Date: Monday October 5th, 2004
Article by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner, Head Editor & Hardware Reviewer)
Product was donated by: Samsung Canada
<--SHOP FOR A SAMSUNG SCD103 DIGITAL VIDEO CAMCORDER HERE

PRODUCT PICTORIAL & WALKTHROUGH (cont'd)

Moving back from the Nite Pix switch you will come across the zoom switch which allows you to zoom at different speeds depending on position. Zoom speed is very fast and from full retraction to full 18x optical zoom it will take about 4 seconds. Next up is the black and white viewfinder which can be focused via a bottom slider adjustment and can have the angle adjusted for optimal viewing comfort. Although it does serve a purpose, I always liked to use the LCD viewer unless I needed to conserve the batteries.

Beside the viewfinder is the photo button which allows you to take a photo and store it directly on the memory stick or the DVC cassette depending on which one was selected. Either way, the zoom and the photo function are comfortably within finger reach when you have the camcorder mounted on your hand.

The main rotating thumb control switch is where you select whether you want to playback a video or record a video. When in camera mode, the unit is always default set to standby and will start recording the instant you press the center record button. Although this is an efficient system, I found it a little awkward to use and hard to to change the position. It may be because the unit is so new and it might need to be worked in a bit, but I would like to see something with a little more edge for the thumb to grab onto for switching functions.

The front right side of the camcorder there is a large door that can be opened to allow you access to the audio and video inputs and outputs. As you can see in the above photo, you have a S-Video output along with a USB, firewire computer connection and a 3.5mm jacks for the included A/V composite cord and an external microphone input. The bottom left section is where the included battery is inserted to get your clock and video settings if you ever remove the battery.

Also, above the A/V panel is the slow shutter button which you can use only in camera mode to change the recording frame shutter speed to normal, 1/30, 1/15 and 1/8.

Moving over to the left hand side you have the main control center for recording and playback.

Centered in this photo are the playback and recording effects you can use. From left to right you will have the following.

EasyQ - One button complete setup for trouble free recording. Press it and the camera is setup for almost all amateur recording in any situation. With EasyQ pressed, you will have the battery indicator, recording mode, counter, date/time, and digital image stabilizer (DIS) enabled for easy recording. Just press record and enjoy. I used this feature for every single recording I taped and it worked flawlessly.

Reverse & Fastforward - Same as you VCR for searching during playback.


Play/Pause - Also is used as a fade effect button while recording and a slide show button when viewing digital photos from a memory stick.

Stop - Also acts as a hot button to enable Back Light Compensation (BLC) during recording.

Moving from top to bottom you will note the menu key for the onscreen menu for setting up the camera, the scroll wheel for moving through the menus and also is used for controlling the playback volume through the onboard speaker. Below the wheel is the enter button for initializing features in the menu and bring up the rear at the bottom is the input for the external AC power source.