I purchased this camera after doing some lengthy research. I looked at Casio Exilim EX-V7(suffers from mediocre image quality) or EX-v8 (probably much more comparble to this camera) and Konica Minolta Dimage X1 (also medicore picture quality) models as well, with the criteria being a small, portable camera, with a non-protruding lens. In addition, I wanted video at least similar or better than the Flip Video Camcorders, which can do an hour of low quality video in a small package.I've owned this camera for two weeks now and used it for still images, video cam, and mp3 player purposes. I have not tested it's ability to play videos (PMP mode) downloaded from the web.
It is compatible with Windows XP (tested), Mac OS X10.5.1 (tested), and Ubuntu Linux (tested). Windows requires the install disc which is included. Mac and Linux auto open their respective photo viewing software for import with no additional drivers and the camera shows up as a removable hard drive on your desktop. The included extra software only works in windows, but it is not essential except if you want to view videos downloaded from the web in your camera. It stores images in jpg format, videos in avi format, and music up to 320kb quality as mp3 format.
The image quality is excellent, with crisp, sharp pictures, and good, accurate colors. Of course it has a million override settings which also allow you more control if desired.
It's best two features are the ASR (Anti Shake Reduction) and Face Recognition capabilities. My hands are not as steady as they used to be and the ASR produces quality shots every time.
The camera is quick to shoot and there is no noticeable shutter lag (at least compared to my previous camera, a Sony DSC-S85, which is now retired). Those other reviewers who complain of camera lag or bad photos in dark are not using the appropriate settings. The camera has different settings, such as night, "cafe", fireworks, and other settings they may be what they need and they may not fully understand settings such as "ISO 1600", and so forth. I encourage them to read the very clear manual and try it again...
This camera uses standard SD cards and I use both a Dane-Elec 4GB 133x SD card and a 2 GB SanDisk Ultra II SD card. I have easily recorded one hour videos with these with room to spare. It has several settings for frames per minute and it can do 30fps at 640 x 480. This format is easily converted into a DVD with your favorite computer software.
The mp3 player produces great quality sound and has an equalizer which will adjust your music according to your preference, such as Rock, Jazz, Classical, etc. The only drawback is that the earphones included are not up to hi fi standards and if you want to upgrade the earbuds, the earphone socket is 2.5mm in size (a smaller size which is usually used by cell phones). If you want to plug in your Grado headphones you will need an adaptor (which is not included).
In summary, I highly recommend this camera/multi-device. If you are looking for an easy to use camera which will produce very satisfying results, this is it.
Pros:
Super compact, fits in your jeans pocket.
Nice size LCD screen for easy viewing.
Very fast start-up.
ASR and Face Recognition modes are a huge help.
Fast focus in most all conditions.
Movie mode is incredible.
Sharpness, colors, all are very pleasing.
Nice build quality, polished metal casing.
Cons:
2.5mm earphone jack is not directly compatible with most hi fi earbuds.
No carrying case included.
Another weird annoyance when the camera finally does recover from the last picture, there is a bug that sometimes happens with the shutter button it acts "dead" until you try pressing it 2 , sometimes 3, attempts, at which point it seems to "wake back up". Weird. You'd be really screwed at an indoor wedding if you were trying to take pictures of couples making their entrance, dances, etc.
10 seconds is how long cameras took in the early 90's to recover for "next shot" . Inexcusable today, with 4gig SDHD cards, huge internal memory, fast processors, etc.
Finally after charging the the (very unique) battery it went from 3(full) bars, right down to 2 bars really quickly (doing a mix of stills & video tests) and subsequently dying very quickly.
I used it about a half hour, and the battery was dead?!
Yes this camera has a combination of features and image quality, thats hard if not impossible to match (next closest thing is the rather poor-pictured Casio EXV8).... but there is definitely something funky going on with the i85 that really is a fatal flaw for indoor shooting.
I called tech support, and in typical corporate-speak, they "never heard" that complaint, said they would email the product team to get back to methat was only 2 business days ago. Maybe the next revision if the otherwise great i85 will fix these problems.
Buy Samsung Digimax i85 8.2MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Red) Now
I bought this for my wife for Christmas. She loves it. I researched several cameras and found this to be the best one I reviewed without paying over $300. The picture quality is top notch. I have read many reviews for many cameras about how quality is "grainy, blurred, blah, blah, blah". One review summed it up well. Most cameras will perform very well, you just need to get to know your camera. That is just it! If you don't know much about the manual side of cameras, then use the auto feature. Otherwise, learn about it and use your camera's full potential. This camera has it all. The sound is great, understanding that it is a small speaker in a digital camera. Don't expect to be on a train or a busy sidewalk and be able to hear very well. It does come with ear buds, so use them. Most people don't walk around with a loud boombox up to their ear anymore. You can watch movies on this thing, just make sure you buy a bigger sd card. I bought a 4GB one and it holds a ton of pics, mp3's and vid's. The quality of video is better than most Portable media players and don't forget the 3" screen size. The included software works great for converting movies to watch. And the biggest reason I went with this camera was its video recording capabilities. Awesome!!!! You can zoom in and out while you record, it picks up sound very well, and does a good job indoors and outdoors. I was just at a wrestling tournament for my boys and it recorded video very well. Over an hour and a half of recording with plenty of memory and battery left. Great buy, you can't go wrong!Read Best Reviews of Samsung Digimax i85 8.2MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Red) Here
I really wanted to keep this, but, after a few days of missed pictures, it is going back.Why?
The flash in low light is blinding! My kids are running away from me!
Sometimes when you push the button to take the picture, nothing happens!
(I have had to push it 3-4 times)
There isn't a way to adjust the red-eye manually
The lag time is unbelievably slow from the time you push the button until the camera actual takes the picture, 1/2 the time my subject has looked away or I have taken a picture of the floor!
Processing flashes across the screen after taking pictures, so if you are at a sporting event, forget iteven on the childrens mode which is supposed to catch them.
So, if you want an mp3 player that takes pictures, go for it. If you want a camera that takes a picture when you push the shutter button, look at Sony or Cannon.
Want Samsung Digimax i85 8.2MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Red) Discount?
This samsung camera is awesome. The picture quality is gorgeous colors are beautiful crisp and clear. The camcorder feature is a plus takes great movies sound quality is excellant. Tour guide, mp3 and text are also great. For a point and shoot camera you couldn't ask for more. I highly recommend this camera, easy to operate priced right. You will not find a camera with so many features at such a great price 5 stars and more
No comments:
Post a Comment