Rating: Summary: Great Video Camera Review: This camcorder kicks!! Very easy to use , nice LCD screen , easy to download to PC , nice built in special effects,and well built machine.I have loved the samsung brand name since thier great cellphones.The only thing that could get it 5 stars is a seperate memory card for pics. But, honestly, if your looking for good quaility digital pics, stick to a regular digital camera.Buy this for video. Suggested accessory : Pinacle systems Studio DV --- Awesome Quality
Rating: Summary: A great two-in-one camera Review: I actually originally purchased a JVC digital camcorder. I should have listened to the other Amazon reviewers and steered clear of that one, as within an hour of use, it stated that it needed head cleaning, and wouldn't operate. This Samsung camcorder replaced that one the day after I purchased the JVC, and I am very pleased. The picture and sound quality are great, and it is very easy to download the video to my iMac via firewire. I'm not sure how well (or if) it would work on a PC, so you may want to investigate whether it will work with your system. About the only thing that keeps this camera from getting 5 stars is I have had difficulty trying to retrieve still photos when the camera is connected to the computer- but then I haven't fully read the manual, so it could be very simple. Basically this is a great camera, and it's not much more expensive than a high-quality digital still camera. If you enjoy having multiple-use products as much as I do, this is a great bet.
Rating: Summary: Overview Review: OVERVIEW: I've had this product for quite a while, before I get to the pro's and con's here's a quick look: It's a good deal for the price I bought it. The camcorder comes with a lithium ion battery that lasts for 6 months; this battery keeps your settings and time going. An SBL110 1-1.5 hour battery comes as well (it takes app. 2 hours to charge the battery fully), this battery runs low pretty fast, so I'm going to get the SBL220, which lasts an hour more. The set comes with a worldwide AC Adapter and an AC cord. Along with all of this come the Audio/Video cable, a great instruction book, and the adjustable shoulder and hand strap. This camera uses only Mini DV tapes and has 500 lines of resolution. I had to buy a bag for this camcorder (Vidcam 3 fit perfectly for my camcorder, camera, and tons of accessories), and of course tapes. Everything is easy to use once you practice for a little bit, then you realize this is a great camera. This camera come with the following functions: Digital Image Stabilizer, Picture in Picture, 22x zoom which is about twice the normal zoom of most cameras and is great, and 500x digital zoom. The camera has adjustable or auto setting for shutter speed, back light compensation, manual and auto focus, white balance, and IRIS (quantity of light that can enter the camera). Still pictures are available in photo mode. Also you can record in SP/LP mode and 12-bit or 16-bit audio. 16-bit audio is much better but doesn't allow audio dubbing as the 12-bit mode does (audio dubbing available only in SCD70 version). This camera features a demo, which shows the functions this camera, and has a date/time function. This camera has two modes, camera (for recording), and player (for playing back). The Record lamp can be turned on or off, according to your preference. The LCD has 112,320 pixels, which is very good. The Digital Effects included are: ART (coarse effect), MOSAIC, SEPIA (red-brown pigment), NEGA (negative), MIRROR (two images side by side), B/W, EMBO (3-D, embossing), CINEMA, MAKE UP (yellow, red, green, or blue color), and GHOST (dragging effect.) Also another extra effect is fade in and fade out which is activated by pushing a button while recording. This effect slowly fades in/out the sound and picture while recording, this is great for ending or beginning recording. You can create your own custom setting by using the custom feature and saving these. Once you press the custom button all of your settings will reappear for the video you want to make. The other is easy setting, which is for beginners; it turns all of the setting to off except DIS. Technically this camera has the already programmed Easy setting for beginners, your own professional (custom) setting which you make, and it also saves the changes you make to your regular settings, which I use most of the time. To make things more clearly, you don't have to use the easy or custom settings, they are extras, somewhat comparable to Word files on your computer that you can choose to use. While the regular settings (system files) are the one's you'll use when you don't press the easy or custom button to activate the easy or custom mode. This might sound confusing but it really is simple, and Samsung did a great job making this an easy camera to use. The IEEE 1394 Data Transfer requires: more than 64MB RAM, IEEE 1394 card (not included), Windows 98, ME, XP, or Mac OS, and Pentium III 450Mhz compatible. This camera weighs approximately 2 lbs. with the battery and cassette. PRO: *Affordable *Many features *Easy to use *Nice design *Excellent picture and sound quality *When I got this camera Samsung offered a 3 month warranty extension for filling out a survey *Great Wind Cut option, which eliminates the noise of the wind completely. CON: *Buzzing noise emitted on playback when zoom function is used. *The Date Time feature either resets completely or is many hours behind when the camera isn't used for a certain period of time. This happens very frequently and if you don't check the date/time before recording, you could be in trouble. *Battery runs low very fast *Horrible camcorder for use in low-lit places.I hope this review was helpful to you so that you can make the right decision, the only reason I give this camcorder a 4, is because I don't know how well it will react to the test of time.
Rating: Summary: Awful camera, awful customer service Review: This embarassment of a camera is the worst mistake of my consumer-life. It was broken out of the box. Ok, that I can understand.. happens to every manufacturer. So I took it to a so-called Samsung Certified Service Center who kept it for THREE MONTHS before giving me a new one. The new camera's picture quality quickly deteriorated until the images became unwatchable. Samsung's customer service amounted to, "You're lying and it's not my problem." Horrible, awful camera. Stay away at all costs from any Samsung product. If you've had luck with them in the past, pray you stay lucky because if something ever goes wrong they will burn you every chance they get.
Rating: Summary: ADDENDUM TO MY PREVIOUS REVIEW Review: If you want professional looking video, than this camera IS NOT for you. The people who are writing all the negative reviews are trying to use an entry-level camera for elaborate filming. This camera is not made for that. If you just want a basic, easy to use, camcorder for simple home movies, this is the camcorder to get. It's very affordable and does a good job. I have had no major problems with this model. There is some minor noise when you zoom in/out. I have had no problem recording audio. The date/time stamp does not automatically reset. Only resets if you let the battery run out completely. Battery life could be better(lasts about 1 hour on full charge). But you can get a better battery at Radio Shack. This is a solid camcorder at a good price. You can use it with most software programs like Premiere, After Effects, etc.
Rating: Summary: be prepared for agro Review: I bought this camcorder two years ago, and it's needed to be repaired twice. Now the LCD monitor is broken. Samsung customer service is extremely poor and built around avoiding honoring the warranty at all costs
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