Editorial Review:Product Description:Samsung's compact, user-friendly digital camcorders offer an array of advanced video and audio features. Compact in size and easy to operate Samsung camcorders provide a top quality video image that is virtually unaffected by hand movements during recording. For quality, performance and reliability Samsung camcorders have no peers.
Amazon.com Product Description:In recent years Samsung has gained a reputation for developing great technology at lower prices, which the SCD80 will only enhance. Among its many features are a large 2.5-inch LCD screen, shoe for external accessories, remote control, nine digital special effects, and a color onscreen display with easy-to-use dial navigation controls. The camcorder also has a photo mode where you can record digital stills directly onto the tape.
Lens The SCD80 has an optical zoom power of 10x and a digital zoom that can magnify up to 400x, which works by electronically enhancing the optical image. A four-step variable zooming speed controls the zoom according to the amount of pressure you apply to the toggle. The digital image stabilization system keeps the picture steady and solid throughout zooms and camera shakes. The infrared function allows you to shoot visible video in situations with practically no light.
Inputs and Outputs The standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also called FireWire) is present for no-loss connections to PCs or other DV machines. S-video and RCA connections are used for direct viewing on a television or for VHS dubbing. You can also plug in an external microphone via the mic jack for better quality sound.
MiniDV Format MiniDV digital technology delivers clear, sharp video with up to 500 lines of horizontal resolution--far superior to the 240 lines of resolution offered by 8mm camcorders. You'll get minimal color noise interference for a more stable picture. You'll also get excellent sound quality in either 12-bit or 16-bit audio recording modes.
- 16-bit audio includes one set of stereo audio tracks to produce CD-quality sound.
- 12-bit audio utilizes two sets of audio tracks so you can easily add background music or commentary to your videos while maintaining the existing soundtrack.
This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12 the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of two full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Very Nice for price
If you are looking for a cheap DV cam but want to shoot nice video, this is the one for you, I use it for a TV program, the one CD does nice, just dont move the Camera :). Its great for filming family and friends, its a hard worker.
Rating: 
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Stay away from this camcorder
We bought this last June in spite of the few bad reviews thinking it was a bargain. We used it once to record my son's birth. After that the screens all went white and it wouldn't do anything, even give me a menu anymore. The manufacturer was no help at all over the phone; they act like they know nothing about their own products. I sent it off to a place in Seattle and just got the news today that the board on it is completely fried due to a short of some type and it's not worth the money to fix it. At least I have the one video that I made with it. For $450 it's a pretty expensive video. Stay away from Samsung... their customer service is the pits.
Rating: -
SamDUNG SCD80- it sucks!
Just days after buying it, it started shredding up tapes, poor video quality, poor customer support, and when it doesn't eat the tape up, it can't even play it back properly without having serious playback problems. I have talked to others about this cam-- same thing. SamDUNG.
Rating: -
Go with a Japanese brand
Even though Samsung licenses the technology from Japanese vendors, they suffer 1) poor quality control, and 2) terrible ergonomic design decisions, and 3) extremely bad customer support -- don't expect to find anyone if you need support such as warranty fulfillment. A much higher-quality JVC or Sharp doesn't cost much more, and gives you years of trusty service. The image quality on this model is pretty poor, prompting a Korean reviewer to call it worse than many 8mm camcorders. I can't comment on audio, but I'd be really really surprised if a Samsung can have better audio than a Panasonic, which Digital Video magazine gave a very positive review of.
So go with the best and get a reliable Japanese brand.
Rating: -
Great cam for the price
After looking at a ton of cameras I stumbeled onto this one. But I couldn't find too many reviews but the ones I did find only praised it, so I went out on a limb and bought this bad boy. And I'm glad I did. For the price this cam cannot be beat. The picture quality is excellent, not broadcast mind you but hey, it wasn't 3 grand. The zoom and auto focus work really well and so does the night vision. You can see in total darkness. The sound also picks up great because the mic points toward the front not the sky like many other cameras. A cool thing about this camera is that there is no red light when you are recording so you can get real candid shots. The battery lasts for a long time, one charge will last me a week when I film skiing everyday. And the charge only takes about 30 min. The tape load is on the bottom so it cannot be accesed while mounted on a tripod, but it's not a big deal. One thing I've noticed is that when filming in the cold you have to let it record for a few extra seconds or else what you were trying to get will be cut short. Other than that I haven noticed any problems. BTW it does not come with a firewire cord, or the lens attachment that appears in so many pictures of it.
