No comments about Samsung SC-X205L MPEG4 Sports Camcorder with 512MB Memory & 10x Optical Zoom.

5 comments about Samsung SC-D963 1.1MP MiniDV Camcorder with 26x Optical Zoom.

1. I have been playing with this camera for about a month now, and it is great. The only problem I have noted is you can hear noise on the built in mic, but turning on the wind noise dampener or using an external mic eliminates it completely. The battery life leaves much to be desired at only about 45 minutes on a full charge, which is not enough to even use up a full tape. And the digital zoom becomes too shaky and pixelated (even on a tripod) to use past about 150x... Other than those minor things, it is a great camera for the price, and I would definitely recommend it to any starting out video enthusiasts.



2. I just got this camcorder for an exchange- my old camcorder was another samsung scd5000, and I waited 5 (five, unbelievable, months) for the camcorder to be exchanged.I have called customer relations for 100 times, they said they are going to fix it, exchange it, repair it, then did nothing in the end. I had to call them another 100 times, in the end executive customer relations, a superb invention of the management I suppose, which is responsible for everything, but is supervised by noone. Cut it short, they agreed for an exchange.
   Then I got this one, scd963. I opened the box, nice, clean. Turned on the recorder mode, fine, recording; then the playback mode. A blue screen, not recording anything, not showing anything. The memory records, but not the tape. Well, should I be surprised?
   In a word, Samsung is my worst experience in the United States, in terms of customer service, and quality of products. This new camcorder, is totally plastic, and now giving it another thought, I would be surprised if it worked. But simply, Samsung does not work.
   Right now, my wife is on the phone with the executive customer services, for forty minutes, all they said was send it to us, we will repair it.



3. Just a word of caution to anyone who buys Samsung products - If you do have a problem with the product at a later date - you will have a very difficult time getting any support or customer service from Samsung. Their customer relations department exists solely to confuse and frustrate and lie to the Samsung consumer. Beware!



4. I bought this online and it is my first camcorder. at first sight, i was excited. it is small, handy, looks good and easy to use. and the price $250 is good for the 1.1 MP which means you can also take photoes that are clear enough for most purposes. But after using for several times, i am not satisfied with the quality of the video. The problem is that the time of focusing takes too long, for about 1 or 2 second, which means whenever the object move, or the camcorder move, there will be seconds that the video become blurred. This is unacceptable flaw for capturing moving objects especially when the object is small and close to you. I think this may be the common flaw for Samsung camcorder. i go to circuit city and try other brands. at least Panasonic is much better than this one. so my suggestion for the first time buyer of MiniDV camcorder is: go to some local electronic stores and compare the quality of different brand before you made decision buying online. overall, consider the price, i can only say it is just ok. Maybe i have to spend more time learning the tricks how to capture a more clear video using this one.



5. I bought mine last June. But at that time there was no any review anywhere. The camcorder was proved to be a piece of junk. The zooming function faile about 2 months after I bought it. The sounds in videos I recorded are fragmented. Both the video and pictures have very bad quality. In addition, the battery is becoming bad too. I sent it to the service center last month, with $45 payment for labor. Not recommended at all!

5 comments about Samsung SCD107 MiniDV Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom.

1. I bought this camera about six months ago (June 04) for $429.00 and have used it extensively both outdoors and indoors.
   I looked at many cameras in the $450 price range with similar features. The one thing that stood out on this camera was the 3.5" LCD display. It was so much easier to frame a scene with this than with the 2.5" display on competing models that I decided to buy the Samsung.
   I found it easy and comfortable to use; the electronic stablisation works very well; the battery life is fine for recording a single 60min tape. Playing back recordings on the LCD screen is a pleasure. The image looks great and the sound is clearly audible on the builtin speaker. I was initially very happy with my purchase.
   Imagine my disappointment then, when I got home and played back the recording on my TV - it was no better than my old analog Canon ES50. At first, I was sure I had hooked it up incorrectly. But alas no: I was correctly using the s-video connection.
   Not willing to lose faith, I then hooked it up to my PC using a 4-to-6 pin firewire cable (purchased separately). Well, the picure looked fine in a small window but soon as I went full screen it was pretty grainy and pixalated. It's not even VGA quality.
   My number one reason for buying a DV camera was to get a sharper picture than with my analog camcorder. I'm afraid I made the wrong choice and, despite some nice features, I cannot recommend this camera because of the disappointing picture quality. Incidentally, I notice that the specifications page in the manual says nothing about lines of resolution and the size of the CCD (according to camcorderinfo.com it is 1/6").



2. if you went onto [...] and looked this camcorder up it says that it is one of the worst camcorders ever, well i am never looking on that website again because it is all lies. i got this cam for christmas and i really like it, i think it is one of the best camcorders that u can buy, it has cool features, nice zoom, a 3.5 lcd screen (really good), it is a small camcorder, and it has night pix (night vision). many other reviews complain about the color not turning out, well, you can adjust the color so it matches, duh!, you may be thinking "oh this is just a kids review, dont listen to it" but trust me i have been getting information on this camcorder for a year and know what im talking about. if you are planning on getting a good camcorder for a good price, try this one.



3. I'm not sure how people are giving this camera 4 and 5 star reviews but I was sadly disappointed with it.
   
   The only reasons I'm giving it the two stars are: 1. The screen size and 2. The price.
   
   I own a Samsung TV and DVD player and have found them both to be excellent values for the money so I decided to ignore the negative reviews that I had seen and pick it up anyway.
   
   The picture looks great on the LCD screen assuming that you're at a good angle to view it but as soon as you put it on a tv or pc you will see the lack of image quality. The manual was poorly written especially in regard to transferring video via the Firewire/IEEE 1394 connection. The software it came with doesn't suppport the Firewire though it doesn't mention this at all in the camera manual. Also the camera's driver isn't verified for Windows XP. When I hooked it up via the USB the camera was dropped from the device list after about a minute due to driver.
   
   After much hassle I returned it to the retailer that I bought it from who was nice enough to waive their 15% restock fee specific to camcorders and similar items so that I may purchase a Sony DCR-HC30 which I am much happier with. The store mananger explained to me that they had complaints from at least 5 other people with the same problem.
   
   Some other things to note:
   The SC-D107 has one of the biggest screens out there but also one of the smallest viewing angles.
   It has one of the largest optical zooms for the price, which isn't much good if the recording quality is low.
   Lastly, it has one of the largest digital zooms out there(900x), again useless because anything past about 100x is so grainy that you can't tell what you're looking at (you'll note that Sony doesn't make a camera with greater than 120x digital.)
   
   Try to avoid this one if you can afford something better.



4. The Samsung SCD107 offers average-to-good video quality in a flexible, feature-laden package. If you are looking at camcorders south of $400, read on. Good engineering and rational design tradeoffs make this more than the sum of what came out of the parts bin.
   
   PICTURE QUALITY
   You can find better video quality (especially by paying a couple of hundred dollars more), but most people will find the picture satisfactory. If your research thus far has taken you deeply into the world of pixels, scan lines, VGA vs. XGA, and CCD numbers, this won't get on your short list on picture quality alone. That said, the camera works particularly well in low-light situations, and there is a "NITE PIX" feature for very low-light applications.
   
   The "Digital Image Stabilizer" feature doesn't do much - if you have shaky hands, you should try a tripod (usually not a bad idea anyway). There is no manual focus, though you probably won't miss this because the auto-focus works so well. The 20X zoom is plenty, and the 900X digital zoom is overkill - the limiting factor is resolution, so don't expect to see footprints on the moon.
   
   SCREEN
   The first thing comparison shoppers notice is that the 3.5-inch color TFT LCD screen is bigger than most in this price range. This helps you frame a shot, gauge picture quality, and review just-taken film, all advantages over tiny screens. It is bright, clear, and rotates through 270 degrees (not 210 as stated in the supplemental info above). The color LCD viewfinder reproduces on-screen info and is a useful way to conserve battery power in the field.
   
   EASE OF USE
   Using the camera for the first time is fairly straightforward, even for the non-technical. The most commonly used controls are top-mounted (zoom, camera shutter control, NITE PIX feature on/off, slow shutter), where you would expect them. Other controls are located thumb-side or flush behind the LCD screen.
   
   Getting more than the basics from the camera requires a steeper learning curve, as you must navigate through acronym-rich menus and sub-menus. Even if you pride yourself on NEVER reading instruction manuals, a word to the wise: Pick up the manual. Open it. Read it. If you don't, you will miss some non-obvious functions and features you're paying for. This may seem worse than, say, stopping to ask for directions while driving, but tough it out.
   
   BATTERY
   The lithium ion battery pack included gives you 90 minutes of continuous recording time with the fold-out LCD screen, or 120 minutes using the viewfinder. It takes two hours to charge. You might want a second one of these, or even the upgrade battery (SB-LS220), which goes 190 minutes with screen, 250 minutes with viewfinder, and takes 3 and a half hours to charge. A red LED on the camera blinks to let you know how charging is progressing (e.g. one blink/second means less than 50% charged; three blinks/second = 75%-90% charged), which is a nice touch.
   
   RECORDING MEDIA
   There are two ways to record moving pictures: Onto Mini DV tapes (60 or 90 minutes on a DVM60), or onto a memory card (SD/MMC or Memory Stick/Memory Stick PRO). Using the memory card in this way has huge limitations; you are better off just using the tapes and saving the memory card for still pictures.
   
   STILL PICTURES
   You can use the SCD107 in still camera mode for casual snapshots, but it is not a replacement for a multi-megapixel digital camera. The 512MB SD ("Secure Digital") card I bought separately holds 2,997 stills in "super fine" mode and a truly absurd 9,000 in low-rez "normal" mode. Stick with super fine.
   
   AUDIO RECORDING
   Audio recording quality is excellent through the built-in top-mounted stereo condenser microphone. Many built-in microphones pick up mechanical noise from the tape mechanism, but I didn't notice any, even in quiet settings. Use the money you might spend on an accessory microphone and get a tripod or a memory card instead.
   
   MISC
   The remote control is useful, but much more directional than a typical TV remote. It won't work unless you aim it right at the camera - maybe it just likes to be seen in your group photos.
   
   CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
   If you need the sharpest picture available, you should probably spend $200 more. There are necessarily tradeoffs at this price range. However, if you just want a well-rounded, feature-filled camera that is a pleasure to use, by all means consider the SCD107.



5. There was a great review written up above that listed everything you really need to know (the first one that had a series of titles and then review). But I belive they gave too many stars and was too positive about this cam.
   
   This is not a very user-friendly camcorder. The MANUAL MUST be read over and over. It has so many steps to just do one action that by the time you have re-read the manual and adjusted the camcorder the shot is over with. Quality of pics and such was very poor once sent to the computer. The large screen wasn't much good in lighted scenes. I was forced to use the small lense to see what I was recording.
   
   I do not recommend this camcorder unless you are not picky about quality and have a photographic memory to remember how to work the camcorder.

4 comments about Samsung Digimax 401 4MP Digital Camera.

1. I bought this camera last November. When you take the pictures, they come out perferct on the lcd screen. However, when you go to upload them or have them printed out, they come out blurry. I have written to Samsung numerous times and have yet to receive a response. When I went to the website, I found out the biggest complaint about the camera was the pictures come out blurry. Stick with and Olympus or Canon. I have had the Olympus c3020 (3.2 mp)for 5 years and recently upgraded to the C8080 (8mp). My pictures have come out wonderful.



2. Pros: Good for creating JPGs for sharing via email, Internet, or making a slide show.
   
   Cons: No optical zoom. When printing, pictures loose quality (not sure why). Video quality is very low. Poor battery life.
   
   The bottom line: this camera is your very basic digital toy. I bought it only because I was a novice at this and had no clue as to what quality digital camera suppose to contain.



3. I received this camera one or two years ago, so it is a bit dated. It was my first digital camera, and a good stepping stone to become aquainted with them. But it has some serious problems.
   
   My main beef with the camera is that you have to be standing absolutely still (or use a tripod, of course) in order to get a shot that isn't blurry. There is a HUGE delay time between pressing the button and it actually flashing and taking the picture. I couldn't stand that -- because most of the time, my subject would move and it would blur while the camera was "taking" the picture. Also, forget using this camera to take pictures out your car window while moving.
   
   One of the most irritating problems was the flash. I tried several modes and they all washed out the subject, making it extremely bright and the background very dark. The way to counteract this was to turn the flash off, but that resulted in -- again -- blurry pictures. On top of this all, you have to have a stockpile of batteries to keep the thing running.
   
   Fortunately the menus weren't too difficult to figure out, and the buttons all over the camera are well placed. It also is a good size -- small enough to be portable, but not too small that you can barely hold it. It was really easy to hook up to my computer and browse right to the pictures (I didn't use the included software, I used Paint Shop Pro).
   
   Overall, I would only buy this camera used if you were looking for an extremely cheap digital camera, or you want to get one for your kid, who will simply enjoy the fact that they can take pictures and see them. If you're looking for a better quality camera though, my next purchase was the Kodak EasyShare Z730 and I heartily recommend it over this one.



4. I got this camera for Christmas in 2004. A few days after Christmas in 2005, it just quit working--wouldn't turn on. I've had this same problem of breaking after a year or two with other Samsung electronics.
   
   Overall, though, this is a decent starter camera. It's too large to fit in a pocket, and it takes up quite a bit of space in a small purse, but it does take video with good sound.
   
   This was my first digital camera, but in my opinion, it was rather slow (if you're trying to take pictures of kids, this would not be the camera for you).
   
   It was easy to work with, and it's quite cheap compared to others on the market (note, no optical zoom). If mine hadn't broken so soon, I'd be a lot more likely to recommend it. Just remember that you get what you pay for (2 years ago, it was around $100), so this one is indeed slow.
   
   It doesn't take the best pictures very close-up (inches away), but most cameras aren't meant to. It does a good job focusing (there is a close-up and normal mode).
   
   The best part of this camera is the fact that you can use AA batteries. I bought several packs of the 15-minute rechargeable batteries. This way, when I knew I'd use the camera heavily, I could take an extra set of batteries, and not stop in the middle to recharge.

3 comments about Samsung Digimax A50 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom.

1. This camera is a steal. The best feature by far is the 640X480, 30fps video mode. Honestly you do not need a video camera if you've got this baby. The video quality is very good and the compression allows for over 1!!! hour of recording with a gig SD card. The picture quality is also superb. There is no conventional viewfinder so the LARGE LCD must be used all the time which cuts battery life - not a problem if you get the super-long lasting energizer lithium batteries. All in all I'm very satisfied!!!



2. I got this camera for Christmas, I've only had it a few days, and already I'm absolutely loving it! The picture is amazing, the screen is huge and I couldn't believe how clear the picture is. It's so crisp. And I thought that it was going to be a heavy clunky camera, but not at all! It's extremely light and fit's perfect in a pocket or purse. The voice playback on movies is easy to hear and is also very clear. It doesn't come with a memory card, so make sure you buy one when you buy the camera.
   
   The only thing I was concerned about was the battery life. I actually came across this page looking for more information on how to sustain better battery life. Apparently from the user's feedback before mine - I need to invest in the lithium AA batteries to make sure my pictures won't be interrupted by dead batteries. I went through a whole pack of AA's in only two days, and not that many pictures. I guess the regular old batteries just won't do. So I'm going to try that and see how it works. All in all, this is a great camera, and I am very happy with it!



3. A friend of mine had the A50 and after seeing it in action I decided to buy one myself. It takes great photos, it's light, and it was very easy to install and setup. A smart buy for someone looking to spend under $200 for a digital camera.

2 comments about Samsung SCD5000 DuoCam MiniDV Camcorder/4MP Digital Still Camera.

1. The video quality indoors is absolutely horrible, even with the night shot features, and every possible combination of settings, etc. I tried really hard to find reasons to keep this camera. But in the end, the video quality was too horrible to justify it as a $... digital still camera.

   Outdoors, the video was OK producing ever so slightly washed out colors, but here is the real problem. Moving between light and moderately dark areas of a small room produced horrible video. During playback you either got something that looked like pure night or the sun all in one room. The video recorder does not gracefully adjust between light and moderately light areas of a room. Occasionally when using the zoom, a pure white line would be recorded vertically as part of the video!!!!!

   Now for the camera. One thing that annoyed me after a few minutes was the constant manual flipping of half of the device between still and video. I did a comparison between the Samsung still digital camera and my Sony 3.34 MP camera that I already owned. Disappointment again. Horrible color from Samsung (washed out colors). I was not impressed with the quality after comparing about 10 different pictures of varying light, indoors, outdoors, etc. Hands down the Sony 3.34 MB won.

   I returned the Samsung camera and bought instead the Sony TRV70 for about the same price (I would like to have tried the TRV80 but $... more was just not in the cards for an 1" more LCD). What a difference. When it comes to color and light (indoors especially), Sony seems to have those two figured out. Awesome video recording indoors with the Sony. All around the video was so much better with the Sony. The still are not as good as my Sony 3.34 but if you can live with reduced picture size, the quality is pretty good (plus no manual flipping of half the device). I'll still probably take both the video and the camera on the next trip (pending cooperation from the wife). Really, if you ignore such frills as Bluetooth and Internet connectivity from within your camcorder (!!!), you can probably buy something much cheaper than the TRV70.

   One day, we'll all carry one device that produces high quality video and stills. But for now, that day is not here yet.




2. This camcorder is a piece of junk. The low light is really horrible. The picture is grainy and the autofocus is slower than my grandma. Spend a little extra a get a quality camera...not this one!

2 comments about Samsung Digimax A400 4MP Digital Camera with 2.8x Optical Zoom.

1. I Purchased a Samsung A400 about a year ago, with the goal of finding a moderately priced, easy to use family digital camera that would double as a casual video camera. The A400 has served well in that role.
   
   The camera has no optical viewfinder, you use the 2" LCD screen to preview the shot. This works well, but eats alkaline AA batteries in short order. Using rechargeable or lithium AAs or CRV3s is almost a must. The ability to use plain old AA batteries in a pinch is nice, however.
   
   Image quality is very good on the auto settings, and there are lots of manual settings to play with. The video has good picture quality, with the audio being slightly out of sync from the onscreen action. The bundled USB cord has an RCA jack, so you can hook the camera up to most TVs. Our DVD player accepts SD cards, so we rarely use this feature, but it is nice for showing recently captured images to a group.
   
   I've never bothered with the bundled software, as the camera shows up as a mass storage device in XP. The 32MB internal memory is small enough that an SD/MMC card is a must, I've been using a 512MB SD card with good results, and have never "needed" a larger card, even when shooting 640x480 video at 24 FPS. Samsung only guarantees support for cards up to 512MB, when I get a 1GB card for my MP3 player I'll see if the A400 can handle it. (Edit-The A400 recognized a 1GB PNY SD card, no problem - so now a half hour video is possible)
   
   Only problem the camera has given me is really my fault: sometimes it is easy to forget what mode the camera is set for, still or video. There is only a small icon on the screen to remind you, and it's easy to miss. Internal audio output would be nice, and the case would be more useful with pockets for SD cards, the cable and spare batteries. Plan on getting another case.
   
   The 2.8X optical and 4X digital zoom give a good range of quality/zoom options when taking still pictures. The zoom is locked to whatever you started with when taking video.
   
   I'm not a digital photography buff so I can't comment on tech specs, but the image quality is plenty good enough for satisfying prints up to 8" x 11". I haven't tried to print anything larger. The video is good enough to capture highlights of family gatherings, but falls short of video camera quality, but it's with you when you need it.
   
   My wife finds it easy to use, and the options menu is pretty simple to navigate. There are a lot of settings and options that I don't use: attaching voice tags to images, the ability to print directly from the camera, the self portrait timers, fireworks/landscape/portrait/night/text exposure settings, manual white balance, nine photo frames, sharpness settings, black&white and sepia effects, and others I'm forgetting. You can fiddle if you want, but the automatic settings seem to do the job for our informal family photos just fine.
   
   Overall, I'm happy with the Samsung A400, it's delivered good, reliable service for a moderate investment. Enthusiasts will want more, but the average digital duffer should be pleased by the combination of price, features and ease of use. The only reasons I'm not giving it five stars are the lack of internal audio playback, certainly not a fatal flaw.



2. I needed an inexpensive camera for taking pictures of vacations, family pets etc. I did not need or want a fancy one.
   The camera is easy to use (i havent even read the instructions). The software that comes with it is easy to navigate too. The pictures are clear and a good size. i found that the cameras with 5MP or more are just too large since i dont need 16x20 of my photos - i just email and print out 4x6. Although, i do need to reduce the size for email and webpages. I've printed larger (8x10) and the quality is still fine.
   The LCD screen is slightly smaller than what you typically see these days but honestly its fine. You get a good idea of clarity and focus with the screen.
   I've only had mine 4 months but so far no problems. I've owned others where the LCD screen has broken in a short amount of time so i know i am rough on the cameras.
   The camera is small enough to fit in a purse and carry everyday. Its not real thin like the expensive type but still smaller than most.
   Also, this camera takes batteries. I use my camera ALOT and i havent had to change batteries yet. I also own a cannon (for work projects) and it uses up batteries much faster (same amount of use).

1 comments about Samsung Digimax L74 Wide 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Advance Shake Reduction Optical Zoom (Silver).

1. I bought this camera in July and I have used it on several vacations. The features I like about this camera include the large viewer, the compact size, and the touch screen. The pictures I have taken to date have been great, the camera will compensate for shaking and lighting. Matter of fact, it does pretty much everything a camera can do, including taking videos, recording sound, telephoto, ect. The touch screen is great, you can scroll through your pictures and do camera settings very easily. I am not a camera buff, just a nice lady that likes to take pictures that I can easily download and edit. The negatives have mainly to do with the instruction manual - it is not very user friendly - had to read it a few times to get the gist of how the camera operates. Other than that one item, this camera is worth the price I paid for it and then some.

5 comments about Samsung Digimax L73 7MP Digital Camera with 3x Advance Shake Reduction Optical Zoom (Black).

1. For a point and shoot camera at at very reasonable price the L73 is a proven winner. I have now bought two of these after being disappointed with another product.



2. awesome...way better than my old one... takes crisp pictures especially scenery and text... might be better ones out there but this one is pretty darn good



3. The camera is os far a good camera, decent batt, nice pics
   decent value overall
   My first camera came obivously open used and .....broken the zoom was stuck open
   JR took their sweet time approving the return even though they were negligent......whatever
   eventually they made good and gave me a nice brand new one
   i'm happy now



4. I think this camera is awesome for the price. I have tested or owned a bunch of point-and-shoot digital cameras, including a really nice Canon, Panosonic, Nikon, Sony, Casio, Kodak, HP, GE, and several Samsungs. For the money, this is the best of all of them - as I said, weighing price against quality. For some reason, this very well-made and solid camera, in my opinion, has gotten a mixed review - maybe it has too many cool things that it does - I don't know. But it takes great pictures. I think it might be a bit inimidating for the point-and-shoot crowd, because it has all these programmable functions - but that's all I can think of. I give this camera 5 stars all the way.



5. We purchased this during the Christmas sales from Tigerdirect. I used it for about 2 months without any problem. Then one day the lens stuck open and the screen went black. Power turned off. Tried removing the battery and replacing. Battery was charged up to full and still would not work. Zip, Zero response. About a week later I picked it up because I noticed the lens had retracted. Camera was not on. I turned it on and it worked fine. Then about 3 weeks later I used it again and was playing back the pictures on the screen when it did the same thing again. I recharged the battery to full and while hooked up to the computer I was able to turn it on and the lens retracted. But after a full charge it still will not turn on. Even connected to the computer it will not turn on. I have researched the Samsung site but nothing is mentioned about this problem. I did find the E18 error code that is associated to Canon cameras and the symptoms are the same except for the lack of the E18 code on the screen. In hindsight I wish I had purchased one a little more expensive that did not have this problem. I am in the process of trying to get a RMA for warranty repair. But if they are like Canon it will be a user error or misuse even though the camera is kept in a camera case and has not been abused at all. Wish we had spent another $50 and got a Sony.

No comments about Samsung CCTV SMMPIRCAM Color 2 Way Audio Camera Indoor Working Motion Detector.