Samsung SC-DC173U Camcorder - Silver

Again, this was another Christmas present (Dec 2007) and was purchased new from a retailer. The old camcorder (30 minute tapes and such) was getting tired and no longer keeping up with the electronic devices that are now on the market.

The Samsung SC-DC173U has been OK in recording the family events. I did manage to have one disc not format after the recording. You could see the home movie on the LCD screen, but the disc would not format so it could be removed and played in the DVD player or computer. I came up with an idea to play the movie from the camera to the computer (via software and cable) and that's how I got the movie off the disc. I love editing the movies and making bigger runs of home movies, so I was concerned about the formatting of them later on. It seems to be a problem. Just google the issue and you'll see it's everywhere on the web. I try to use a high quality recording disc and hope future problems are avoided.

I like the camera with the features that it presents. You can record on wide screen or TV screen (4:3) and both images are fine. The 34x Optical Zoom is really nice. During a concert for my oldest child, I couldn't get good seating. The zoom feature brought her up close without any distortion of the image. One word of caution - and this is for any zoom work - use a steady tri-pod so the recording doesn't shake like an earthquake! My camcorder always has the tri-pod attached because of the zoom work.

Battery life is kind of short. Usually, you'll get about 30 minutes of record time on the battery. This is also the amount of time that the disc will record. You can preserve battery life by using the eye-piece instead of the LCD screen, turning off the built in light, and keeping the zoom movement to a minimum. There is a Digital Image Stabilizer (DIS), but does not work with the Digital Zoom.

There are a vast amount of features for the camera. You can record in various modes (B&W, Mosaic, Sepia, Pastel, etc.) and there is also a fade in and fade out option to make the movie more smooth. Overall, too many features for me (the average user), but it can definitely add some excitement to others who record.

I wish the unit was HD (High Definition), but it's not. With the newly purchased HD TV, you notice that the movie is not HD, and wish it was. As a side note, once you try HD TV, everything else is nasty. However, the camera work for normal TV/computer screens is good. The voice recording of the camera is also good. You'll also get some background noise (from cars, traffic, people), but it's nothing truly bothersome.

I would gladly take this unit as another Christmas present. It's light weight and easy to use. I've made several home movies with success and it captures the images of our family moments that bring back wonderful memories.

The camera is much smaller than what I thought. When I opened the box, the tiny size surprised me. I loved the slim design and its black color. The battery charges very quickly. The LCD is very clear. The camera has a lot of options when it comes to taping. You can tape in different colors, art designs, you can block the wind sounds, it has night vision, night light, different modes for different backgrounds and different speeds.
There is a few downsides. The camera takes too long from the time you turn it on, to the time is ready to start taping. If something comes up very quickly, you won't have enough time to record it. Also, you have to finalize the DVD before you can play it in your DVD player. This is very easy to do and it takes a few seconds, you hit "Finalize" and the camera does it by itself. But it can be a problem if you forget to finalize it and try to watch it. In addition, the "up and down" buttons to travel the menu is on the left side of the camera...the same side where the LCD is placed. That means, if you have the LCD open and you are traveling the menu, your hand will be in the way of your eyes and the LCD. This is a pain in the neck because is very uncomfortable to try to keep your hand in a place where you can also see the LCD.
Overall, like I said, this is not the best, not the worst. I think it is worth the money they go for on EBAY. If you are a basic recorder person, this might be a good camera for you. :)

Small, compact, easy to use. Takes excellent movies. It needs an extra battery to have in reserve as the battery goes down quickly when recording discs.Takes good still pictures too. The camera doesn't do well in low light, however.

While you can only record up to a hour using the DVD recording function, it is possible to use a 2 GB SD Card to record over two hours oof great viseo and sound. The backlight function makes it easier to record when rhe subject in in front of a light source.
We use mine to record our church's morning service, burn or copy it to DVD, and take the copies to our members who are not able to attend services.
I also have used it to record weddings and family gatherings.
I had bought a mini camcorder, but this really reduces the time necessary to make DVDs for our shut-ins.
In fact, I liked my first one well enough to but a second one a back up.

Samsung SC-DC173U Camcorder - Silver-The features is more than one expect from this price gadget.One can easily navigates thru the user friendly features.record any event and transfer to dvd or simple review on your PC.