Cheap and gets the job done!
Pros:
Cheap, easy to use, durability, daylight filming quality
Cons:
No remote, nighttime/dark/bad lighting filming quality
The Bottom Line:
Gets the job done cheaply
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I had an old Samsung that was about 7 years old. My first daughter was about to be born so we decided to get a new camcorder since the battery life was weak on the old one. Circuit City ran a great sale on this camera. The salesman gave us great advice actually. We weren't looking to produce Hollywood quality movies. We just wanted something that was cheap, easy to use and reliable. We wanted something small and easy to carry. I wanted something easy enough for my wife to use also. The salesman recommended this model.
Technology is a little dated but as long as you have a multi-media oriented computer, transferring mini dv video to DVD disc is relatively easy. It just takes a heck of a long time. The mini DV cassettes are relatively durable but I wouldn't leave important data on them as they tend to pull the old get tangled up feature like your old audio cassettes at some point.
This camera has a 34x optical zoom which is great for filming from a distance. If you have kids in sports, you will like this feature. However, don't expect good quality at night or in dark settings. In good lighting, the picture quality is near HD quality. In bad lighting, it is utterly terrible - grainy. Keep that in mind as to where you plan to use it. If you are primarily filming night football games, this camera won't work unless the stadium has very good lighting.
Image stabilization is much improved over our old model. Battery life is excellent. Features are easy to use and operate. However, we still have not figured out how to turn on the light. We've tried everything. Either we are dumb or the light just doesn't work.
Biggest drawback is trying to burn to DVD for us. It takes our computer quite a long time to copy the data and then burn it to a DVD. A 20 minute video can take about 2 hours to process and burn. Maybe our computer is just too old or a DVD burner isn't up to speed. Keep that in mind though.
In good lighting, the quality is excellent. It is easy to use and if you drop it in a lake, you won't pass out. It is small and very portable. For what I use it for, I really cannot complain.
The audio mic picks up sounds from a good distance. No complaints.
Look for it on sale. You can find them for under $200 and sometimes with a bag and extra battery.
