My New Memory Catcher............. (Samsung S630)

Member Name: lel1969

Product:	Samsung S630
Date:	17/01/08 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use

Disadvantages: None

Another birthday, I'm sure we have extra birthdays the older we get!! Still this year my hubby decided to buy me a new digital camera as the one I have now is really needing to retire due to be over worked!

We spent a while looking around at all the different cameras. Low price and good value for money were the key points we were looking for. We decided to opt for the Samsung S630 from Tesco priced at £49.97.

**Packaging**

Neat little cardboard box with a picture of the camera on the front. Packed in moulded cardboard for support is the camera, USB cable, instruction booklets, wrist strap, software CD, 2 AA batteries and a 2 year warranty. Very easy to open and remove from the packaging.

Technical Information
Sensor - CCD - 6.1 Mp
Image Size - 2816 x 2112
Lens - 35-105mm f/2.8-4.9
Focus - TTl Auto - 5cm Macro
Exposure - Program AE
Metering - Multi, Spot
Monitor - 2.5" TFT LCD
Movie Mode - Yes
Storage - 16Mb Internal, SD(HC)/MMC
Batteries - 2 x AA
Video Output - Yes
Size/Weight - 100 x 63 x 26mm - 136g
Transfer - USB 2.0

**Modes and Features**

To the top of the camera we have the power button alongside the mode dial. The mode dial as it would suggest is used to select the mode you would like to use, the different settings are - Auto, Movie, Night Scene, Portrait, Scene, Manual, Advanced Shake Reducer and Programme. Auto, as it suggests, is the automatic setting where the camera does everything for you. Movie is the setting used to make a video clip, this camera also records sound whilst filming. Night Scene again self explanatory, for taking pictures at night time. Portrait is for taking good close up photos of people, Scene allows you to choose different scene modes, which I will explain better later, manual allows you to choose your own settings for the photos you would like to take and programme sets the camera to optimal settings but still allows you to manually configure all settings apart from aperture value and shutter speed.

The scene setting allows you to choose the best setting for the photo you would like to take, the scenes settings are - Children, Landscape, Close Up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach and Snow.

To the back of the camera is the super large LCD screen and buttons allowing you to access the menu, review photos and video clips, choose the effect you would like and the zoom in zoom out button. The effects you can choose from are Black and White, Sepia, Red, Green, Blue and Negative. The camera also has a small internal memory allowing to store between 8 and 47 images depending on quality selected.

The Digimax Software CD is really easy to install and very easy to use. Uploading photos onto the computer is simple and once on the computer you can have a go at customising your photos. You can also view your photos using the slide show and store them in albums.

**My Opinion**

This is a really great little camera. It is a good size, quite small and compact, easy to hold and very easy to access and use all the buttons. I find all the different settings easy to navigate through. I really like the effects button allowing me to choose black and white, negative etc. It's great being able to muck around and produce some really great photos. I enjoy scrapbooking and find this function very useful.

I found the internal memory to be too small and had to buy an SD memory expansion card immediately, I like high quality photos and was extremely shocked when I only got 8 when first using the camera. I now have a 1GB SD card, which allows me to have over 600 photos at the maximum setting.

I love the video function on this camera as it records the sound as well. My last camera only recorded very short clips with no sounds and they weren't very good at all, they looked like old movie clips! The clips with this camera are a good size of picture and can be as long as you want depending on the amount of memory you have and the sound is really clear. The past couple of weekends we have been sledging and snowboarding in Glenshee and I've taken quite a few photos and video clips and they are brilliant and clear, even although Sunday past was blizzard conditions.

Another feature I love is the anti-shake setting. This is great for those emotional moments, if you're not laughing your crying type moments. It does help to keep the focus clear.

The instruction manual you get with the camera is only a quick start manaul and therefore doesn't really explain in very much detail how to use the camera, other than the basics. However, on the software disc you will find the complete instruction manual, which explains in great detail how to get the most from your camera. I would have preferred this to come in a booklet form with the camera but it can be printed out.

I don't really think the scene function is needed on this camera as the auto mode takes perfect pictures adjusting to the surroundings itself and to be quite honest I didn't notice any difference in quality when I used the scene mode.

All in all I would definitely recommend this camera. It performs really well giving the amateur, like me, top quality, professional looking photos.

Thanks for reading.

www.samsung.com
© lel1969 January 2008

Summary: A great way for the amateur to produce professional quality photos

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