Samsung VP D381

Author's product rating:   

Ease of use	Good
Recording quality	Good
Picture quality	Excellent
Sound quality	Good
Value for money	Good

Advantages:	Good for everyday use, simple & small .
Disadvantages:	Tapes only, needs firewire .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Introduction

I got this camcorder for Christmas 2008, and had been looking forward to opening it for some time. I quickly grew accustomed to it, and set it up, having bought some tapes off Ebay, and proceeded to spend the day pointlessly filming my family as they ate and my pets as they malled each other over a piece of turkey. I remember thinking at the time how useful this would be for mine and my friends Youtube exploits over the much inferior camera we had got as a free gift from Staples, and this turned out to be an accurate assumption, but there were a few hurdles along the way...

Where To Buy

I got mine (or my parents did while I was there) in-store at Currys, and it cost just over £115, as we didn't want the damage or loss cover and I refused to buy their expensive tapes when I knew they were cheaper on Ebay. It is now on Amazon for around £140 new, which is the highest price I've found, but can be bought for £100 - £120 from most other electronics retailers, and will be found at the lower end of the camcorder spectrum, with some models fetching upwards of £1000. This is one great thing about this camera, it's one of the cheapest you can get, so even if you don't like it too much or use it very frequently, it's not as though you've spent a fortune. Personally I was very happy with the price, and still think it's well worth it if you're just going to muck about with it.

Tapes?

This is perhaps the most annoying thing about this model; you can only use it with DV tapes. More expensive models in the range are memory card compatible, and I wish this was because it would make it so much easier. The tapes are cheap enough, mine were £3 for 4 x 60 minute tapes, and make for good quality recording, but there is a certain amount of hassle involved. Where recording is concerned, the tapes work fine, they can be rewound and recorded over, so you only need a few tapes overall, and playback is just like a VCR, and you can do this on the camera screen to view what you've already filmed.

The problems arrive, however, when it comes to transferring your video's and images to your computer. This has to be done using the IEEE 1394 method, or for those human beings out there, Firewire. Firewire has really had it's heyday, and while still used occasionally, many computers nowadays don't include a firewire port. This wire does not come with the camera, so you'll have to get your hands on one. I already had one spare from some long forgotten device, so I thought I was OK, but then I scanned my PC's back, and there was no Firewire port. This was annoying, and I started to wonder why Samsung had made it so difficult to transfer your video, unless it was to persuade you to go for the memory card models with USB transfer instead.

I decided to worry about it at another time, and set it aside. But then, I decided to get a MacBook, and what should be found sitting along the side, but a firewire port. I should say that on the latest MacBook generation the port has been removed, mine is the white one. So I plugged it in, and lo and behold, iMovie pops up, and lets me transfer everything on the tape, whilst separating it into the separate recordings, with the click of a button. So basically, Apple solves yet another problem, and I can now edit those videos of my family eating Xmas dinner and my dogs malling each other, yay!

I would say that this is the number one problem with this camera. You really must have a Firewire port and cable handy, unless there is some easier way that I'm naive to (but I have found other people with the same problem).

Design

This is what initially attracted me to this camera. It looks sleek, is black and silver, and is very easy to have in your hand. The strap is very nice and adjustable, and the lens cap does its job without getting in the way too much. One of the great things about this is that the screen can be turned 180 degrees and when done so, the image turns the right way up. This makes it easy to view the screen wherever you're filming from, and as the effects controls are next to the screen, it is also easy to alter your settings. Overall it looks great, and in my view, a lot more expensive than it actually is.

Capability

I would have to describe the video quality as good. Not superb, but certainly not bad, and the same goes for the audio. The recording screen is clear, and substantial at 2.7 inches, giving a very accurate depiction of what the final product looks like on your computer or TV. It can record for about 40 minutes new, but after charging a few times this is reduced by about a half in my experience, so it's not huge where battery power is concerned. I guess its all the mechanisms that work the tape that add to the battery drain. Rewind/Fast Forward time is average, and finding the right place can be difficult, as the screen sometimes goes blue when this is going off. Playback on the device is generally good, with adjustable audio, etc.

Features

The camera has a variety of video options, which can be selected using the buttons next to the screen. These include:

• WindCut Plus: This is good for audio of its windy or you've got your head out of a car window or something.
• LCD options: Alter the screen brightness and colour, etc.
• Program AE: This is a list of options for the activity you're filming, for example, Sports, Portrait, Sand/Snow, etc. with preset settings for each selection, so you don't have to adjust everything yourself.
• Visual Effect: Allows you to select things like Sepia, Black and White and Mosaic, great for more artistic endeavors.
• Widescreen: You can change the resolution to 16:9 widescreen if you're planning to remake Schindler's List :P
• Macro: Useful for filming things up close, if you happen to be an ant enthusiast for example. Never used this much myself.
• 34X Optical Zoom and up to 1200X Digital Zoom: This is quite powerful and on a par with some more expensive models.
• A load of other slightly less exciting features: I could list them all, but most users won't have any use for many of them.

What It's Good For

Filming relatively small scale projects, like home movies and Youtube videos, provided you have a Firewire cable and port, and preferably iMovie. I've found it perfect for Youtube myself, and it's good for plugging into your TV with the supplied AV cable and freaking out your mum by making he think she's on TV. Overall, great for the casual user.

What It's Not Good For

Any large or important projects, such as if you're doing Film at university, etc. Anyone who can't or doesn't want the hassle of the DV/Firewire issue, as it would have really wound me up if I didn't have a natural curiosity to find out how technical things work.

Conclusion

I am happy I got this camera, and after the teething problems I've mentioned I can honestly say that the only thing that now annoys me is the slightly short battery life. I would recommend this to anyone that needs what I outlined in 'What It's Good For', as it does most basic tasks well and in good quality. Don't buy it however if you're easily frustrated or need higher quality video and sound.