera, and how much I love it. If you want to skip my review and get straight to the pricing, please scroll to the end of my article. I've helped a few of my close family and friends get this camera for a great deal, I've got no reason to NOT share how with you.

I bought this camera for a trip to Europe, as an upgrade. My aging Powershot S400 was great in its day, but it was 4 mega pixels, and the focusing motors were starting to get old and a little sloppy. For the trip of a lifetime, I wanted a better camera. I was totally comfortable with the performance and durability of the Canon Powershot line, so I planned to simply get an upgraded version, one of the little wafer-thin silver ones, that you don't even feel in your shirt pocket. But I wanted more control over the shooting modes, and I seriously lusted after the G7's huge lens, as well as the combination of 10MP resolution with image stabilization that makes pictures rock solid with amazing detail and clarity.

This camera is a beast, even compared to my old S400. It won't be going in your shirt pocket. In fact it comes with a nice shoulder strap instead of a wrist-loop, and I tended to wear it on the strap, like the old SLR days. But the increase in control, image quality, and lens clarity make this a dramatic upgrade from my previous cameras, and it's still really only about half the size of an SLR. It's exactly what I wanted. And it looks great, too.

With regards to my review, It's not perfect (what is?), but this is possibly the best compact camera out there for photographers who are looking for a compact to complement their DSLR. For a compact camera, this gets closer to 5 stars than ANY other compact camera I've had, and that's saying a lot, nice work canon!

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The American Gold Eagle Coin was initially released back in 1986 by the US Mint and is its official gold bullion coin. Today if a person wishes to purchase such a coin they have a choice of a number of different weights (denominations) that it comes in and these are as follows:-

1. Tenth of an Ounce
2. Quarter of an Ounce
3. Half of an Ounce
4. One Ounce

Every single coin that is produced no matter which denomination it is is guaranteed to be made from pure gold and must by law come from sources within the USA. But as well as containing the gold the coins will also have an alloy of silver and copper which makes them more resistant to wear. At all times the Gold Eagle coins that are produced are not only backed by the United States Mint in relation to how much they weigh and what they contain, but original ones will need to have been authorized for production by Congress.

As for the actual market value of each coin that has been produced this will be dependent on the quantity of gold contained within them. In January of 2006 the value of the various different coins a person could purchase were as follows:-

Face Value Market Value
$5.00 $75.00
$10.00 $150.00
$25.00 $300.00
$50.00 $600.00

But the price that these coins will actually sell at will generally depend on what the spot price of gold is at the time the person chooses to sell theirs. So in recent months you may find that the price you could be offered for your American Gold Eagle Coin is somewhat less than the figures we have mentioned above.

As for the coins design on the main (obverse) side of the coin you will find a full length rendition of the Lady Liberty including her flowing hair whilst holding a lit torch in one hand (right) and an olive branch in the other (left). Also to the left of the Lady Liberty you can see the Capital building in the background. Whilst on the other (reverse) side of the coin is a male eagle that is carrying an olive branch as he flies over the nest which contains a female with her young. The observe find of the coin was designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and the reverse side was designed by Miley Busiek.

However although the official American Gold Eagle Coin was introduced and released in 1986 a $10 one which dates back to 1804 and called the Eagle Coin was sold to a private collector for $5 million. This particular coin was actually made for the president of the USA at the time Andrew Jackson as a diplomatic gift, but can not really be classified as an American Gold Eagle Coin.

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1. What are your needs?

Sit down and establish a list of what your needs for the heavy equipment will be. Do you need a lot of pushing power? Equipment small enough to fit into tight places?

2. What type of equipment do you need?

Now that you know what your needs are you can narrow down your search to the specific type of equipment. If you need a lot of pushing power a crawler dozer may be what you need if you need small equipment a mini excavator may be more suited to your needs.

3. Do you need attachments with your machine?

With a specific machine in mind you will now need to figure out what else you may use the machine for. Do you also need to rip up the ground as well as pushing loads? You may want to enquire about an optional multi-shank or single shank ripper for you dozer.

4. What to look for in the machine?

When looking at the machine you need to be careful and look at several key points on the machine before purchasing it. If it is a crawler type of machine you need to look at the condition of the undercarriage, if it is a wheeled machine you need to pay attention to what type of condition the rubber is in. There are also things like cab condition, hydraulic condition, engine smoke, leaks, blade/bucket condition to be looked at. If you aren't careful to look for things like this your "cheap" purchase may cost you in the long run.

5. Finding a reputable equipment dealer

This could be one of the most important items you need to know in this entire list. A reputable dealer will support you through the entire buying process and into the future life of the machine. A reputable dealer will also have a knowledgeable sales staff that will be able to answer your questions about the machine and can make recommendations about other machines that may be better suited for your needs.

6. Does the dealer offer service and support for the equipment?

Does your heavy equipment dealer offer not only equipment sales but can also sell you the attachments, parts and can repair your machine in case something happens to it? Or does your dealer work from his truck and you don't see him again after the purchase? A full service heavy equipment dealer can save you money in the long run.

7. Shipping the equipment to you?

Heavy equipment is an expensive purchase and to add to the cost can be the price of shipping the equipment from the dealer to you. Shipping is typically not included into the price of the equipment and can easily run into the thousands of dollars. Make sure when purchasing the equipment from a reputable dealer that they shop the shipping around and get you the best shipping price possible as prices can vary from carrier to carrier.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chad_Egeland

The Orange Box is a video game that is available exclusively for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. What kind of name for a video game is The Orange Box? Who came up with a name like that? Those are two questions that I cannot answer, but I do know that The Orange Box is an amazing package deal. The Orange Box comes with Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Episode I, Half-Life Episode II, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. Everyone knows the storyline of Half-Life 2 by now, so here is Half-Life 2 in a nutshell. The game is a direct sequel to the original Half-Life and the events transpire after the events of the original Half-Life. Humans are being held as prisoners at a location known as City 17. The plot revolves around the protagonist scientist Gordon Freeman, and he is attempting to eradicate the alien crisis. I was impressed with the storyline in Half-Life 2 because it had its fair share of poignant moments.

The gameplay in Half-Life 2 is exactly what you would expect it to be. Gamers will have a usual assortment of weapons at their disposal. Some of them are machine guns, handguns, grenades, rocket launchers, and so forth. Then, there is everyone's favorite gravity gun. This intricate weapon can be used to launch projectiles into the air. Anything and everything can be used in conjunction with the gravity gun. For instance, a piece of wood can be lifted up and tossed at foes by utilizing the gravity gun. Realistic physics is what gives Half-Life 2 a more distinctive quality than some other first person shooters. In addition, there are some driving sequences in the game with Gordon's ally Alyx Vance. Furthermore, players will be going through the game battling against various opponents. These enemies entail zombies, aliens, and other fiendish creatures.

The graphics in the game seem a little on the low end of the spectrum, and they are not necessarily next generation visuals. On the bright side, the animations and voice acting is superb. Even the music has a fitting rhyme to it. The Half-Life games have approximately 25 hours of content.Half-Life 2 has 15 hours; Half-Life Episode I and Half-Life Episode II have five hours of gameplay each. Next up is the game called Portal. Portal is intrinsically a puzzle game with a twist. The twist being that you are equipped with a gun that creates portals. These portals serve as exits and entries. If gamers pull the trigger on the gun, then a portal opens.

Another pull of the trigger will open another portal. For example, a puzzle could be something like getting from point A to point B. However, it is not as rudimentary as that. Earnest contemplation must be a factor in completing the later puzzles in the game. The initial puzzles in the game are simple, but the game gets more arduous as you progress. Luckily, the game does have some facetious moments scattered throughout as you travel from portal to portal. Unfortunately, Portal is short. It is really short. I am talking about shorter than Kevin Federline and Paris Hilton's music career short. Alright, maybe not that short. Nonetheless, the game is only one to two hours in length. The last and final piece to The Orange Box is Team Fortress 2. Team Fortress 2 is a multiplayer game with numerous character styles.

There are a total of nine classes altogether, and they all have pros and cons. For instance, an engineer is proficient in setting up a defense with traps. Conversely, a demolition man will be brilliant at making the rivals explode. All of the characters are well balanced, so there is no one character that can overpower the other. The Orange Box is five games for the price of one. Overall, The Orange Box is more than an adequate compilation of video games that is more than just Half-Life 2.

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