Samsung DuoCam VP-D6550 review

The camcorder features five automatic exposure modes for sports, sand, snow and so on, while there are ten different shooting modes for the still camera. The requisite cheesy special effects -- sepia and negative, to name two -- are present in both modes as well. Though there's a colour slow-shutter feature for shooting in dark environs, Samsung removed the infrared Night mode found on the VP-D6040. There's a flash for use in still shooting, but no video light.

Though the VP-D6550's appearance suggests a camcorder that's had a camera slipped in, the camera actually offers the most power and flexibility, while the camcorder is fairly basic. For instance, while the VP-D6550 offers all the features you'd expect in a midrange digital still camera, it lacks some key camcorder functions, such as the ability to copy video from composite and S-video sources.

The VP-D6550 lacks expandability -- there's no accessory shoe, nor does Samsung offer add-on lenses for the camcorder lens. One nice feature is the ability to select from among SD, MMC or Memory Stick cards to store still images.

Performance
The Samsung DuoCam VP-D6550 performed its video tasks well but fell short as a still camera. It's ready to start taping just 3 seconds after you flip the power on. Automatic exposure adjusts quickly to pans from light to dark subjects and its autofocus response is relatively quick and accurate, even in somewhat dim light. Image stabilisation does a good job of masking slight hand movements, even at 10x zoom levels.

We found the zoom control precise and smooth to operate, and the dedicated manual-focus rocker is easy to use and conveniently placed. The 64mm (2.5-inch) LCD is somewhat small to use for precise focusing, however. Unfortunately, the viewfinder's resolution is so low that it's an even poorer choice as a focus aid.

The microphone's placement about 40mm behind the lens is good for balancing the levels of sound coming from in front of and behind the camera. Sound is clear and a wind guard helps keep it that way when shooting in breezy situations. However, the microphone frequently recorded a distinct 'thock' just after the zoom reached either of its extremes.

The still camera is annoyingly sluggish. There's a delay of about 2 seconds between pressing the shutter switch and the actual shot. The camera must then write to the memory card before you take another picture, so you have to wait another 3 seconds (11 seconds in TIFF mode) before you can press the shutter again. This camera is a poor choice for sporting events, candid shots or any situations where you need to shoot quickly.

Image quality
The Samsung DuoCam VP-D6550's digital-video quality was acceptable. Outdoor scenes were sharp and properly exposed, with accurate, saturated colour even on a cloudy day. Indoor shots in bright light were comparably good, but colour saturation begins to suffer in dimmer lighting and the video becomes decidedly noisy. Even well-lit video suffered from excessive visual noise and various edge artefacts.

Viewing the VP-D6550's footage on a PC shows that the camcorder still suffers from the same white-balance issues as its predecessor. There's a mild but noticeable bluish cast when using automatic white balance.

The Color Nite function helps preserve colours in darker shooting situations by slowing the shutter speed to 30fps or 15fps. This helps in dim but decent lighting, but in truly dark situations, we missed the infrared mode found on the VP-D6040, as the VP-D6550 can't see in the dark.

The 5-megapixel snapshots should print well at sizes as large as about 200x250mm, as long as you're not picky. Outdoor shots have somewhat soft detail and slightly oversaturated colours. A few shots had noticeable chromatic aberrations -- purple fringing -- though this was most evident when zooming in to crop an image. Indoor shots had good colour but were somewhat grainy, even when using the built-in flash. The flash is short-ranged -- it barely illuminated subjects more than about 2m away. Overall, the quality is about what you'd expect from a bargain still camera, which is still better than most camcorders.

Edited by Lori Grunin
Additional editing by Nick Hide