Samsung SC-D365 Camcorder Review

The Front (7.5)
The Samsung SC-D365 is not a svelte camcorder, but outer beauty should be a low priority in a camcorder purchase. From the front, the F1.6 Samsung Lens on top of the camcorder, which has a 33x optical zoom and 27mm filter diameter, is somewhat less prominent than lenses on similar models. Below the lens is an LED light that aids with illumination in Color Night mode. Just below the LED, near the camcorder’s base, is the stereo microphone, and to the left of the mic is the tape eject switch. Many users will find this front-end placement odd, but it is an outgrowth of the fact that the tape compartment is (inconveniently) bottom-loading.

The Right Side (6.0)
The right side of the Samsung SC-D365 is composed of a hard, dark grey plastic, in contrast to the silver-grey plastic of the camcorder’s left side. This bisected design is a convention shared by other manufacturers, notably Sony, and gives this Samsung a familiar appearance. A large oblong port cover dominates the top of the right side and houses a microphone jack (kudos to Samsung for providing this useful jack), Firewire (DV), USB and A/V ports. The cover and the plastic connecting it to the body are sturdy, but the cover does not fit tightly. While this is a small detail, an ill-fitting port cover could open accidentally and snag on cables or objects in a bag.

Below and to the left of the port cover is the Mode/On/Off Dial which is again reminiscent of Sony’s Mode Dial design and provides three settings: Off, Camera and Player (VCR) mode. A nicely padded hand strap extends from front to back along the lower half of the SC-D365’s right side, and looks very much like Sony’s HC series strap. (Is there a pattern developing here…?) The strap is affixed to the body by a velcro enclosure which can be quickly adjusted, and tilts down towards the camcorder’s front. This tilt provides a good shooting position and index finger placement over the zoom toggle.

One fatal flaw about the right side’s arrangement becomes clear when holding the SC-D365. The entire port cover – including the microphone jack – is directly beneath your fingers when grasping this camcorder. Using an external mic while holding this camcorder requires opening the port cover and slipping the mic cable into the jack between your index and middle fingers. While the jack itself is a much appreciated addition, its placement is just ridiculous.

The Back (7.0)
An extendable color viewfinder, which produces a noisy, dull-looking video image, caps the DC365’s back. The hard plastic viewfinder has a diopter adjustment on its right side, which is only capable of sharp focus when the viewfinder is fully extended, slightly limiting its versatility. Just to the right of the viewfinder is a useful Quick Menu button – which calls up only the camcorder adjustment menu – and a larger Menu button which accesses all menu functions. Below the menu buttons is the Rec/Start/Stop button, marked by a vertical red strip. Directly beneath the Rec button is a port cover that protects the DC in port; below it is a small green Charge indicator light. The Samsung SC-D365 battery occupies the left side of the camcorder back, below the viewfinder. The battery release is on the camcorder’s underside, making it impossible to swap batteries while the camcorder is mounted on a tripod – something that will irk anyone who shoots with a tripod and uses more than one battery.

The Left Side (6.0)
The LCD screen and many of the SC-D365’s function buttons reside on the camcorder’s left side. About 1/3 of the way down the side is a strip of buttons that includes Easy Q (Easy Mode) and standard VCR controls that do double duty: Reverse and Fast-Forward are also Rec Search and Manual Focus toggles in Camera Mode; Play/Pause enables Fade in Camera Mode and Slide Show; and Stop activates Manual Focus in Camera Mode. The placement of an external Fade button is welcome, but we would have chosen an image quality adjustment like white balance in its place.

Buttons for LCD Display On/Off, Macro/Playback zoom, and Color Night Mode/Video Light are inside the LCD cavity near the back of the camcorder. Below these three buttons is the on-board speaker used during playback. A Memory/Tape toggle switch under the speaker enables fast recording format selection.

The 2.7” LCD screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio, but, despite the 230K pixel count, it suffers from the same noise problems as the viewfinder. It opens to 90 degrees from the camcorder body, rotates through 270 degrees, and can fold against the camcorder with the LCD screen facing out.

The Top (6.0)
The top of the Samsung SC-D365 features only two controls. The zoom toggle resembles Sony’s HC series design, with slightly raised ridges, and is located where the index finger falls naturally. Unfortunately, the Samsung zoom toggle is not sensitive, due to an over-robust spring mechanism that makes fine adjustments difficult. Just behind the Zoom toggle is the Photo button, which also serves as the OK (Select) button when navigating menu options.