Customer Reviews

Samsung Digimax U-CA5 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Red)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I purchased this camera over a month ago. I'm like a kid with a new toy. But first things first, the advantages:

1) It's a small as a cellular phone
2) The LCD is bright, even when used outside in a sunny day
3) A carrying pouch with velcro top -attached securely to your belt with no chance of it being removed/stolen since it's pass-through- makes it pass as just a cell phone. Nobody will look at you if you're carrying this camera around in your daily life.
4) It's LIGHT and SMALL.
5) Image quality is very good, at 2594x1944.
6) VIDEO RECORDING is an acceptable 640x480 (480 vertical lines is about the same resolution as ntsc video = S-VHS quality!) is NOT LIMITED by anything, just by the size of the SD memory inserted. In other words, with a 512MB SD memory (around 37 bucks here in Amazon.com, look for the Kingston brand), you can record over 30 minutes of video at 30 frames per second. With a 1GB SD (around 66 bucks, Kingston brand), over an hour of video!.

I challenge anyone to transfer back any MPEG4 videos @ 30 fps, 640x480 created with this camera to VHS video and make someone discover what kind of camera it was recorded on. The majority will think it was recorded with a camcorder or handycam!. It's that good. Google for "The Inquirer UK" and "Samsung mpeg4" to get the URL of my full review, which includes some sample videos and full-resolution images.

The icing on the cake is the ability of this camera to function, at the flick of a switch (the lens retract and close as in the off position) as a DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER. So you can record classes at school, meetings, speeches, conferences.... records over 12 hours on a 512MB SD memory (8-bit, mono, wav format).

If your printer supports it, it can even print photos directly from the camera to the USB printer just by plugging a USB cable between the two!.

Did I mention that besides WinXP SP2 I also succesfully tested it on Linux (Java Desktop System R2 from Sun), and the manual claims full compatibility with Mac OS-X as well?.

It uses the open-source "XVID" mpeg4 video compression algorithm, so cross-platform compatibility of the videos recorded with it is assured (unlike what happens with Quicktime, Windows Media, and other closed technologies).

What else could I ask for?. Well, one thing, I can't wait to buy the keychain-style infrared remote for self-shots and group photos. It's an optional accesory like a TV set-top "docking cradle".

I've been a Nikon snob for years. I owned my own photo studio for 10 years. I'm now a State Trooper who shoots lots of auto crash scenes. I own a small Nikon digital camera that is great but pricy. A friend has a lower end Samsung digital camera. We were out in the mountains shooting wild flowers this fall and after going home we downloaded the images to my computer. I found not only her Samsung photos were beautiful but my Nikon images were no better. Had to have one immediately!
My Samsung Digimax U-CA5 lives up to everything they say it is. When I looked at the initial ratings on the page it didn't sound good but when reading the reviews, there didn't seem to be a problem with the camera. Trust me, this camera is great, from general snapshots to closeup and adding audio clips to the photos. The video clips look as good as some higher end video camera's on the TV and the sound, although mono is clear and precise. It's a $200.00+- camera that acts like a high end unit. I really like the in-camera video editing. The software that comes with it works flawlessly.
Now my Nikon is only a backup camera........
Enjoy, Trooper John

Finally I don't have to carry a bag with the camera, I just carry it in my waist. The resolution is ok, and the mpeg4 video recorded looks like my 8mm camera's.

I didn't want my camera to be too noticed, so I selected to go with the blue one instead of this red version. There's a grey one as well.

I also purchased a Sandisk 1GB SD which gives this camera the ability to store 382 photos in full resolution, one hour and 8 minutes of video (68:00), or 25 hours 30 minutes of audio. (!)

I bought this camera for my 15 year old daughter and she loves it. She has the red model and it fits nicely in her purse (or even pocket). I think it's great that the batteries are rechargeable - you just plug it in like your cell phone. The screen is bright and she has used some of the options- video and sound - but has not used most of other features. The SD card is great too, since we have other equipment (flash, cameras) that use the same card. We use our SD reader to copy pictures to the desktop and our printer software to organize/edit since we have other cameras also. So far it has held up well, and she is pretty hard on her euqipment. We ordered from Adorama Camera - it also comes with a nice protective case. All in all takes nice pictures and easy to use.

the design and colors of this camera caught my eye; i contemplated buying it so i did some digging and found a full review on the camera. this site is extremely helpful:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/digimax_uca5.html

after reading it, i decided not to buy the U-CA b/c i want a camera with a faster start up and capture time. however, if you aren't willing to spend over $200, this camera is a really good deal.

Love the camera! Hate the dang Power button. Whoever designed this stupid, itty-bitty, tiny, button should be smacked in the face. Other than that this camera works beautifully! It's great for those candids of my 1 year old daughter! Just beware of trying to turn it on with fat fingers!

The camera is small and lightweight. The battery is pretty good.

The menu is not user friendly. For someone who is unwilling to read a camera manual, or someone who isn't familiar with most cameras, the camera is a pain. The interface is not intuative-- at ALL. I say that as a "techie."

The camera has problems with shutter speed. There is a serious, problemic lag between photos. I have to hold the camera for at least several seconds for the image not to be blurred. It's ruined many photos for me. Even my 5+ year old digital camera doesn't blur photos and have such a horrible lag as this.

Usually I like Samsung products, but I'm dissapointed with the performance of this item. I say that haven't used it nearly 1.5 years now. I wish I had purchased something else. Perhaps at the time of purchase, it was an "ok" camera, but now.. it's behind on so many levels. Even when it first came out, CNet gave it a rather bad review.

If you find it cheap, and don't want to take action shots-- such as someone posing for you (hah!) for 10 seconds or longer, it could work for you. The shutter lag is a huge issue. I can't express this enough. The image quality-- when it actually doesn't blur the photos-- is okay. It's not stellar, not great, but decent. I plan on getting something else in the near future.

I owned this camera for about a year. I really had no complaints about the picture quality or the cameras interface, and the video quality was surprisingly good as well. It is a tough little camera(mine was dropped more than a few times with no problems) and the software that was supplied with the camera did it's job. I live in a harsh climate (for digital camera's anyway), very salty and humid, so my did eventually succumb to the brash forces of the climate.

This camera comes with everything. It came with a rechargable battery, camera dock, soft carrying case and all the necessary cables including a cable to connect it to your television if you like. Takes very good pictures. I was able to buy the camera for $99.99 If you can find it for that price buy it right away!!!

with this 5 mega still camera, you can take about 70 minutes 640X480@30fps mpeg4 video if you have a 1g SD memory card! think of the price is under $100!