Samsung SC-DC164 Camcorder Review

Widescreen/16:9 Mode (8.5)
The DC164 has true widescreen capture, meaning that the field of view is significantly wider than the 4:3 image, with no loss of information to the top and bottom. While the camcorder does have a 2.7” widescreen display, the actual process of switching between aspect ratios is buried in the menu. This is an odd and sad choice. If you have true widescreen, help people find it! It’s one of the few redeeming features on the camcorder.

Scan Rates/24p (0.0)
The SC-DC164 does not offer any frame rates other than the native 60 interlaced frames per second. Very few camcorders offer any frame rate options.

Other Features (4.0)
Digital Effects - As you might expect from a camcorder that seems to have every feature thrown in but the kitchen sink, there are plenty of digital effects to keep you busy – if you’re into that kind of thing. As with other consumer camcorders, these effects are applied to footage in-camera, and apply stylized effects to footage. From a quality standpoint, effects are better applied in a PC-based editing program, but if you’re looking for a visual gimmick, you may find some of these looks appealing. The SC-DC164 includes digital Art, Mosaic, Sepia, Negative, Mirror, Fade-in/Fade-out, and a few others.

WindCut -The The SC-DC164 includes a Wind Cut feature which helps to reduce the sound of wind on the camera-mounted microphone. Wind cut is a digital filter that blocks out low-end sound similar to the buffeting noise caused when wind hits a mic, and are helpful if when recording conversation or narration in windy conditions. Wind Cut does not work with external mics, and does reduce the overall fidelity of recorded audio, so the feature should be shut off unless it is needed.

Color Nite -Color Nite Mode is engaged by pressing its button in the LCD cavity, and slows the camcorder’s shutter speed to 1/30 or 1/15. When using this mode, a number of effects, digital zoom, and 16:9 Wide are not available. The user’s manual notes that “When using Color Nite, the focus adjusts slowly and white dots may appear on the screen, this is not a defect.” While auto focus impairment is a typical byproduct of shutter speed adjustments like Color Nite, we’re not sure what Samsung means by “white dots” on the screen, but this may refer to noise. Users who want to use this mode would be advised to test it out in advance to determine if it will yield acceptable results.

Back Light Compensation (BLC) - The BLC button is located in the LCD cavity, and is an automatic setting that compensates for subjects who are in front of brightly lit backgrounds. Without BLC, very bright surroundings can cause camcorders to automatically close down the shutter to a degree that underexposes the subject in the frame. BLC essentially instructs the camcorder to overexpose the image as a whole so that the subject does not appear too dark. BLC is a common feature on consumer camcorders like the SC-DC164 and it’s a brute force adjustment that won’t work for all skin tones in all situations, but it can be helpful when the camcorder closes the iris too much.