Samsung F44 Ultra Zoom Camcorder (Black) Reviews

Review by Lyndsey Stark for Samsung F44 Ultra Zoom Camcorder (Black)
Rating:
First of all, let me say that I am somewhat of a technical type person. I somewhat know the language of those better at electronics than I am and will research as much as I can before I buy into anything. Even though I got this camcorder with a gift card and it was free, I wanted to make sure I was getting something I’d really love compared to the other camcorders that were also on my list of ordering.

I have borrowed a JVC camcorder which I really enjoyed. It was a little heavy compared to this Samsung but you could tell it was good quality. The picture was clear on the LCD screen and it looked nice on the computer screen. The reason I ordered this one was because of the optical zoom being quite a large number compared to the others and it also has 16gb of internal memory. I didn’t want to buy an extra SD card. That saves you money right there. It can also take photos as well. You have to decide on buying a camcorder with a large amount of internal memory and not so good quality in regards to videos or getting one that has no memory (have to buy SD card)) but excellent playback. This one is in the middle. It has internal memory and okay playback but I’d give it a 1 star for photo quality where as I’d give the JVC camera I used at least 3 stars for pictures.

Upon opening the Samsung box for this camcorder, everything is laid out nicely. Nothing is loose and it is all packed tightly. When you get the camera out, you will notice it’s extremely light. It felt cheap compared to the JVC. The T & W knob is made of plastic and looks cheap. I’m glad there wasn’t any leftover plastic flaps from the molding of the plastic pieces. That would have really made me send it back. Within maybe an hour and a half two 2 hours (guessing) the camera was fully charged and ready to go. I soon found out how close the camera can zoom in. I zoomed in on my son’s nose and it became pixelated. In order to get a good recording of something using the zoom ALL the way (optical + digital zoom), the subject needs to be hundreds and hundreds of feet away. Maybe even a mile away. Yes, it can zoom in to things that far. When recording outside, everything seemed whited out as if there was white dust in the air. This was when I filmed my son from about 200 feet away. It seemed to lose quality. But when he got closer, the quality got better. I can’t say if that was because my settings were all on auto or what. When I did change the settings to Cloudy, the color changed and looked clearer but still looked cloudy when filming far away objects.

You will not want to use this camcorder as a digital camera. It’s horrible. If you don’t care about the quality of your photos, then use it but you will want to use a separate device for pictures. My Samsung Highlight cell phone is better with pictures than this. The picture quality is bad. What you see on the LCD screen is what you’ll get when uploading to the computer. It’s pixelated. It looks as though someone used a digital zoom on their cell phone and took a picture.

PROS: Light weight, glossy black and looks nice, LCD screen is clear, several recording options (B&W, Sepia, Mirror, Pastels, Cloudy, Sunny, etc), long battery life, charges quickly, LCD screen flips, easy upload of photos to computer and web (YouTube and other places online), lots of internal memory, great optical and digital zoom

CONS: Looks like white dust in the air when recording outside, cheap buttons, feels cheap, horrible pictures, playback recordings don’t look as good as something like a JVC.

Make sure to check out cameras in a Best Buy type store before you buy this one. It’s great just for family recordings if you don’t care too too much for quality and aren’t picky. Because I used the JVC, I was hoping for the same. It’s also good for the price. I love Samsung and I’m sure this camera will last. But if I put a little more money into the buying one, I’d buy a different Samsung or something will better recording ability.

This is a great gift for a grandmother or mother who just wants to point and film and doesn’t knit pick at everything like electronics junkies.