Digital Camera and Camcorder Form and Function
First impressions of this digital camera and camcorder combo are that it is rather boxy. There are two lenses and two CCD
arrays that pivot on the body. The conversion process is fast and easy, but there are a few
buttons that swap positions when you rotate the lens, most notably the auto/manual focus
button.
The SCD5000 digital camera and camcorder (like the tiny SCD590 we reviewed in March) has a bizarre tripod mount. The
adapter, which screws into the bottom of the camera, is a necessary kludge to allow the
lens/CCD barrel to rotate while mounted on a tripod. Functionally we can see why this is
necessary. As a bonus, it looks like the adapter plate will allow the bottom-loading tape
mechanism to function while the camera is on a tripod. Samsung would get big points for
solving that pernicious problem that plagues many consumer camcorders. We could easily get
our finger in to slide the Tape Eject switch. The motors whirred, the gears turned and *pop*
out came the tape mechanism. Alas, it is all just a tease: you can’t actually get the tape
out of the mechanism. Samsung is within about a half an inch of an effective solution.
Samsung includes two batteries in the box, a compact one and a larger one with a longer
duration. We liked the absolutely tiny remote control, which is a little smaller than a Mini
DV tape with the same weight (about half an ounce).
While function definitely dictates the form of this camera, the SCD5000 digital camera and camcorder is comfortable to
use, with one hand or two. The relatively small LCD is quite bright and swivels into a wide
range of useful positions, but the non-extendible viewfinder is a little too close to the
camera body. For this reason, we found ourselves using the LCD all of the time, even though
that caused us some anxiety about battery life. This anxiety turned out to be unfounded, as
the LCD had little or no measurable impact on battery life in our tests.
Digital Camera and Camcorder: Dual Dilemma
Camcorders with digital still capabilities are nothing new. The first ones recorded images
to videotape and the images were no better than a frame grab from the video. Later models
incorporated memory cards and saved pictures that had a little higher resolution. Even so,
the 2 megapixel stills were not quite as good as what you’d get from a good dedicated still
camera. So many of us had two cameras with us on vacation: a small $1,000 Mini DV camcorder
and a $400 point-and-shoot digital still camera. At $1,400 (cheaper on the street), the
Samsung SCD5000 digital camera and camcorder hits the right price point. Size-wise, it is about the same as Samsung’s
smallest Mini DV camcorder and, say, a Canon PowerShot, if you glued them together. The
question then is, does the SCD5000 sacrifice any quality, still or video?
STILLS
There is no question that the 4.13 megapixel images, at 2272×1704, far exceeded the quality
of the stills on any other camcorder we’ve seen. We took the SCD5000 digital camera and camcorder out with a Pentax Optio
S (3.2M pixels, $400) in a head-to-head shootout. We first noticed that the shooting delay
was a bit longer on the SCD5000 Memory Stick (the Pentax uses a CF card). The Pentax also
had many more features and small conveniences as a specialized still camera, such as a very
cool overlay mode to help you effortlessly line up panoramas. On the other hand, the SCD5000
lets you grab stills from a frame of video, which is something the Pentax obviously cannot
do.
The still autofocus was slower to respond and less accurate than the video autofocus and
could not focus inside of about a foot, even in Macro mode (you can almost touch the video
lens to the subject when in video mode). Image-wise, the SCD5000 was a little less
contrasty, tended to blow out a bit in bright sunlight and did not saturate colors as well
as the Pentax. Still, and this bears repeating, the image quality exceeded that of any other
video camera on the market.
VIDEO
The quality of the video is quite good as well. The full-automatic mode was easy to toggle
on and off and did a decent job. Even so, the best video we shot was in manual mode. The
one-touch menu wheel gave us access to most of the manual functions without navigating any
menus. In low light situations, the video could get grainy at times, but the Exposure
control let us easily work with this common limitation. Samsung has a good IR LED
night-vision mode that might save your bacon in some situations.
Digital Camera and Camcorder Conclusion
It is clear that this innovative camera succeeds on a functional level, with both good video
and good still performance. It is not cheaper than if you bought both separately and it
isn’t really any smaller either. The real advantage to the SCD5000 then is not price or
size, but convenience: One less battery, one less charger, one less form-fitting bag and one
less expensive piece of gear to forget or lose.
TECH SPECS
Format: Mini DV
Lens (video): fl=2.7mm to 27mm, F/1.4, 10:1 optical zoom, 30mm filter diameter
Image Sensor (video): 1/6-inch CCD, gross: 680,000 pixels, effective: 340,000 pixels
Lens (still): fl=7.7mm to 23.1mm, F/2.7, 3:1 optical zoom
Image Sensor (still): 1/1.8-inch 4.13M pixel CCD
Viewfinder: color (0.24-inch)
LCD Viewscreen: 2.0-inch color (211k pixels)
Focus: auto, manual
Image Stabilization: electronic
Maximum Shutter Speed: 1/10,000
Iris Control: yes
Exposure: auto, presets, manual
White Balance: auto, presets, manual
Audio: 16-bit 48kHz (default to 12-bit)
Microphone Input: 1/8-inch stereo mini
Headphone Output: 1/8-inch stereo mini
Inputs: FireWire, S-video, composite
Outputs: FireWire, S-video, composite
Edit Interface: FireWire, LANC
Other Features: stills (2272 x 1704), MPEG-4 movies, 16MB Memory Stick, Power Nite Pix
(w/ IR lamps), USB streaming
Dimensions: 3 3/4" (w) x 3 1/4" (h) x 5.5" (d)
Weight: 1.21 lb. (sans tape and battery)
PERFORMANCE
Tested Horizontal Resolution: 425 lines
Field of View: 34-degrees
STRENGTHS
- Great stills
- Very usable manual mode
- Nice features
WEAKNESSES
- Awkward tripod mount
- Bottom-loading tape
SUMMARY
An innovative if somewhat boxy camcorder with outstanding still image quality.
