Samsung SC-D180

I decided to upgrade from an older Samsung Hi-8 (i think) to Mini DV. This was the cheaper of the choices and had the same featues as the $1000 units. This unit is small and faily lightweight. the batter it came with isnt the one on the box...it's slightly larger and doesnt match the camera body's color. the LCD is really crisp and shoots great. The audio mic could be a bit more receptive..too bad it's on the top of the unit and not in the front. THERE IS A SEPERATE MIC-IN JACK ON THE SIDE OF THE UNIT FOR BOOM-MIC's... The menu system is very easy. It has the basic cheesy effects...the only valuable one for me is the fade-in / fade-out. The lens ring is threaded so you can put lens-attachments on (wide angle, fish-eye etc). The viewfinder is B&W, but i dont think i'll use it much...especially with the nice LCD screen...which is very crisp. The viewfinder pulls out to magnify the image. The s-video port is in the front while the UBS & Firewire ports are on the side. the dual-zoom buttons (zoom buttons in 2 places) is kinda nice..especially if you're using a tripod and prefer to control the cam from the back rather than jolt the front of the cam. the audio-output is decent (built-in speaker)...it's good for proofing your footage but not loud enough for a group of people to gather around for a viewing. The is a headphone jack on the side of the unit which can be used for personal viewing or perhaps to setup a set of cheapie amplified PC speakers if you're in a pinch. Came with a USB cable (NO FIREWIRE CABLE) and video/audio composite cables. As i dont have firewire, I plan on using the analog output to my PC's capture card. The menu dials are very tight and should hold up...not sure about the main command dial though..it seems a bit loose and shaky. Gotta be gentle on that. Feel free to email me if you have any questions...i know there isnt too many reviews about this unit on the web...yet

price video quality compact size

mic placement

i've always owned Samsung products and have never had problems with their products (knock wood)

Originally purchased Canon ZR-40 but returned it after experiencing poor video quality in low light conditon. SCD-180 is a delightful and relatively little known camera. Great price, great picture quality and small form factor. Takes great video indoors with relatively low level lighting condition. Has all the bells and whistles. ie. analog in, firewire, very compact form factor, 8M multimedia card for still photos. Highly recommended and untouchable at $599. Comparable to $900-1000 units from other brands. All in all much better camera than Canon ZR series cameras for substantially less.

Very compact (like digital camera) form factor, great video quality, comes with 8M multimedia card for still digital photos.

Could be little lighter considering a compact design. Little slow from switching from different camera modes.

Canon ZR-40

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