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 Sad to loose priceless memories Aug 05, 2008
I don't usually write reviews but, I feel the need to let everyone know what a poor camcorder this is. I unfortuantely didn't do any research prior to buying on black friday 1 week before my new baby was to be born. The whole 8 mos that I have owned this I was only able to record and finalize 1 disk with no problems (the 1st disk) since then it stops recording mid disk says "write error" & it won't finalize. I thought maybe it was the disk so I bought some more/different brand of dvd-r it worked fine then mid disk same thing when I press record it says "write error" doesn't record or finalize this time it erased the month worth of taping my new baby. I tried to take it back to the store were I purchased but, since I didn't buy a protection plan and it was over 30 days I am stuck with it. Called Samsung and I have to send it in for the repair. My son is about to crawl anyday and it will be missed. I am not the only one with this problem. Now that I have done some research a lot of people are having the same problem. For something as important as taping precious memories I wish I would have paid more for a better camera. Memories are priceless.
 Fair to Excellent Aug 04, 2008
Camcorder is Ok but it seems like the batteries go down to easy. Tried
several batteries, but have the same results.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Camera Not Good Jan 14, 2008
I've had nothing but problems from this camera. It sucks the battery down lightening fast, it won't shut off sometimes and this weekend, it would skip on the recordings so it didn't record all of the event I was trying to capture. Returning this immediately!
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Software issues Jan 14, 2008
While I bought this as a christmas present for my wife, She has yet to be able to use it. She tried to record a small video and it would not play back. Then the camera started telling her weird things like, the disk is not formated and do you want the camera to format it. When we answered yes, the same message just continued to come up. I called Samsung and was told that there was a patch I could download onto a dvd which could be put in the camera to correct the problem. When I told them I did not have a DVD burner, they offered to send me a disk. After waiting 2 weeks, the disk arrived but was on a full sized CD rather than the mini DVD so I could not put it in the camera to download. I borrowed a computer with a DVD burner and copied the file onto a mini DVD. Then when I put it in the camera, the camera told me the disc was bad. I did this three times with three different discs and the results were the same each time.
I have now sent the camera back to the on-line store which sent the camera. They indicated that they will send me a new one. I am just hoping the software patch has been installed on the new camera when I get it and my problems are resolved. I was hoping to just get my money back and try a different brand but at this point, the distributor just wants to send me the same camera.
Based on my experience to date with Samsung, I don't think I would buy anything else from that company.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
worth the $$$$ Dec 13, 2007
i purchased this camcorder at sears on sale for 199 minus 100 in gift cards, so i ended up paying 100 bucks for it. Even for 199, the camcorder is worth the money. so here are some positive and negatives i've witnessed so far (keep in mind this is the only dvd camcorder that i have ever used)
positives
1. it is very small and fits in my hand comfortably
2. discs are loaded easily
3. case use dvdrw cd's so that you can re record if you don't like what you have done.
4. it supports dolby digital surround sound
5. 16 x 9 for my dlp tv
6. 34x digital zoom (not available in 16x9)
7. sd card slot to save my pics or videos to
8. samsung reliability
9. picture isn't bad
10. camera does have light (no functional with 16x9)
negatives
1. pic quality isn't very good (cannot substitute for a camera)
2. cannot snap pics while recording (i used to love to do that with my old jvc mini dv camera), but i have not figured out how to do it on this camera. you have to switch the camera to "card" to make it work.
3. battery life is bad, but i expected that and purchased a bigger, more power battery on ebay for $16. hint: don't leave the battery in the camera, it will drain, quickly.
4. when turning the camera on, it take 5-10 seconds until you can record, so don't expect to record something that may occur immediately if the camera isn't already ready to record.
5. using 16x9 ratio REDUCES MANY features of the camcorder. you cannot use the light, the digital zoom, most effects, and the DIS function is unavailable. I have been switching back and forth depending on my what, where and when i am recording.
6. recording in low light is very bad, unless you have the camera on 4:3 ratio and the shutter speed adjusted. Unfortunately you cannot use the light unless the shutter speed is adjusted, which then makes diminishes picture quality. shooting in 16x9 in low light areas is pointless.
7. you only get about 25 minutes of record time on sp, and about 1hr with lp (not camera'a fault). so carry extra discs with you.
8. position of the joystick button sux. it should be behind the camera.
9. you have to kina of force the turning knob to off, it doesn't move freely to off and it almost feels like i'm breaking it.
all in all, for 200 bucks, you can't go wrong. just don't buy this camera for the 16x9 feature and you'll be happy. so far so good for me. the easy mode is good for beginnings and the quick menu can also me useful to quickly change important settings. I just hate that samsung has greatly reduced the camera's features when 16x9 is being used. oh well.
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