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- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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3.0 stars
"Decent but not for me"
Pros: large 2" LCD, video at 24 fps, very affordable, easy to use
Cons: No viewfinder, ugly design, limited shooting modes, picture quality questionable
Summary: This camera appeared pretty attractive for the price, but its performance doesn't really hold up well against cameras with similar specs, particularly the Nikon CoolPix 4600 which I had purchased prior to this one.
What attracted me to this camera as a casual photographer was its large LCD and its 2.8x optical zoom. I was also interested in its video capabilities, which at 24 fps were surprisingly good. There's also a microphone (who wants video with no sound?) and voice recorder to add a verbal note your pics which I thought was pretty neat. You can also frame your pics right there on the camera with 9 different frames.
Store advertisements and online pics didn't give me a better idea of how ugly this camera is. Its bigger and bulkier than most cameras with similar specs and price. The LCD takes up practically half the space of the back but there's not much else. Not even a viewfinder!!! This camera would definitely have benefitted from a more compact design.
The menus are easy to navigate but that's mainly because they're not many options to select. But what it comes down to is how the pics look and unfortunately they don't look as fine as they should. The pics are grainy even at the highest resolution and don't hold a candle to the Nikon's crisp clean pics.
In the end the Samsung Digimax A400 is a great value for the money (I paid only $140 at Sears) but it's not a great camera.
