Customer Reviews

Samsung Digimax i85 8.2MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

As another person has mentioned - this camera has one big "con" - when taking indoor pictures, especially of darker rooms or items, it can take an EXCESSIVE time after the flash goes off before you are able to take another picture. Either the green standby LED keeps flashing, and /or the word "Processing!" comes across the screen - sometimes for up to 12 seconds, before the camera "comes back" and is ready to take another shot.

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 me- that was only 2 business days ago. Maybe the next revision if the otherwise great i85 will fix these problems.

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!

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 it- even 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.

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

I searched for a few days for a camera that had high resolution with image stabilization, decent video capture, usb chargeable and a built in media player. The media player function was important because it allows me to travel light with a great camera and a way to watch movies and listen to music.
I have had this camera for over a month in Europe and have had great results. If you know how to use the settings you can take amazing pictures in quick succession. Don't worry about battery power, you can take many pictures and video and still have enough power to listen to music for a few hours.
The wide angel setting and wise shot setting are great when combined with Photoshop CS3s photomerge option to produce seamless panoramic pictures. On the optical side, this camera performs well considering that it is fully enclosed in the cameras body. Speaking about the camera's body it is very durable because its real metal and stylish, not some cheap plastic shell.
CONCLUSION
If you want a very portable camera with extra media features and a capable camera this is it. If you are looking for a very small camera just to take pictures and thats it try the Canon Elf 1000.

Samsung Digimax I85 is really great Camera.
Phootoes are captured very bright and clear. Zooming is very effective. With the 5X optical zoom, you can zoom the thing as much as you want...
8.2 MP allows to capture photoes very brightly. Capturing in the night, in the low-light condition is very effective. I can say that it is much more clear than the photoes captured in the dylight. Beside this, capturing in deffierent situations- Snow, fireworks, foof and other regimes are super.
I didn't expect that, MP3 will operate effective like that. It sounds very clearly. With the earephones it is more clearly sounds. (SRS). Along with these other functions -movie, text, tour guide are very effective.You can download any Ebook into the Camera and read it wherever you want (bus ,car and so on)
So I think my money was not spent vainly

with so many feature and the price this low, you can't go wrong with this camera, you can shoot your own movie, watch dvd movie, listen to mp3 and took picture, in addition of the slide show of your picture with your own music,etc. It just liked a small digital frame on your desk and the picture came out really great. I just loved it.

We have had the camera for about a week and are really enjoying it. The large 3" screen is awsome. I have taken quite a few macro close up pictures and they are clear. At the maximun magnification the pictures using the scenery mode are clear without blurring from camera motion. The motion picture feature at 30 fps is smooth and fun to work with.
I have not been able to find a spare battery or charger yet. Before I take it on a long trip, I would like to carry a spare battery.

for a few weeks I am using this little neat camera of Samsung and I have to admit that I am very impressed with it. I bought the camera to go along with a bigger prosumer camera. Also I got myself a 2GB SDHC card for photo and video. No w I can take pictures and ... yes, it is true watch movies on the same product.

Next to being a very handy camera with great picture taking qualities that you can stick away in your pocket this gadget is also a video camera and mp3player.

For those who only want to use it as a camera for point and click you can do it very well. The camera comes with an impressive 5 times optical zoom and a whole range of features that will guarantee you good pictures. you do not even have to buy a memory card as the camera comes with a 180MB internal memory. This a first for me and very handy.

Okay after all the hoha one point of attention and that is the clock on the back. I had to switch it off as the times it showed on screen was impossible to understand as it showed a date never possible. However that a a minor when you know that it is stored in proper way once you transfer the pictures to a computer.

The Samsung i85 is a really good camera that is too much under the radar as it competes with the big brands and their models out in the market and a for a price that is unmatched.