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| Date Reviewed: 12/23/2005 |
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Strengths: These outweigh the weaknesses: Very good zoom, USB and Firewire i/o, sleek design
Weaknesses: Very minor: Only a 10x optical zoom, lacks a standard memory card slot (it only has Memory Stick), limited still frame capture
Summary: The SC-D453 offers a very good value with matching features. I was impressed by the size, performance and the quality for a camcorder under $300 (I found it for $249 after all rebates and discounts). An upgrade over the less expensive SC-D353, the new updated 453 offers an LCD screen that can rotate almost completely around so you can see youself while shooting and for video playback. It also shares the same 680K single chip CCD with the 353, which provides excellent quality video. As on the 353, I found the motors almost silent on the recorded video when compared with others in the price range.
I was not impressed by the optical zoom, which is limited at 10x on the 453: its cheaper cousin (again, the SC-D353) provides 20x zoom. I found that the zoom was very clear, and the 900x digital zoom is a nice feature (but frankly unusable in the greatest magnification).
Digital image stabilization has been improved and really helps to minimize picture shaking (usually caused by body and hand movement during recording) - but if you're looking for top-line stabilization, look to the new breed of Panasonic camcorders: more money but excellent. For the price, the Samsung stabilization performs very well.
The SC-D453 has both an on-board viewfinder plus a clear and bright 2.5" LCD screen for viewing your shots and playback video - editing is best left on the computer, but simpole edits are possible on screen. And for saving your files to a PC or Mac, the camcorder is one of the rare models that supports both highspeed USB and IEEE 1394 (Firewire), allowing you to import your video on to almost any compatible PC with a video editing package (MovieMaker is free on Windows, and the Mac comes bundled with iMovie). You can even use the camera as a streaming camera via USB (at up to 30fps).
I have not used the PictBridge feature as I don't take digital stills (this allows the camcorder to print directly to any printer which supports PictBridge standard via a USB cable). The camera can also record MPEG4 video, but I haven't taken advantage of this feature yet.
At under a pound and when you find it for under $250, the Samsung SC-D453 MiniDV Digital Camcorder is one powerful, inexpensive mini DV camcorder and a great value. But for price and value, look to the less expensive 353, especially when it's available on sale for under $199 - then the 353 is a best value.
 100% of People (5/5) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/25/2006 |
- smokefly
from PA
- Member Since:
Sep 2004
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Reviews
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Strengths: Compact design, easy to use
Weaknesses: NA
Summary: I was going to buy a SONY or PANASONIC camcorder and the new year entry-level models are selling for about $350. I happened to see this SAMSUNG in target at an incredible price - half of the SONY or PANASONIC. I decided to try it. The picture quality is good. It is very small and easy to use. 10x zoom is enough for me. At 20x or 30x zoom, hand shaking will destroy the pictues anyway unless you put the camcorder on a tripod. I put my spare SONY memory stick in the camcorder but the still images are not that impressive. Well, I don't care. I already have an excellet digital camera.
100% of People (2/2) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/28/2006 |
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Strengths: 10x Optical Zoom,very light and small,easy to use
Weaknesses: use sony memory stick(very expensive),switch button is hard to use.
Summary: The SC-D453 includes a 10x Optical/900x Digital Zoom lens, Back Light Compensation for tricky lighting situations.It is a great entry level digital camcorder.But I should buy a second SB-LSM160 battery,and new memory stick(LSM80 battery is not good enough).And when you move it around, this cam has a hard time re-focusing.But it is still a good entry level dig camcorder.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/08/2005 |
- Lannyland
- Member Since:
Nov 2005
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Reviews
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Strengths: Very small, 1 hour and 20 min battery charge time
Weaknesses: Only takes Memory Stick
Summary: This camcorder is even smaller than I thought. Very cute looking and still has most of the functions you want. Only takes 1 hour and 20 minutes to fully charge the battery. That's great! But it only takes memory stick and a higher model would take SD card as well. The higher model also comes with a remote you can use to remotely control the camcorder. Video quality is very good, and much cheaper than the higher model.
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| Date Reviewed: 08/12/2005 |
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Strengths: Image Stabilizer, 10x Optical Zoom, Excellent Results, 1 Memory storage and 1 cassette storage, Light Weight.
Weaknesses: Software to transfer the Video or Image.
Summary: Easy to carry anywhere with the excellent design by Samsung. It has special effect on every style that you can get direct from the digital-cam. Extra large LCD display. Battery Saver. Easy to record and play. Afterall, it really perform high quality of image that profesional results.
90% of People (9/10) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 06/10/2005 |
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Strengths: COMPACT, VALUE, EASE OF USE FROM THE EXTERNAL CONTROLS TO ON-SCREEN MENU, EXCELLENT CHOICES FOR MANUAL ADJUSTMENTS, MEMORY STICK SLOT.
Weaknesses: NO IEEE CABLE INCLUDED, BUT CAN PURCHASE 3RD PARTY CABLES FOR CHEAP PRICE NOW.
Summary: I HAVE BEEN USING THIS PRODUCT SINCE DAY 1 I RECIEVED IT FROM THE MAIL. IT HAS BEEN AND EXCELLENT REPLACMENT TO MY PREVIOUS SONY DV CAMCORDER THAT I DAMAGED AWHILE AGO. HAVING TO HAVE AND USE A SONY MAKES IT HARD NOT TO COMPARE THE TWO. BUT APPARENTLY, I KINDA GLAD THAT MY SONY BROKE SO I CAN GET THIS SAMSUNG BECAUSE IT HAS MORE TO OFFER FOR THE PRICE. THE QUALITY ESPECIALY IN DIGITAL TRANSFER TO DVD RECORDER IS SO EXCELLENT YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THAT I WAS USING A SAMSUNG. ASIDE FOR MORE FEATURES I AM VERY HAPPY THAT I CAN USE MY MEMORY STICKS I HAVE FROM MY SONY CAMERAS TO THIS MODEL. EVEN BETTER IF YOU CAN GET THE 455/457 MODELS BECAUSE IT ACCEPTS MULTIPLE MEDIA. THIS IS ONE EXCELLENT PRODUCT WITH QUALITY AND VALUE GIVING SONY A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY.
86% of People (19/22) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 04/09/2006 |
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 Very cheap product Strengths: very light weight and size, easy to operate.
Weaknesses: Very weak mechanism. Picture quality is not good.
Summary: A tape was stuck, would not come out. I solved the problem with tapping it gently.
Now, I can not play back.
It is bad that Samsung gives only 1 year parts and 90 days labour warranty.
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| Date Reviewed: 03/21/2006 |
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Strengths: Small, portable, simple interface, good performance
Weaknesses: Slow focusing, lower quality low-light capture
Summary: I am using this camera for my video blog. I record to tape, then pull the video off using the firewire interface to both a PC and a Mac. The ease of use for this is amazing! This camera is small enough to travel, fast enough to whip out and use on the fly, and has simple menu options that give a lot of power to the user.
That being said, this camera does not seem to perform well in low-light or fast action situations.
Overall, I'd give this an A-. It's perfect for my current needs, but if I were going to be recording sports at dusk, I would want something different.
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| Date Reviewed: 01/31/2006 |
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Strengths: Very light weight,simple to operate
Weaknesses: The LCD does not provide a vivid color but it is still a nice one
Summary: I am very pleased with this camcorder because of its low price and its simplicity of use.I strongly recommend to someone who is just beginner of this camcorder.And you should get your own case if you want to keep the camcorder longer.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/20/2005 |
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Strengths: Size, Size, Cost, Cost
Weaknesses: Not great in low light.
Summary: I was pleasantly suprised when I got this camcorder. It was much smaller than I thought and i can easily carry it in my jacket pocket. For the price I paid I don't worry too much about it which means I have a camcorder with me more often and take more movies with it.
The performance of it is acceptable. You of course get what you pay for but in this case the picture is fine in bright light conditions. I tried it once in low light and the picture was grainy. By the same token my freinds camcorder that was double the price didn't do any better job!
I don't use it for stills so I cannot comment on that aspect.
I would definately buy it again for the price I paid ($199 after rebate) It would be nice to have a more expensive unit but then I would worry about it getting broken or lost more.
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