Samsung - its okay
Pros:
Small, many features, big LCD, night vision
Cons:
Horrible digital snapshots, not so great filming quality (colors, dull images, etc)
The Bottom Line:
For budget buyers and families, I would recommend this camera. The last thing needed is a $1000 camera broken by a toddler (I'm speaking from experience).
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Camera
The camera has a lot of features, including USB and IEEE 1394 (firewire) connectivity. (When possible, avoid using USB to upload video. The quality of USB streamed video is poor.) Most of the buttons and switches are easy to reach, and the camera fits comfortably in the palm of even the smallest hands. The size and quality of the LCD screen was a big selling point for the camera. Another big selling point of the camera was the 0 LUX (night vision) capability, which surprisingly works very well (even though it produces green images). When recording, the motor makes kind of a whining noise - but that noise is not captured in the recorded product.
Filming Quality
The only complaint I have about this camera is that colors aren't very sharp (even in daylight), and filming in low light situations is difficult. When filming inside a room (or an otherwise low light situation), the camera does have a button to easily control shutter speed (to allow more light in), but then picture quality drops dramatically. Even though the microphone sits on the top of the camera (as opposed to the front), the sound is surprisingly good.
Features
If you are buying the video camera with the intention of taking digital stills - don't - the quality is horrible. Get a digital camera. Camera does not come with a memory card, but has the capacity to accept either SD or Memory Stick. It is possible to film directly to the memory card, which is a nice if you like to email videos to family and friends. Battery life is amazing, the small lithium ion battery lasts a long time (unless you use the LCD display a lot). The viewfinder is in color, which is an added bonus for filmers like me who like to conserve battery power by using the LCD sparingly.
Overall
I like the camera, I like its size, and I like the features. I only wish it had better filming quality (sharper images, better in low light). Samsung is a great deal for its price.
