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Honest Picks.
In-depth buying guides, product comparisons and hands-on reviews — so you buy right the first time.
Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN Review: Best All-Rounder for Sony E-Mount?
There are a lot of zoom lenses for Sony E-mount cameras out there, however, not many achieve the right balance of portability, speed and cost like this particular Sigma lens does. The 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary is a compact everyday lens which is made for travel photographers, vloggers, and everyone who is tired of switching primes all the time. This lens represents a rather unique position in Sigma's portfolio as it offers wide and telephoto angles of view in one lightweight barrel which can be left on the camera all the time. During our tests, we tried to find out how effective this lens is in portrait photography, street shooting, low light conditions and whether the constant F2.8 aperture and APS-C-oriented range are worth their name or this is just another reliable zoom lens based on popularity of the brand.
Latest Articles
Nimmu 6W RGB PC Gaming Speakers Review: Worth Buying?
Speakers targeting gamers are usually focused on RGB lighting rather than sound quality, leading to flashy speaker models that look great but have poor sound when playing games or listening to music because of that. With the Nimmu Technologies 6W USB gaming speakers offering good RGB lighting in addition to a compact footprint on the desk, this review covers how these speakers perform not only during games but also when watching videos and conducting video calls during multiple weeks of testing. We aimed to find out if this model has a decent sound quality or its design was focused on RGB lighting mostly.
Mi 33W Fast Charging USB-C Cable Review: Worth Buying?
Chargers can be viewed as disposable items, however, until you find a cable, which quickly breaks because of poor quality, you have not really experienced the difference between a cheap charger and a branded fast-charging one. As the Mi 33W SonicCharge USB-C cable promises to charge smartphones and laptops quickly, we decided to test its performance for several weeks to measure its charging speed and check whether there is a risk that the connector will fray or become loose after prolonged use. We are interested in an honest, realistic assessment of this cable's quality, rather than a first-impression evaluation.
APFEN 100W USB-A to Type-C Cable Review: Worth Buying?
For efficient fast charging of OnePlus smartphones that have a high wattage fast charging, you will need a cable that will really be able to handle the wattage output, since cables that do not meet the specified parameters reduce the speed of charging or, worse, become overheated under high wattage load during prolonged charging. Since the APFEN 100W cable focuses on fast charging of OnePlus smartphones, we tested it on several OnePlus smartphones over several weeks, comparing its charging speed with the official OnePlus cable that comes with the phone, as well as measuring the temperature of the cable during prolonged fast charging to check for overheating. We believe that the best way to test a product is by giving an honest opinion, which is based on several weeks of regular usage of the cable, not on a one-day trial.
Portronics Toad 23 Wireless Mouse Review: Worth Buying?
Budget wireless mice tend to be unreliable when it comes to cursor tracking precision and connection stability, and may drop their inputs during critical moments such as video calls' screen shares and fast games. The Portronics Toad 23 offers a connectivity at 2.4GHz and an opportunity to adjust DPIs and so its performance was checked throughout several weeks of office and browsing use and also light gaming in order to find out if there were any connection issues at usual desk range and whether DPI settings really made a difference in terms of precision versus speed of the cursor. All considerations in this review are based on real-life experience of the user rather than first day impressions only.
Portronics Toad One Dual Mode Mouse Review: Worth It?
Dual mode mice, which can connect via Bluetooth and 2.4GHz dongle wireless technology, promise great flexibility of switching between multiple devices such as a laptop and tablet, however the switching process itself may be quite inconvenient and even unreliable on cheaper mice, negating the whole point of the dual mode feature in the first place. The Portronics Toad One provides dual mode connectivity combining Bluetooth 5.3 and 2.4GHz along with rechargeable battery, hence this review will analyze how well it works at switching between paired devices over a period of several weeks. Real-life usage experience was prioritized when evaluating this mouse.
Portronics Toad 8 Transparent Mouse Review: Worth Buying?
Aesthetically pleasing but functionally lacking, many transparent tech accessories tend to lack practicality when compared to opaque ones that serve the exact same purpose but don't look nearly as interesting. For this particular review, we set out to test the Portronics Toad 8 to understand if its unique transparent design did any harm to its functionality and whether a regular opaque mouse would be a better buy in terms of actual performance in everyday use. We looked into its dual mode connectivity switching capabilities, whether its claim of silent clicks actually made any difference in comparison to an ordinary mouse and if its transparent plastic housing could stand up to daily wear-and-tear and withstand it as good as regular housing does. This review was written based on our practical experience of using the mouse on our desk for several weeks in a row.
Portronics Toad 27 Silent Wireless Mouse Review: Worth It?
Close proximity in an office is when you start appreciating a silent mouse click feature because it becomes one of the key issues for you in the course of a full day working next to someone with noisy mouse clicks. Hence, Portronics Toad 27 was analyzed in a shared office environment in order to find out whether its silent clicking and 2.4 GHz nano dongle connectivity worked properly under the conditions of prolonged use. In this case, the mouse was tested not only in order to make a one-day impression of it but to assess its real usability.
FINGERS CuteClicks WB4 Mouse Review: Worth Buying?
Playful mice tend to be underrated at times, so when reviewing the FINGERS CuteClicks WB4 we focused solely on the core features such as switching between multiple devices and silent clicking in order to see whether the fun design of the mouse does go hand in hand with good performance and convenience of use rather than just looking nice. The mouse was thoroughly tested throughout several weeks of daily office and web surfing use to ensure that it does meet users' expectations in terms of both design and performance. All conclusions were based on personal experience, not on the first impression only. Genuine daily use was the basis for this review.
FINGERS CuteClicks WB4 Bluetooth Mouse: Good for Everyday Use?
Apart from a first impression, what defines the value of any budget mouse in the long run is the ability to perform flawlessly during weeks of everyday usage, and not simply during a test period, which is the subject of this review regarding Bluetooth and USB connectivity of the FINGERS CuteClicks WB4. Taking into account the manufacturer information as well as user opinions, this mouse is considered a daily usage mouse and its functionality will be examined according to how reliably Bluetooth pairing works, whether the USB version provides lower latency and whether the tracking precision remains stable throughout a week or decreases in the course of using the mouse every day.
Portronics ToadPlay Football Mini Mouse Review: Worth It?
Travel mice have to find a compromise between the compact design and usability since not all very small mice feel comfortable after long-time usage despite their ability to easily fit into the smallest pocket in the laptop bag. The Portronics ToadPlay Football Mini brings some extra features like dual connectivity to the category of travel mice designed to be useful for laptop travelers. That is why the following review focuses on the analysis of this mouse in terms of its usefulness for the laptop travel during several trips to see how comfortable it was for extended work on the road and how reliable the connectivity switching could be between the devices. In addition, all the conclusions were made according to personal impressions after real-life daily use.
Lomiluskr Cute Cat Wireless Mouse Review: Good for Kids?
Mouse models designed with kids and teens in mind must be more durable and resistant to damage than a traditional desktop mouse that is handled by an adult, but still have to track well enough for school work and light gaming to keep a younger user from getting frustrated. The Lomiluskr Cute Cat wireless mouse offers a cute design in a wireless 2.4G mouse form factor, making it worth examining through the lens of two younger family members over the span of several weeks, checking grip ergonomics for smaller hands, durability with less careful handling, and how well the silent clicking reduced noise in shared spaces while working and playing games. This review focuses more on honest impressions than the initial day impressions of the product.
Nimmu RGB Gaming Speakers: Good Sound for Movies Too?
Not all the speakers that have been specifically designed for gaming purposes will perform satisfactorily when it comes to dialogue and music of a movie or a TV show, which is why watching the movie was chosen as a main test of these Nimmu Technologies RGB gaming speakers rather than re-testing them once again for gaming purpose and footprints on the desk. According to the reports, the speakers have been connected to a laptop for several movie watching sessions to test the quality of the dialogue and the performance of the music heavy parts of the movie, as well as the sufficient volume from the compact 6W speakers to watch the movie comfortably. The review is based on the actual experience of using these speakers rather than on the first day impressions only.
Mi 33W USB-C Cable: Does It Handle Laptop Charging Well?
High wattage cables sometimes do not live up to expectations when being tested for laptop charging needs rather than phone charging needs, which is why testing for laptop charging was chosen for the current test of the Mi 33W SonicCharge cable rather than doing another phone charging speed test. In this case, the test will show how well the Mi 33W SonicCharge cable charges a laptop with a USB-C port. The test will last several weeks of work use and will show if this cable can provide enough power to the laptop rather than trickling its battery. Real-life testing was chosen in order to give an honest opinion about the Mi 33W SonicCharge cable, not a first day impression.
APFEN 100W Cable: Does It Work Well With Non-OnePlus Phones?
As cables designed to work with one brand of phones with fast charging do not necessarily give similar results on other brands' phones, even though they both work with the USB-C charging standard, we wanted to check the cross-brand performance of the cable, rather than repeat our OnePlus-oriented performance test of the APFEN 100W cable. This time we are going to examine the performance of this cable using a couple of other Android phones which also support fast charging, comparing charging speed to that provided by the cable included in the box and seeing how this cable performs compared to its main OnePlus target audience. In this review, we prioritize honest opinion based on actual experience instead of first day impressions.
Portronics Toad 23: How Does It Perform for Light Gaming?
Most budget mice aren’t designed with gaming in mind, but light casual gamers, who have to stick to their budget, will sometimes just stick to what they have and try to make do with it. The performance of Portronics Toad 23 in terms of gaming was the main subject of testing on this occasion, instead of covering it in terms of office use and basic browsing again. In this case, the mouse will be tested across a number of casual and not very competitive games through several test sessions in order to assess how accurate its cursor tracking was under fast movements and whether there were any problems in terms of lag while gaming casually.
Portronics Toad One: How Long Does the Battery Last?
Rechargeable mouse battery life specifications often don't consider actual daily usage and thus make measuring the runtime of the device the objective of this pass of testing the Portronics Toad One mouse instead of redoing the previous device switching review. This review uses the manufacturer data and user reviews to evaluate the Portronics Toad One mouse as a daily mouse without charging for several weeks to give the actual time of how long the battery will last during typical office work before the mouse's performance deteriorates or the mouse needs to be charged in order to provide useful runtime information to the buyers rather than the lab-tested one. This review focuses on an honest opinion formed after several weeks of usage of this mouse.
Portronics Toad 8: Does the Transparent Design Show Dirt?
The visibility of any fingerprints, dust and grime could be increased with a transparent body compared to the opaque one, thus making it a relevant question to consider when reviewing this mouse rather than reiterating the previous functionality review. On the basis of the information obtained from the manufacturer and users' experience, this review evaluates the device as a daily mouse over the course of several weeks without any additional care about cleaning and compares the amount of visible dirt, fingerprints and grime that could accumulate on the transparent body of this mouse with that on a usual opaque one. In order to obtain reliable impressions, the actual usage was considered as the main basis of this review.
Portronics Toad 27: How Far Does the Nano Dongle Range Reach?
If you are using wireless mouse from couch or giving presentation while standing at a considerable distance away from the computer, you will find range of wireless mouse important, unlike those who do not care about that and need just noise testing of wireless mice. In the current review of the Portronics Toad 27 we examine the connection with it at increased distances from the nano dongle across an open room and through several walls and determine when the input lag or loss of connection starts to become noticeable to show a realistic estimate of range of this mouse. We prefer being honest and showing practical impressions instead of giving quick first day opinion only.
FINGERS CuteClicks WB4: Comfortable for Extended Use?
Mouse comfort during short sessions does not always mean that it will feel good during several consecutive hours of work because of which in this case we decided to assess how comfortably it really works during several hours of continuous work rather than assessing its connectivity like we did before in our previous article. Relying on the information provided by the manufacturer and on user experience, we assessed how this product feels during several genuinely long, multi-hour work sessions compared to shorter, casual use sessions, checking how any hand fatigue or discomfort develops with the time in comparison to casual use sessions. We focused on genuine user experiences rather than on the first day impression of this mouse.
FINGERS CuteClicks WB4: Good Backup Mouse for Travel?
A travel backup mouse must be able to reliably pair with unknown devices and survive getting tossed around in a backpack many times, making it important to look at travel use specifically when considering the FINGERS CuteClicks WB4 mouse as a backup mouse. Given user reports, in this review the mouse is considered as a backup mouse for several work trips, testing how quickly it pairs with different laptops, how it survives repeated packing with other travel items, and how reliably it switches between Bluetooth and USB connections when being used with both a work laptop and personal laptop on travel. For a true test, real-world opinions are prioritized above initial first day opinion in this review.
Portronics ToadPlay Football: Fun Design, Serious Performance?
Playful design mice often become victims of prejudice against being considered useful tools, which is why this time we have decided to check out core performance of the mouse instead of giving the usual travel-focused review. In the current article we will be looking into tracking accuracy and click responsiveness of the mouse during the course of several weeks of desktop use, comparing its performance to those of more traditionally designed mice in the price range, to find out whether fun design had come at the expense of performance. This review focuses more on actual experience of using the mouse rather than on the first impression that the product creates.
Lomiluskr Cute Cat Mouse: Durable Enough for Daily School Use?
In contrast to other tests when we check how durable mice and keyboard are, daily school usage brings some extra wear due to carrying around in a backpack, accidental drops on the desk, etc. So, the primary task for our verification of this mouse was the prolonged school use, and not another test of the comfortability and convenience of using the gadget on the first day. There is information about this mouse usage during several weeks at school and at homework with a younger relative. During all these weeks we could see how durable the design is during everyday school and homework use. So, we focused more on honest impressions than on a mere first-day impression.
Swiss Military 30L Laptop Backpack Review: Worth Buying?
Backpacks with anti-theft functions require a thorough check, which should go beyond simply looking for a secret pocket. The security of any backpack ultimately lies in the quality of the zipper, the strength of the straps, and how it behaves in crowded commute settings. In view of the manufacturer information and the experience of users, this review evaluates the Swiss Military 30L Professional Laptop Backpack as a primary backpack for daily commuting and a work trip. Specifically, the anti-theft zippers and pockets are tested in real life conditions of commute use; the ability to organize the backpack to contain a 15.6-inch laptop and all other necessary things; and the level of comfort when carrying the backpack for an extended period of time. All conclusions of this review were made based on real-life evaluation and not a superficial one during the first day of testing.
Swiss Military 30L Backpack: Does It Fit Larger 17-Inch Laptops?
Sometimes laptop backpack compartments with an advertised laptop capacity can fit their exact capacity very well but have issues fitting anything larger than that. Thus, testing this backpack for larger laptops beyond the advertised capacity was of greater interest to us in this pass compared to retesting the already tested before anti-theft security in this backpack. This review checks how comfortable the fit is and how well protected from potential impacts is the laptop inside the laptop compartment of this backpack by testing the compartment for fit and protection with both a 15.6-inch laptop and a bulkier 17-inch laptop in it. It is a test of honest user impression and not the first-day impression only, so genuine daily use, and not demo use only determined all conclusions in this review.