1 comments about Samsung Maxima 170GLM QD 38-170mm Camera with Zoom.

1. I BOUGHT THIS CAMERA IN SEOUL SOUTH KOREA. THE CAMERA CAME WITH A REALLY GOOD LEATHER CASE WITH A LOOP SO THAT IT IS CARRIED ON MY BELT. I TRAVEL MOSTLY TO THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES AND THE CAMERA HAS NEVER FAILED ME. I USED IT TO MAKE INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS OF CHILDREN IN A SHELTER IN GUATEMALA, NONE HAD EVER HAD A PHOTO MADE, THEY TURNED OUT REALLY GOOD AND THE KIDS WERE VERY EXCITED. IT IS VERY EASY TO USE, JUST SET THE DIAL FOR THE SUBJECT MATTER, POINT AND SHOOT....ONLY MINOR PROBLEM IS SOMETIMES THE FILM DOES NOT LOAD EASILY AND ANOTHER TRY IN NEEDED. I HAVE NIKON AND CANON SLR'S BUT THEY DONT TRAVEL WELL. GO AHEAD AND BUY THE SAMSUNG, I JUST CAME BACK FROM THE AMAZON RAIN FOREST WITH LOTS OF FILM AND NO PROBLEMS.

5 comments about Samsung Maxima 80 GL QD Zoom Date 35mm Camera.

1. This is the best camera on the market in it's price range. The camera takes excellent night shots (I have captured city skylines, fireworks, and even lightening!) which look very professional. Day shots are excellent too, the pictures always come out crystal clear and very sharp. The zoom is just enough for most nonprofessional needs. The camera also has excellent blur reduction (for shots taken from car windows). There is only one downside to this camera: the redeye reduction is not always totally effective. But, if you are like me and don't care that much about redeye, then this camera is for you.



2. I like this camera. Compact and easy to use, but unfortunately, the red eye reduction doesn't work for beans. I have two little girls with blonde hair and blue eyes, and they always end up with red red eyes... other than that, super camera! If you're mostly shooting landscapes or brown eyed individuals (my eldest brown hair brown eyed daughter always looks super) than this is an awesome camera for the money! No other complaints than the red eye issue!



3. I purchased this camera and as soon as it got here I put a CR2 battery in it and set the date. Next thing I did was load it with Kodak 400 speed 35MM film and I pushed the on/off button and it did nothing! I am going to return it to Adorama camera and get my money back. I have no complaints with Adorama camera because they shipped it super quick and it is not their fault that Samsung makes junky products. I have had similar experiences with a Samsung VCR so I was reluctant to purchase this camera. DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA! IT IS A PIECE OF JUNK!



4. The camera works nice but its battery costs about $5 and its casing exterior quality feels like cheap plastic .. thats how you can get a $150 camera for $30 .. i wonder what was compromised !!



5. Amazon's Production description as well as one other review mentions the flash card and the Twain driver in this camera. Am I missing something here ? Also, there is no "Portrait" or "Landscape" mode. I just checked the manual one more time - sorry, cannot find any of this. Apart from that, the camera is reasonably good for the money I paid ($30+shipping). Need to strictly be atleast 3 feet away while trying to take close-ups (especially if zooming in), otherwise it results in blurry images. Outdoor pictures are fantastic.

5 comments about Samsung SCD27 MiniDV Camcorder with 3.5" LCD.

1. I got this camcorder for a Christmas present. I have to say its a very good camcorder. It has sharp video, built in light, and night vision. The audio is very crisp, and is good for storing memories. You can take snapshots and record them to video, with sound. You can put in a memory stick and take stills, then transfer them to your computer via firewire, or USB. The battery charges in about 2 hours which is very fast. The only downtime is that it would be cool to have a 20 X optical zoom, but 10 X is powerful enough. I would recomend this camcorder to anyone. You can't beat this amazon price! I hope to keep this for years to come!

   Bill.




2. Believe me guys, I'm an Information Technology man with a subtle devotion to data mining. Indeed before purchasing this electronic jewel, I sifted through thousands of websites for technical details about digital cameras, and after 2 weeks, I finally chose Samsung scd27.

   It works perfect and has a number of captivating features that cocky brandnames like Sony or Jvc would sell for 600$ and up.

   The imaging gadget(ccd) incorporated in Samsung scd27 helps you capture rich color pictures that play on a regular tv monitor with a pleasant flamboyant attitude. Don't worry about the sound quality: it is the same you have when listening to your music CD.
   The LCD screen on the side is gigantic for a miniDv:3.5". Picture that!

   And since mine was shipped with a vast array of accessories: USB cable, analog AV cable, S-cable, remote control, shoulder trap, lens ring, I am doubly happy because, besides getting back my money worth, a cutting edge technology has found home right in the palm of my hand. What a sweet deal!




3. This camera is excellent on those who are on budget and film mostly outside. Why do I say mostly outside? Because the video quality under low indoor light conditions is very bad. There is lots of noise on shadowy indoor areas. And since most amateurs and home videos are shot without really having a single though on how the light will be, the results will not be good. You'll need tons of light indoor to eliminate the grainyness. Whats even worse is that even in medium indoor lighting conditions look grainy. This grainyness, or color noise, probably has to do with the camera having 1 CCD (Which most consumer cameras have) and the insensitivity of the CCD. So it usually uses electronic gain when shotting with low light, and getting a camera to use electronic gain depends on its CCD signal to noise ratio. This camera has a bit of problems with tapes. I once used Panasonic DVC tapes, and 40 minutes into recording it said tape end! This was unbelieveable. Then once I used Fuji film, and believe it or not it said tape end within 2 minutes of recording and I was surprised. I played it back and stopped where the footage stopped and it recorded normally again. This is probably not the tape's fault but the cameras. The only tape I did not have any problems with is TDK, so USE TDK for this camera. The sound quality is good, and high fidelity sound. Uses standard PCM/48khz/16 bit. The picture quality outside is great, although sometimes it exposes too much and manual exposure needs to be used but generally it does a good job at auto. The features the camcorder has are great especially A/V/S-video IN to capture from other source. Night vision is cool, although short distance. I wouldn't rely on still pix they are low resolution. The LCD is nice although the DPI is low. Another great thing is that it works with my Power MAC and there is stereo microphone input which makes audio sound even better. Nonetheless this camcorder is really good considering the features it has. Simply a little thought in indoor lighting will go a long way. You can buy a cheap 625 watt sun gun on ebay, although inversatile still a good start.



4. I received this camcorder as a gift, and although the footage I've shot has been good quality, I cannot download it on to my PC. I have a brand new PC and it appears the driver that came with the camcorder is not compatible with XP Media Center. I've attempted to contact Samsung to confirm these allegations but they will not return my calls or emails. So I've got hours of raw Mini DV footage that I can't edit on my computer. What's the point??? Needless to say, I'll be buying a new Mini DV camcorder soon, and it will not be Samsung. So far Panasonic has my vote.



5. I bought this camera by all the reviews I read and it seemded like a great buy. I am very happy with it but the extra expense of firewire and capture hardware was $65. Thought I'd be able to upload via USB. Only still pictures upload with the USB> Movies go vai Firewire. It was easy to install and very easy to upload and then you are watching it on your computer and not a TV. Other than the additional purchase of the capture card which I guess all digital camcorders require it is a wonderful unit and fits well in your hand!!

5 comments about Samsung Maxima 70GL Power Zoom 35mm Camera.

1. I could NOT get the film to load properly; the display kept flashing an error message, even after trying 2 different rolls of film. A week later, I went to a camera store and mentioned that I'd bought this camera off the 'net and the trouble I'd had with it. The salesperson took THEIR display camera and had exactly the same difficulty with it. Obviously, this unit has some problems.



2. I recieved the Samsung 70GL Power Zoom Ultra Compact Camera as a birthday present. It was given to me early so I could take pictures of my daily events during my vacation. I did have trouble loading the film. On several tries, I had to open the loading 'bay' and replace the film. I belive I might have exposed several frames on the roll just to get it to take. Is there some type of problems out there with this particular camera? and if so, is there a fix for them? Please let me know I would like to take full advantage of this product!



3. This camera definitely has some major problems with its film loading system. Like the other reviewers, I couldn't load the film in even after too many tries. A very disappointing product.



4. I bought this camera for my teenage son. The pictures were crisp and the features very easy to use. On a recent vacation, my personal camera broke and I used my son's camera. I was very surprised that the pictures I took with it were as good or better than the ones I had taken with a more expensive camera.



5. I AM VERY SATISFIED WITH MY SAMSUNG CAMERA PURCHASE. ALSO, THE SERVICE FROM AMAZON WAS GREAT. I JUST HAD MY FIRST SET OF PICTURES DEVELOPED AND THEY CAME OUT EXCELLENT. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS CAMERA TO EVERYONE.
   JOAN

5 comments about Samsung Digimax 130 1.3MP Digital Camera.

1. This is a decent begginers camera. It has NO optical zoom, only digital and the digital zoom is worthless. It has a really low picture quality, 1.3 MP. I bought this camera for $130 or so dollars a long time ago. It has done a good job for me for a long time but I just bought a new camera to replace it. I don't know about other camera's in this price range but this one is decent. Nice big LCD and easy to use menus.



2. I bought this looking for a cheap camera to put up pictures on the web. 1.3MP (1280x960) should be more than enough for that. However, in 1.3MP mode, this camera takes awful blotchy photos. I suspect this camera's CCD actually uses far less than 1.3MP and interpolates up to that resolution, since the photos this camera takes don't lose any apparent detail when downsampled to 640x480. In fact, I keep mine set at 640x480 all the time, because that's the only way to get decent detail out of it. Bottom line--this is a toy camera.



3. PICTURE QUALITY IS AWFUL. BATTERY RUNS OUT QUICK AND I HAVE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES...TAKES TOO LONG TO TAKE THE PICTURE..KEEPING IN MIND THAT I OWN ANOTHER DIGITAL CAMERAS(KODAK WHICH WAS A GIFT IT IS THE BEST I HAD YET)THIS ONE WAS FOR MY JOB AND ITS JUNK...



4. I've had this camera for several years now, and never really noticed how bright the flash was. Now that I have an infant son I'm realizing. Most of the pictures that I've taken of him with this camera his eyes are shut! Everyone else seems to have normal flashes.
   
   The batteries do run down quickly, and the quality's not great which I don't mind too much. The flash is the reason I want to get rid of this camera now.



5. I bought one of these for myself a while ago - and while Im sure this was a great camera 7 years ago - its just not up to par anymore - Ive also seen the image quality deteriorate in the last few years ive had it - this is in all lighting situations as time moves along the pixels just get bigger and more noticeable.... Id say its realistically a 15 dollar digital camera you pick up at a drug store....thats what its worth.

5 comments about Samsung SC-MM10 MPEG4 Camcorder w/512MB Memory & 10x Optical Zoom.

1. This camcorder has some nice features including a powerful zoom, automatic exposure, automatic focus, and a 720x480 video resolution. Though the camera dos not work well in low light conditions, the camera can be operated of the AC power supply, and a high capacity 3.7 volt 2400mAh battery can be purchased at: [...]
   This optional battery will double the record time of the camera.



2. This little camera shoots great video. Don't buy it if your looking for a still camera because it doesn't do a good job at all in this area. If your looking for a compact video camera that fits in your pocket, then this is it. It shoots mpeg4 video which is good quality in a small file size. I'd also suggest getting a 2GB memory stick so you will have plenty of space to shoot your video. Great little camera!!!



3. I had many of the initial issues with this little jewel, but found two ways to get things on track with my MacBook Pro. Google "deSEDG" and you will find an extremely helpful app that will allow you to convert the avi files so that you can open them in Quicktime and import them into iMovie.
   
   I also installed the Windows codec using Parallels, and this allowed me to view the files automatically in the Windows Media Player. Both results were excellent, and with iMovie I can edit them quite easily.
   
   The information in the guides that comes with the camcorder are insufficient for those using the Mac, but at least there is now a way to benefit from this wonderful piece of equipment.



4. This camcorder is great, for an amateur. I bought it for my [...]son after I returned the Sanyo Xacti VPC-C40 because it would not charge the battery a second time. The Sanyo was easier to transfer the video to a computer, no software to install. The Samsung is just as easy other than that. It only takes about 2 minutes to install the required files (2)on a computer running XP but might be a problem if you want to send the video to a family member since they won't have the dv driver and video codec. My son has made several short takes with only the TV for background light and they are fine. It will not accept any of my 2 gig SD cards but that may be because they've been used in other cameras. It works great with "new" 1 gig SD cards. If this camera was designed for fun then it hits the mark. If you want professional videos then you should buy a professional camera.



5. this camera has loads of cool features, is very easy to use and is quite affordable for what you are getting. I recommend this product highly.

No comments about Samsung MAXIMA 140 Ti QD Super 38-140mm Camera.

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 SCD353 MiniDV Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom.

1. Easy to use, setup and convert videos to PC. The problem is regarding battery life... Average rate is good.



2. this camcorder is a good product, have a good zoom, for the pictures the quality is low, but is a good device.



3. My SCD353 worked OK in first 6 months or so ( less than 10 hrs recoding). Then the picture quality become more and more blurry. I purchased a cleaning tape trying to fix it but no use.



4. I bought the SC-D353 in 2006 with budget in mind, since recent graduates like my wife and I have lots of debt and not much in the way of spending money. This camcorder was essentially the least expensive video option I found at the time that did have an external mic input.
   
   For the price, the camera does the things I am looking for. I'm looking for acceptable, not great, video definition, and it does deliver reasonable video quality when there is adequate lighting. It falls short when dealing with low light, or when a single subject is lit but the rest of the frame is dark. The lens system and autofocus are not well-integrated; once one zooms more than about 2/3rds of the way to the long end of telephoto, the autofocus hunts for several seconds before regaining focus. I suspect that the lens design is not a zoom lens, but rather a hyperfocal lens. A zoom lens retains the same focus through the range, but a hyperfocal lens changes focus distance as focal length changes. At least, that would explain why the autofocus hunts if a fast zoom occurs.
   
   About the audio... the built-in microphone is reasonably sensitive, but, and it is a large but, the camcorder self-noise while using the tape drive is excessive and simply renders the built-in mic unusable. I don't have Memory Stick memory cards, so I don't know whether that problem goes away when recording to the card. It is a good thing that this camcorder has an external mic input, because it badly needs it. I've used small dynamic stereo mics up through a Sennheiser shotgun mic with this camcorder, and as long as one either puts enough distance between the camcorder and mic, or has a mic with a good rejection of local noise, it does OK for audio, though its automatic level control tends to run a bit hot.
   
   The other reviews are correct that the provided battery delivers just about an hour of operation if one only uses the viewfinder, a chunk less if one uses the LCD screen. This limits the utility of the camcorder, since, as the other reviews also point out, the camcorder itself is the only provided charging solution, and the camcorder must be switched off in order to charge the battery. One can operate the camcorder via the provided adapter, though, so some use indoors near an electrical outlet would not be impossible, but who wants a power cable dragging along with them while taping video?
   
   The menu system provides a number of features, most of which I'm too occupied to use in the field. It also does not store settings, so every time you remove power, leave time to set up your favorites again. The one feature that needs a button, the Digital Image Stabilization, only provides that button with several other automation choices. The "EasyQ" button does turn on DIS, but it also turns on autofocus and a couple of other "amateur" features. If you want DIS and, for instance, manual focus, you have to go through the menu to do it. I've never made use of the "digital effects" settings. If I need effects, I can apply them later in Vegas.
   
   Here's what I've done with my unit to make it more useful for me. First, I invested in a third-party Li-ion 2250mAh battery and external charger, which cost me about $20 plus shipping. I can use both batteries, but I've found little need for the original, since the new battery lasts for well over two hours, even mostly running with the LCD screen active. It does, unfortunately, interfere mechanically with getting one's eye up close to the viewfinder, but I can use it with the viewfinder pulled back as one does to access the diopter adjustment and the LCD screen is generally more useful for monitoring anyway. Second, I bought a 30mm to 52mm step-up adapter. This, also unfortunately, could not be installed with the camcorder in mint condition. There is a raised ridge of decorative plastic on the front that comes up to just under the lens, preventing the flange of the adapter from resting perpendicular to the lens. My solution: use a Dremel-style motor tool to take off the 2mm or so of plastic so that I can actually screw in the adapter. I took care not to go deep, and there is still a point where it looks like I've opened a small hole to the interior. I'm not so much worried about what may get in afterward, but rather whether I was generating any plastic bits that fell in. Forget about a warranty if you do this, too. What the 52mm adapter gets me is the ability to use the high-quality accessory lenses that we bought for our Canon S2 IS camera, specifically the 0.66x Raynox wide-angle lens. (I used to have a Century 0.8x, but that weighed a couple of times what the camcorder and the new heavier battery do.) With the wide-angle accessory lens, I can get a much better view at the wide end with no vignetting, and the zoom works fine without excessive AF hunting when zooming even out to the extreme telephoto end. Third, I bought a HTDZ HT-320A microphone, a "uni-directional electret condenser" mic. I'm used to cheap audio equipment sucking badly, but the HT-320A made for a pleasant surprise. Its self-noise is actually not too bad on the unit I got; though not in the Sennheiser shotgun mic class, it also costs about a tenth of what the low-end Sennheiser costs. It is certainly an adequate microphone to pair with the SC-D353 camcorder. Between these accessories, I'm much happier with the camcorder than with it as it came out of the box. I plan to deploy this, minus the wide-angle accessory lens, on a bracket over my Nikon DSLR this summer at dog agility trials, where people often want video of their dog's performance as well as still photos.
   
   Bottom-line: If you are on a budget and only need recognizable video, not great quality video, this unit can do the job. It's certainly a contender for putting together YouTube video compositions. One should also plan to use an external microphone. I'd recommend the purchase of a higher-capacity battery and external charger. If you want to expand your view with good quality accessory lenses, you may need to perform surgery on the camcorder case.



5. Bought this camcorder at Best Buy a year ago. I made the purchase based on a long standing faith in Samsung products. The image quality was terrible. There is no light, so it is very hard to keep a focus unless you are outside in bright daylight. Sound quality was okay. But after one year of very light use, the LCD display quit working. I'll never buy another Samsung camera. I called Samsung they charge $160.00 to fix it. Brand new one is $200.00. It happened with a lot of people. BAD BAD BAD.