Customer Reviews

Samsung 12MP Dig Camera 5X Opt 3.0IN LCD Black

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Summary: Takes good photos, shoots 720p High-Def video, and fits in your pocket.

Pros:
Ready to shoot in ~2 seconds
28mm lens perfect for groups and landscapes
5x (28-140mm) zoom gives lots of flexibility
Dual image stabilization works like magic
Huge LCD screen protected by plastic cover
MANY shooting modes (that you will use)
Smile and blink detection ensure success
720p Hi-Def video @ 30fps w/ stereo sound
Built-in mics can handle high sound levels
Charges from a USB port (No drivers needed)

Cons:
Sound levels are very low in some videos.
Audible buzzing/humming in video recordings.
Grainy shadows (common in 10-12 MP compacts)
Visible chroma noise in shadows (common)
JPEG compression too high even on Super Fine
High video compression w/ visible artifacts
"Smart" mode not so smart sometimes
Doesn't use high ISO settings in Auto modes
Proprietary data/video/charge cable (incl.)
Can't access batt. or SD card on tripod

Camera Features:
The Samsung SL 720 is a *lot* of camera for the money. I have not seen anything with more or better features in this price range. While the SL 720 does not have manual controls, per se, it does have a Program mode that allows you to customize many settings (focus modes, EV +/-, ISO settings, color balance, etc). This should satisfy all but the pickiest shutterbugs. 2-second startup and a 5x zoom lens are perfect for sightseeing, when you need to catch that fleeting moment immediately, and still be able to compose the shot. I haven't even mentioned the controls and interface, but they're quite good. There are only a couple of things that weren't obvious. There are helpful explanations right in the menus. Nicely done. (I'm an interface designer, so I'd tell you if there were problems.)

High-Definition Video:
720p @ 30fps high-def video sets the SL 720 apart from others in its price range. To test the SL 720's built-in stereo mics, I recorded a rock drum kit, with the SL 720 positioned about 3ft from the ride cymbal. The mics never saturated and the recording never clipped. Sound fidelity was pretty good, with good stereo imaging. However, soft sounds (distant voices, ambient sounds) are almost inaudible (which is a problem). Other mics have failed this test, so I was impressed (and you should be too). BTW: Yes, you *can* use the zoom lens while shooting video; but it mutes the sound while zooming (to avoid recording the lens motor noise).

Conclusion:
There isn't anything else in this price range with these features. Even with the noticeable flaws, this is still a good value.

My 2-year old, 7 MP, medium priced camera never gave me a good picture in low light, indoor or outdoor, flash or not. This Samsung costs much less than that, but is giving me good low light pictures. Electronics, lens, CCD, software all have to work together to generate decent pictures in low light conditions.

One feature I disliked most of my previous camera was the program mode. I had to choose from 20 different scenes. This Samsung is different. Smart Mode senses the scene and optimizes the setting.

This camera doesn't let you select lens aperture and shutter speed. I am from the pre-digital camera era and had to select lens aperture and shutter speed for each photo. I never enjoyed it. I always had several bad shots in every roll of film.

I've had this camera for about a month and a half and am impressed with its capabilities, especially at the price I paid (about $130). I'm a bit of a camera fan with a DSLR (Sony A350) and a super zoom point and shoot (Canon S2 IS) but went looking for a new pocket/briefcase camera when an older Canon A70 "beater" camera bit the dust. This was just what I was looking for. It seems well built and well designed and takes very nice, sharp and well exposed shots in lots of different situations. The 3 in. screen is sharp. The settings are pretty easy to understand and pick up. The duel anti-shake setting is a nice feature. I've never had a camera without a viewfinder before, but am getting use to that aspect. I've really nothing negative to say.

When my sony cybershot's lens decided to malfunction after I had the camera just over two years, I wanted to get a camera that was similar but not a sony since I was mad about the malfunction and the fact that it would cost me the same to send it to sony for repair as it would to buy a new camera. That all being said, I went online and started the search for a new camera. At first, I ordered an Olympus. I wound up sending that back after the images were terrible and the camera's selling point of being easy to use turned out to be a lie. The camera was not point and shoot. It was point, find settings, find more settings, then shoot and hope for the best. After I returned the camera, I went back online and looked for a camera with a dial setting of features for quick/easy use. That's why I loved my cybershot so much. With the handy dial, you don't have to push menu and search for features....you have it easily with the dial. The camera's images are great! And if it's not what you wanted, you turn the dial to the next feature and try again. There's no going into the menu to search around while you're missing a great shot. The only negatives to the camera are the zoom in the movie mode---it mutes the sound when you zoom--but I didn't find this to be a big deal because I don't often need to zoom during videos..and if I do, it's usually nature shots where I don't need sound. The one other drawback to the camera is that when you turn the dial, it tells you what the feature does...but it's only on the screen for a few seconds. You have to turn the dial forward and back to see it again. I didn't really find that to be a big deal either because you can also read the manual to find out what the features do...or you can turn the wheel and turn it back...it's not like you're reading lots..you're reading one sentence. Overall--A+++ I'm very happy:)

For the price it's a very good digital camera, photo quality is very good in daylight, Ok indoors, the best about camera is video, specially MP4 format, it makes video files almost 4 times smaller than avi, but if you record in HD need a fast computer to view videos well.
What didn't like: Camera doesn't come with A/V cable to connect camera to TV to view photos or videos, it's an "accessory component" so that's extra $$, but my main problem with camera and reason I returned it, is the sound quality in videos, extremely low sound, especially people's voices, I know this is a photo camera, and if I want great sound in videos I should just buy a camcorder. But at least to me the quality of the sound in videos made with this camera is not acceptable.

But as I said for the price, you won't find many cameras with as many features or/and video quality (image wise).

New Samsung Model. I bought 3. One for each of my Children. I currently own a samsung NV10 and love it. The SL720 has great features and takes awesome pictures. It has a zoom feature that you can bring your image in closer after taking the picture to make a close up from a far away shot. The 720 HD video feature also works very well.
Great camera, I would recommend any Samsung product.

I have Lumix DMC-ZS3, which is a great megazoom compact camera. But I also needed small pocket camera that I can easily carry around without sacrificing the image quality much. This one fills my needs almost perfectly. It has good 3" LCD screen and fairly long lasting battery.
The image quality can't rival ZS3 but comes pretty close especially in outdoor shots. And it takes surprisingly good balance of color, brightness for low light indoor shots, which look very realistic. ZS3 doesn't select the low light setting properly when in iA mode, and it looks too dark and blueish. So I had to tweak some exposure settings in the normal mode of ZS3. But this SL720 takes good looking indoor images with enough brightness, realistic colors in the auto mode. The small details look a little noisy if you zoom on it, but you can easily improve it in the program mode. Just select ISO 200 or 100 and set the sharpness to +1, saturation to +1, then it will give you much sharper looking indoor images with little trade off in brightness.
HD video shooting with zoom is added bonus with fairly good quality and MP4 video format is better supported than AVCHD. Overall I am quite happy with this little one.

This camera is light for travel. I like the dual image (optical & digital) stability feature. Most of the pictures I took with this camera are not sharp so if you are looking for the camera to take sharp pictures, this one is not for you. On the other hand, the 720P video quality is not too bad.