Features

• Sleek, compact MiniDV camcorder and digital still camera with 680,000 CCD
• 20x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 900x) and image stabilizer
• 3.5-inch rotating LCD and color viewfinder
• Low-light recording settings, built-in video light, 4-in-1 memory card slot, and MPEG-4 recording
• Rechargeable Li-ion battery pack lasts for up to 2 hours

Reviews (5)

Returned it with reluctance...
I bought this camera to replace our 7 year old VHS-C camcorder. It had most of the features that I was looking for: MiniDV, Optical zoom greater than 10x, batterly life greater than 1 hour, LCD geater than 2.5", built-in light, and memory card for digital pictures.

I returned it for one main reason- video quality is equal to that of my current camcorder. It gets worse under certain circumstances. (Disabling DIS didn't improve the picture quality.)

Every feature that was attractive to me turned out to be inadequate. Large LCD screen, but the image is not pleasing. Built-in video light barely lights closeby objects. No facility (shoe) to place external light or flash.

Still images are another big disappointment. I realize that I shouldn't expect great still pictures from a camcorder, but I don't think they should come out this blurry, dull, and hazy.

Memory card slot can accept various different media (SD, memory stick, etc.) - I think this is a very neat feature.

I was amazed by Nite Pix feature. Yes, you can record video in absolute darkness, but the objects have to be within close proximity (6 feet or so).

Fading option (between footages) is extremely disappointing. You have to keep the fade button pushed until the image fades out, then push the standby button, and then release the fade button. You have to do the same when you start recording again. Completely manual operation.

We own many Samsung products and I am very satisfied with each one of them. This product is not going to change my opinion on Samsung.

Great Features, Great Price
I love this camcorder. First off, it's a great deal. I did a lot of research and found this to be the best deal out of the lower cost camcorders. The 107's brother (the 105) is also a good camcorder but the features of the 107 really puts it over the top. The large LCD is great. Playback is awesome on the huge screen. The photo feature is nice to have but I would still use a digital camera in most cases. It can also record MPEG4 with audio. The low-light feature works great. The audio is great and has an input for mics or music. The analog input is great and pretty easy to use. It's a good way to get old home videos on your computer without a capture card. Also, despite other reviews, I think the picture looks pretty good. One tip of advice is to only use the DIS when you have to. If you leave it on that's when it's starts to look grainy. I don't know what else to say. Too many features to mention. Great camera. Would suggest to anyone.

Pros:
Large 3.5" LCD for great playback
Analog Input to save all those old videos
Great Night Recording
Great Audio
Microphone/ Audio Input
Picture looks more than fine for most people
Photo and Video recording on memory card

Cons:
Light isn't that bright
Video can look a little grainy but mainly when DIS is on

Excellent Features and good price
After much research on the internet and in stores, I chose the Samsung SCD107....had it for a week and have been very pleased. All buttons and menus are easy to use. Picture and LCD view are average....very impressed with "nightpix" feature for shooting in the dark....you can shoot in total darkness, though it is a little grainy. Video looks very good hooked up to the TV whether it is in sunlight or indoors. Have also had no problem with tape insertion, read you manual and you will be fine. All in all I am very pleased with my selection.

Good entry-level cam
I found this DV camera to be an excellent product for the entry-level consumer. I wanted to try my hand at amateur moviemaking, amd picked this camera up cheap at Target, and so far, I've had no problems.
The picture quality is crisp and clear, although if you're looking for a particularly truer, more colorful picture, you would do best to upgrade to a 3 CCD camera.

Battery life is about the same as comparable models. The LCD viewscreen is big and bright, but the viewing angle could be a little wider- sometimes it can be tricky to tell how bright or dark your recorded video will be based on what angle you're looking at the screen with. Luckily, the little viewfinder does not share this problem, and you get londer battery life if you use it.

The package does not include a ieee firewire cable, so be sure to pick one up (a 4-pin-to-6-pin one) if you want to upload video to your computer for editing. When I got the cable, I had no problems importing video onto my Mac with iMovie.

As for the cassette-insertion problem outlined in one of the other reviews, yes, the way to insert a cassette could be a bit more self-explanatory, so I can see how some users might try to force the cassette tray back in and break this thing, but if you're patient and use your noggin, you'll realize it's not that complex. The camera opens, a tray come out, and a little caddy pops up. You put the cassette in the caddy, *then gently push the caddy back down into the tray*. The tray will then automatically retract back into the camera and you can close it up again. Pretty simple.

My first review!
The is my intial review of the product. After extensive search, I could find only one other review out there. I bought this camcorder today (5/15/04)and rushed home to try it out. I powered it up, opened the "funky" tape tray, located inconveniently at the bottom of the camcorder, and inserted a tape. Following the directions closely, I attempted to close the tray. I NEVER applied any undue force, just pushed the "push to close" button. Nothing happened! The camera continued to "whirrrr" around inside. I pulled the tape back out and tilted to camera to look inside. When I did a small pin and gear fell out onto my countertop. Disturbing to say the least. It is going back tomorrow to Target. I will probably drive over to Best Buy to re-purchase it, along with an extended warrantee! I'll keep you all posted! ... Read more

Product Description

Samsung Consumer (DVD/TV/etc) (SCD6550) Samsung 3.5" LCD Mini-DV Camcorder ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very Poor Video, great 5MP stills
The SCD6550 is a great idea, but just doesn't preform as I had hoped.I was looking for one camera to take on vacation, replacing carrying a 2 year old Sony MiniDV and a 5 MP Sony CyberShot.My Sony takes 1 MP stills, has excellent video, but @ 1MP, the stills are not nearly print worthy.This camera is actually smaller and lighter than my Sony.

The 5MP still camera function gave excellent results, both with flash and with natural light and outside.Shot for shot it produced either as good or better prints (4x6) than the Sony CyberShot.

Digital video is this unit's short coming.I did identical shots inside and outside with the Sony and Samsung.The Samsung's video quality was very poor, looked more like analog or standard 8mm quality.Inside, with natural room lighting, it was pretty much unacceptable.Outside, the shots lacked the crispiness of the Sony.I took it back, will keep the Sony's and hope that Sony comes out with a greater than 2 or 3 MP model soon. ... Read more

Features

• DuoCam MiniDV camcorder and 4.1-megapixel digital still camera in one compact, easy-to-use package
• 10x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 900x) for camcorder; 3x optical (12x digital) for DSC, and image stabilizer
• 2.5-inch rotating LCD and color viewfinder
• Low-light recording settings, multi-card slot, pop-up flash, and MPEG-4 recording
• Rechargeable Li-ion battery pack

Reviews (1)

Best of both worlds
I spent a lot of time researching the best video camera to buy and decided on the DuoCam. At first I was thinking of getting a Sony miniDV HandiCam, but after trying it out in the store I was afraid I would break it, it felt more like a Fisher Price toy than a serious (and expensive) piece of electronic equipment. I saw a review in Wired Magazine for the DuoCam and it peaked my interest, both a miniDV camera with a 4 mega pixel video camera in one package...hmmm. Well I tried one out in the store and although it is a little bigger than a HandiCam, it is much more solid and once you learn the controls is very convenient. One of the reasons I bought this was because we have a new baby, with this camera I can video tape him and when he does something particularly cute I just switch to the digital camera and take a shot, no switching or anything, pretty convenient when you have diaper in one hand and your camera in the other. I found the video quality to be the equivlent of the the HandiCam and the photo quality and features are excellent. Considering how much you would spend for both a decent miniDV camera and a good digital camera, this is a great deal. You also get a remote, USB cable and memory card. I am very happy with my purchase, way to go Samsung! ... Read more

Product Description

The Digimax V700 is a high resolution digital camera that is equipped with a true-colour filtered 7.1 mega-pixel CCD. You can use the 7.1 mega-pixel Digimax V700 digital camera to produce even better images and take detailed photos for printing up to poster size. In addition, the Digimax V700 has a 3x optical and 10x digital zoom giving 30x total zoom when combined.For enhanced movie-shooting, the Digimax V700 supports MPEG-4 format, the high-compression high-quality movie clip format. It provides a recording time 3-4 times longer than conventional digital cameras, which is about 2 hours 10 minutes when you are using 256 MB memory, making it a perfect substitute for a camcorder. You can use the Digimax V700 to shoot a movie clip in VGA(640x480) at 30 fps and play it on your TV at the same, high quality it was taken, or enjoy it in your PC.The Digimax V700 has a movie stabilizer for movie-shooting it also provides a built-in movie clip editing function that was previously only possible with use of a PC. With continuous video recording, you can pause and resume video recording any time you want, and merge multiple video files into a single file.The Digimax V700 has special effects that give you a unique shooting experience beyond conventional picture taking they are : Highlight, Composite, and Photo Frames.With its Auto Macro function, the Digimax V700 automatically adjusts shooting distance and focus. You can press the macro button in Au ... Read more

Features

• 7.0 megapixels with 2-inch LCD
• Shutter speed up to 1/2000 of a second
• Images can be stored as TIFF, JPEG, EXIF 2.2 or DPOF formats--at sizes up to 5MB
• MPEG-4 file format captures 30-frame-per-second movie clips

Product Description

The Digimax V700 is a high resolution digital camera that is equipped with a true-colour filtered 7.1 mega-pixel CCD. You can use the 7.1 mega-pixel Digimax V700 digital camera to produce even better images and take detailed photos for printing up to poster size. In addition, the Digimax V700 has a 3x optical and 10x digital zoom giving 30x total zoom when combined.For enhanced movie-shooting, the Digimax V700 supports MPEG-4 format, the high-compression high-quality movie clip format. It provides a recording time 3-4 times longer than conventional digital cameras, which is about 2 hours 10 minutes when you are using 256 MB memory, making it a perfect substitute for a camcorder. You can use the Digimax V700 to shoot a movie clip in VGA(640x480) at 30 fps and play it on your TV at the same, high quality it was taken, or enjoy it in your PC.The Digimax V700 has a movie stabilizer for movie-shooting it also provides a built-in movie clip editing function that was previously only possible with use of a PC. With continuous video recording, you can pause and resume video recording any time you want, and merge multiple video files into a single file.The Digimax V700 has special effects that give you a unique shooting experience beyond conventional picture taking they are : Highlight, Composite, and Photo Frames.With its Auto Macro function, the Digimax V700 automatically adjusts shooting distance and focus. You can press the macro button in Au ... Read more

Features

• Successive recording function allows video pause/resume and video file consolidation
• Image resolution up to 3072 x 2304
• 10x digital zoom
• High-quality video mode with MPEG4 technology, at 30fps
• Movie stabilizer automatically detects and corrects lateral and vertical movement caused by hand-shaking, keeping subject stable

Features

• Supports 9 different power sources
• Innovative low power circuitry
• 3 customizable user profile settings
• Super macro feature that captures subjects as close as 6 cm away
• World renowned Schneider optics in 3X Optical - 4X Digital Zoom configuration

Product Description

The Digimax A5 has a 5.0 megapixel CCD sensor. In combining these sensors with a Samsung High-Definition (SHD) lens, these cameras deliver fantastic image quality.Users are presented with 10 different Scene modes (Portrait, Children, Landscape, Close-up, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow and Text) from which to choose to create the perfect shot. For the more creative user there is also the choice of aperture priority, shutter priority and fully manual shooting modes. The 4cm Macro setting allows for extreme close-up photography for those wishing to explore the artistic properties of surfaces, textures and other subject matter.Features an innovative Power Movie Clip function that allows users to shoot high quality VGA movie clips. Power Movie Clip provides flexibility and creative control in allowing the user to shoot at either 30 or 15 frames per second of VGA quality video. In addition, the cameras enable users to shoot and store movie clips in different sizes up to 640x480. Finally, the Power Movie Clip offers the ability to pause, fast forward and/or rewind the video right on the cameras.The 16MB of internal memory facilitates ample storage right on the cameras themselves, while the SD/MMC slot allows for an additional 512MB of capacity.The large, bright 1.8" LCD displays make it easy to view the subject during capture and playback, while an innovative feature allows users to switch between capture and playback modes w ... Read more

Features

• Powered by 2 AA-size batteries
• 5 MP CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 13 x 17-inch prints
• 2.0-inch LCD display
• 10 Scene Modes; Macro setting allows photos as close as 1.5 inches
• Features a self-portrait mirror, allowing easy self-portraits

Features

• 5-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 13-by-17-inch enlargements
• 3x optical zoom with 5x digital zoom combines for 12x total zoom
• Manual exposure; macro mode; 1.5-inch color TFT LCD monitor
• Store images on 32 MB internal memory or on optional Secure Digital memory cards (card not included)
• Powered by 2 AA-size batteries (alkaline included, rechargeable NiMH recommended)

Features

• 4-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 11-by-15-inch enlargements
• 3x optical zoom combines with 4x digital zoom for a total of 12x zoom
• Movie clips with audio; 1.5-inch color TFT LCD monitor
• Store images on Secure Digital (SD) memory cards (32 MB SD card included)
• Powered by 2 AA-size batteries (alkaline included, rechargeable NiMH recommended)

Reviews (4)

Cheap
I think that this digital camera is not worth it because of its quality. It does not put enough flash in the dark places. It also takes up a lot of battery power. After 10 shots it will say low batt. So i bought a sony cyber shot it is much better than the samsung cam. The cam is also heavy compare to sony.

Great Camera!
This camera is great so far. I am VERY pleased by the quality of the pictures. It is easy to use. The software that comes with it makes it very easy to download and manipulate the pictures. I have not yet used the audio or camcorder options. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because as far as I can tell (after limited time reading the book and working with it) there's no protection for the lense.

It has good video too.
At 4.0 the pics are great. But what about the video. Video is always the add on, hence most say their Digital Camera video is poor to below sh*t. This camera has good video. I have only tried out the 320x240 30fps and at night too. First, simply the video and sound was good. Good enough to burn the video with pics on a DVD and the quality between the pics and video was only a little bit different. WOW! Second, you can change the video settings easily from 320x240 15fps (more room less quality) to 640x480 (almost dvd quality with lots of space on the memory can disappearing. I put in a 512meg card and the camera told me I had 30 min at 320x160 30fs. If anyone takes more than 30 minutes of 99 year old grandma's birthday as she opens presents will need a brand new pocket protector to go with the camera. This camera is great for pics and good for video.<br /><br />

I am very suprised at the quality!
I bought this camera #1, for the price. I have been an avid film SLR user for many years. I must say I was very skeptical about buying a digital point and shoot camera. Let me explain why I bought it. My father, who lives 2 hours away, was recently diagnosed with cancer, and has not been able to see our 2 week old newborn son. We also have a 3 year old son. When I found this camera, at such a low price, I figured I would give it a try, and if I didn't like it, I would simply return it. I took a few test shots inside and outside, under different lighting conditions, and took them to my local Target and had 4x6 prints made to see how well they turned out. I must honestly say that both my husband and I were truly impressed and surprised at the quality of the prints we received back. They were very true to life, and the colors and the clarity were outstanding from this little 4 mp camera. I am also happy with the fact that this camera can shoot short videos WITH SOUND, which can be very hard to find in this price range. Now I can send my family updated pictures, daily, of our children, as well as short videos. I would recommend this camera to anyone! ... Read more

Product Description

The Digimax U-CA 5 is a high resolution digital camera that is equipped with a true-colour filtered 5.0 mega-pixel CCD. You can use the 5.0 mega-pixel Digimax U-CA 5 digital camera to produce even better images and take detailed photos for printing up to poster size. In addition, the Digimax U-CA 5 has a 3x optical and 5x digital zoom giving 15x total zoom when combined.The Digimax U-CA 5 has adopted the unique newly-developed technology, SF (Safety Flash) function which gives enhanced image clarity and colour in places without a sufficient light source where the photographer does not want to use a flash. The function disables the flash in low light settings and enhances the exposure enabling more natural photos, in difficult conditions.The Digimax U-CA 5 charging system allows the user to perform charging and data-transfer easily. The user can transfer images and perform charging by simply mounting the camera in the connected cradle.The Digimax U-CA 5 has an M button for faster mode switching. The user can operate the M button to switch between Auto, Manual and Scene modes more easily and quickly, without entering the menu. The M button also allows Scene mode selection for even quicker mode switching.With its Auto Macro function, the Digimax U-CA 5 automatically adjusts shooting distance and focus between 5 cm to infinity.The Digimax U-CA 5 has special functions that give you a unique shooting experience beyond conventional picture tak ... Read more

Features

• Can be charged from a cell phone charger
• 5.0 megapixels with 2 inch macro safety flash
• Up to 15x zoom capability
• MPEG-4 movie clip records up to 4 times longer than MJPEG
• 4 x 2 x 1.5 inches (W x H x D)

Features

• Stores images on SD or MMC memory cards; includes 16MB of internal memory
• 4 MP CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 11 x 15-inch prints
• 2.0-inch LCD display
• Macro setting allows photos as close as 2 inches
• 8 acceptable power sources, including AA-size batteries

Features

• 3.2-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 10-by-14-inch enlargements
• 3x optical zoom combines with 4x digital zoom for 12x total zoom
• Movie clips with audio; 1.5-inch color TFT LCD monitor; PictBridge support
• Store images on Secure Digital (SD) memory cards or Memory Stick Duo (32 MB SD card included)
• Powered by 2 AA-size batteries (alkaline included, rechargeable NiMH recommended)

Features

• 5-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 13-by-17-inch enlargements
• 3x Schneider optical zoom lens
• 2-inch LCD screen, movie clips with audio; PictBridge support
• Store images on Secure Digital (SD) memory cards (32 MB SD card included)
• Powered by 2 AA-size batteries (alkaline included, rechargeable NiMH recommended)

Amazon.com Product Description

The Samsung Digimax V4 packs a relatively large CCD in a relatively small package, allowing for high-resolution shots that are crystal clear. The camera can "remember" settings from various users, making it a great choice for family vacations where everyone wants to take some pictures.

Optics and Resolution
The Digimax V4 uses a 4.0 mega-pixel, high-resolution CCD that provides vivid picture images and renders accurate color tones. It is ideal for general pictures as well as for high-quality printed results. In addition, the Digimax V4 uses a Schneider lens, recognized throughout the world as being one of the leading quality lenses available, producing crystal clear images. The camera features an advanced multi-purpose 12x zoom consisting of a 3x optical zoom (focal length of 38mm-113mm in a 35mm film camera) and a 4x digital zoom.

Storage and Transfer
The Digimax V4 uses a USB 1.1 interface to transfer data to and from the PC. Images and video are stored on removable SD or MMC cards.

Movie and Audio Modes
The Digimax V4 has a WAV sound recording function, which is ideal for recording events such as speeches and important business meetings. You can also capture AVI movie clips with sound at a resolution of 288 x 208 pixels and add commentary to your still images. Video clip size is limited only by the available memory capacity of the storage card. More Features
The Digimax V4 personalizes camera settings to work for each user. The "My Set" function lets users choose and save 3 favorite camera settings, such as image size, quality and ISO. This enables users to achieve the great results they personally want, in many different shooting conditions, with just one touch of a button.

The Digimax V4's Super Macro function makes it possible for you to capture images from as little as 6 cm away. Accurate focusing control has been made possible through precision design and lens cutting skills.

You can edit captured images easily, without the need for a PC. The Trimming function can be used to save only a certain part of the captured image and the Resizing function can be used to resize images.

Other features include:

• Three kinds of manual exposure options, including Aperture priority, Shutter priority and Manual
• Manual focusing available
• 1.5 inch LCD

Power and Size
The Digimax V4 supports nine kinds of power sources, including AA Alkaline, AA Lithium, CR-V3 (included), and rechargeable Ni-MH batteries, as well as a dedicated Li-ion battery or AC adaptor. You are now free to take pictures whenever and wherever you'd like, without having to worry about running out of power and missing out on a perfect photo opportunity.

The camera measures 105.5mm by 54.6mm by 38mm and weighs 165g(without batteries).

What's in the Box
The camera comes with a variety of accessories, including a carrying pouch, 32 MB SD card, wrist strap, and software CD-ROM. It also includes USB and AV cables for interfacing with a PC or AV equipment. ... Read more

Features

• 4.0 megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality prints up to 11 x 14 and medium-quality poster-size prints
• 3x optical zoom plus 4x digital zoom (12x total)
• Captures movies with audio; powers up in less then 3 seconds
• Included 32 MB Secure Digital (SD) card
• Powered by AA batteries (NiMH rechargeables recommended); connects with Macs and PCs via USB port

Features

• 3.2-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 10-by-14-inch enlargements
• 3x optical zoom combines with 3x digital zoom for 9x total zoom
• Optical viewfinder, 1.5-inch color TFT LCD screen; PictBridge support
• Store images on Memory Stick Duo memory cards (32 MB included)
• Powered by Dedicated lithium ion battery (SLB-1037)

Product Description

Sleek, compact and ultra thin (97 x 52 x 25 mm), the Digimax U-CA 505 packs impressive features, including 5 mega pixels, into a stylish body that's small enough to take anywhere.The Digimax U-CA 505 has a 2.0± TFT LCD, which is a pleasure to use outdoors, bright enough to use even in direct sunlight for both composing and reviewing your shots. In Review mode, 8X digital zoom (max.) can be used to examine the detail in your captured images right on the back of the camera.The Digimax U-CA 505 features a high-quality 5.8mm focal length lens (equivalent to 35mm in 35mm format) and a 5.0x digital zoom. The camera's shutter speeds (mechanical and electronic) range from 2 to 1/1000 of a second (8 to 1/1000 in Night Mode) and there are 8 white balance modes, including custom settings, to ensure great pictures whatever the lighting.The Digimax U-CA 505 offers Super Fine, Fine and Normal JPEG compression modes and features resolution settings of for still images. The Digimax U-CA 505 can also shoot movie clips with sound at resolutions up to 640 x 480 (VGA) at a maximum rate of 24fps for as long as the capacity of the memory card will allow.Sound can be recorded for up to 1 hour with the cameras' built-in microphone and sound clips can be attached to individual still images during playback. These images can be stored on the camera's 16.0 MB of internal memory, or on an external SD/MMC card. The camera also features video out and USB ports, supported by ... Read more

Features

• 5.0 megapixels with a 2-inch color LCD
• Up to 8x zoom mode capability
• Shoot VGA movie clips with sound or print still images from the camera
• Ultra slim and lightweight design

Features

• 3.2-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 10-by-14-inch enlargements
• 3x optical zoom combines with 3x digital zoom for 9x total zoom
• Optical viewfinder, 1.5-inch color TFT LCD screen; PictBridge support
• Store images on Memory Stick Duo memory cards (32 MB included)
• Powered by Dedicated lithium ion battery (SLB-1037)

Features

• Camcorder: MiniDV format, 10x optical zoom, 800x digital zoom, electronic image stabilization
• Still camera: 4.13 MP CCD (for 2272 x 1704 images), 3x optical zoom
• 2-inch LCD monitor, pop-up flash for stills
• Records digital stills onto included 8 MB Memory Stick
• Connects via Firewire (video) and USB 1.1 (stills)

Reviews (2)

Best small travel camera
Other than a lack of a few manual overrides for things like shutter speed and logical film speed, the only other negative things I have to say are:

1) It forces too rigid controls on you for some of the more common things. Such as, take a photo and decide you don't want to keep it - to delete it you must first switch out of record mode and into play mode, access the menu, navigate to the memory option, locate the photo you just took and delete it. Then, to take another picture, you must switch back over to record mode (switching modes takes about .1 seconds to flip a switch, but for some reason the camera wants an addition 5 seconds to run a self-test or something before you can use that mode).

2) The LCD screen is not the greatest I've seen. Not bad, but just barely "good" quality. Playback of video or stills can sometimes result in noise, looking like mosaic squares or the occassional line. However, this is only on the LCD screen of the camera - videos and stills sent to a PC monitor, TV screen or printer (as appropriate) are all excellent quality.

I tried to replicate the problems quoted here in a previous review. I could not. I surmise the problems must have been due to either viewing on the LCD screen (already noted as being just barely "good") or due to bad recording media.

Specifically, I ran a panoramic recording of 2 rooms. Both were intentially lit in one corner but not the others. Both had large areas of white and dark patches, shadows under shelves and cabinets, objects up close and far away. I ran several pans of each room at different panning speeds. The ultimate speed was 1 revolution in 3 seconds - things moved by FAST!

The camera performed excellently with respect to exposure, rapidly changing with lighting conditions. Both rooms included the lighting source in part of the pans (i.e., I filmed the light bulb as it was burning). No problems. I could even read titles on books in the shadows of my bookshelves. I noted a slightly better result by using the "sports" setting rather than the automatic exposure, but the AE was still very good.

Of course, focus was a problem on the last, fast pan. 360 degrees in 3 seconds is too fast for any camera to keep up with. At more reasonable panning speeds, the camera focused absolutely A-OK.

As to a verical streak being recorded on zoom, the zoom is purely optical. The digital zoom value (up to 800x) must be set before recording starts and cannot be changed during recording. Any zooming during recording is optical, therefore, any vertical streak is probably the result of either (a) bad recording media or (b) the playback was on the LCD, not a PC monitor or TV screen. In short, the streak was either "real" and on bad media, or a "ghost" existing on the LCD but not truly recorded on tape.

For photos, color content is wonderful, if and only if the proper lighting is chosen. If you're indoors, choose indoors. Otherwise you will likely get a bit of blue or orange cast. Any PC software can adjust this, but using the correct setting is preferable. 4.3mp using superfine detail yields exceptional quality. Compared to a Canon G3's best photo, the DuoCam is noticably better.

The camera is complex. Not complicated, but complex. People who don't read manuals should not buy this camera.

For one camera to own and use, or if you need a travel camera on vacation or something, this is the one. Sure beats carrying a camcorder AND a still camera, and all in the size of a small to medium camcorder. It's not professional quality (then again, it's not $12,000 either), but it's getting close. Record video on tape or mediastick. "Snap" low-res stills to tape while in camcorder mode. Copy stills or individual frames from tape to memorystick. Continuous stills at 3/second. Lots more. Great quality, tons of features.

Horrible Indoor Video Recording Quality
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. ... Read more

Features

• 5-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 13-by-17-inch enlargements
• 3x Schneider optical zoom lens
• Voice memo recording; PictBridge support
• Store images on Secure Digital (SD) memory cards (32 MB SD card included)
• Powered by 2 AA-size batteries (alkaline included, rechargeable NiMH recommended)