Looks Hot! Samsung 3.2MP digital camera with 3x optical. ~$150 AR

[Myth465]

it retails for 299.99 so thats a decent price for a small nice camera.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Myth465
it retails for 299.99 so thats a decent price for a small nice camera.

Optical zoom is only 2x.

 

[BatmanNate]

I picked up a Samsung Digimax V4 (4500 Super) from Costco today as an exchange on the Olympus D560 I got for Christmas and this is hands down the sweetest camera I've ever used. It was $299 for a 4.1 MP 3x optical, but the amount of manual control over shutter time, aperature, exposure, white balance, focus, sharpness, flash, etc. is second to none. It also has a 6cm Super Macro mode which is handy. It takes SD card and can store photos in 3 jpg compression modes or uncompressed tiff. It takes movie in .avi format and is limited only by the size of the SD card. It also records audio annotations for pictures.

The camera has a Snieder lens as well and I can attest that the pictures look amazing. The red eye thing actually works on this one too. It also accepts 9 different ppwer sources, and came with a lithium ion battery pack and charger as well as the AC adapter and leather case. (and 32mb SD card!) The controls are well placed and straight forward, the body is sturdy, and the LCD is nicer than the Olympus (and the brightness can be adjusted to save battery life). You can even change the bootup screen, sound, and shutter sound. In fact the only think that I really dislike about the camera is that you have to open the door to the battery compartment to access the SD card, but the camera will retain it's settings without the battery in for about an hour so it's not a big deal. Definately worth the money, this ousted the A70 as my favorite camera in the price range. (although I still like the frame of the a70 better for the grip, this camera has more features and the image quality seems identical so far when properly configured)

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
I picked up a Samsung Digimax V4 (4500 Super) from Costco today as an exchange on the Olympus D560 I got for Christmas and this is hands down the sweetest camera I've ever used. It was $299 for a 4.1 MP 3x optical, but the amount of manual control over shutter time, aperature, exposure, white balance, focus, sharpness, flash, etc. is second to none. It also has a 6cm Super Macro mode which is handy. It takes SD card and can store photos in 3 jpg compression modes or uncompressed tiff. It takes movie in .avi format and is limited only by the size of the SD card. It also records audio annotations for pictures.

The camera has a Snieder lens as well and I can attest that the pictures look amazing. The red eye thing actually works on this one too. It also accepts 9 different ppwer sources, and came with a lithium ion battery pack and charger as well as the AC adapter and leather case. (and 32mb SD card!) The controls are well placed and straight forward, the body is sturdy, and the LCD is nicer than the Olympus (and the brightness can be adjusted to save battery life). You can even change the bootup screen, sound, and shutter sound. In fact the only think that I really dislike about the camera is that you have to open the door to the battery compartment to access the SD card, but the camera will retain it's settings without the battery in for about an hour so it's not a big deal. Definately worth the money, this ousted the A70 as my favorite camera in the price range. (although I still like the frame of the a70 better for the grip, this camera has more features and the image quality seems identical so far when properly configured)

Is the 4500 Super a different name for the Digimax V4? I take it there's a rechargable battery (the LiON) if they included a recharger. I believe that these cameras sometimes come with a non-rechargable LiON. A major difference from the A70 is that it requires 1/2 the batteries. A70 needs 4 AA, the V4 and V3 need 2 AA or equivalent. That aside, the A70 20+% heavier, not counting the batteries! Also, the A70 is somewhat bigger. A major difference though, is the fact that the A70 recharges between shots a LOT faster. The V4 takes around 7 seconds, the A70 less than 2 seconds, I believe.

I believe tha V4 is a fine camera, though.

Here's a really fine review.

 

[Myth465]

you have to open the door to the battery compartment to access the SD card

this also irritated me too. also you can generally find a card reader free after rebate,

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Myth465
you have to open the door to the battery compartment to access the SD card

this also irritated me too. also you can generally find a card reader free after rebate,

Do you also have to remove the batteries to get at the SD card?

 

[Howeird]

staples has the samsung digimax 360 (sku 512605) for $179.94, same camera minus the schnieder brand lens i think. there's a code found at f4t wallet that'll knock off $30 from a $150 purchase, making the camera only $149.94 with no rebates to worry about. this camera is about $100 less than comparable 3megapixel/3x optical zoom cameras out there, a stellar value imho.

 

[superstein61]

Originally posted by: Howeird
staples has the samsung digimax 360 (sku 512605) for $179.94, same camera minus the schnieder brand lens i think. there's a code found at f4t wallet that'll knock off $30 from a $150 purchase, making the camera only $149.94 with no rebates to worry about. this camera is about $100 less than comparable 3megapixel/3x optical zoom cameras out there, a stellar value imho.

Ahhh, check the specs out at Samsung, while there are similarities, this is by no means the same camera as the V3 with just a different lens. The V3 provides a whole lot more options for non point and shoot photographers. That said, the one you noted at that price is a nice deal for the price for point and shooters

 

[heh2k]

looks dead. they cancelled my order and the camera's no longed on the site. i ordered it on 12/23.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: heh2k
looks dead. they cancelled my order and the camera's no longed on the site. i ordered it on 12/23.

No foolin'! You ordered the V3 at OneCall on 12/23 and they cancelled your order? I'll feel a little better now for not ordering 12/23 in the evening. I thought I missed the deal by minutes if not hours. Didn't know they would/could cancel an order that went through. When I went to the site to order on morning of 12/24 it was no longer at the site.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
I picked up a Samsung Digimax V4 (4500 Super) from Costco today as an exchange on the Olympus D560 I got for Christmas and this is hands down the sweetest camera I've ever used. It was $299 for a 4.1 MP 3x optical, but the amount of manual control over shutter time, aperature, exposure, white balance, focus, sharpness, flash, etc. is second to none. It also has a 6cm Super Macro mode which is handy. It takes SD card and can store photos in 3 jpg compression modes or uncompressed tiff. It takes movie in .avi format and is limited only by the size of the SD card. It also records audio annotations for pictures.

The camera has a Snieder lens as well and I can attest that the pictures look amazing. The red eye thing actually works on this one too. It also accepts 9 different ppwer sources, and came with a lithium ion battery pack and charger as well as the AC adapter and leather case. (and 32mb SD card!) The controls are well placed and straight forward, the body is sturdy, and the LCD is nicer than the Olympus (and the brightness can be adjusted to save battery life). You can even change the bootup screen, sound, and shutter sound. In fact the only think that I really dislike about the camera is that you have to open the door to the battery compartment to access the SD card, but the camera will retain it's settings without the battery in for about an hour so it's not a big deal. Definately worth the money, this ousted the A70 as my favorite camera in the price range. (although I still like the frame of the a70 better for the grip, this camera has more features and the image quality seems identical so far when properly configured)

I went over to Costco today to see if they had this camera, and they did. This is the Samsung 4500 Super and the lens said Samsung, not Schneider. It said "Samsung SHD", zoom 7.7 - 23.1 mm. It came with li-on rechargeable battery pack (said it was the first such ever offered), and recharger, AC adapter, and all the other stuff that is standard with the V4. So, it looks to be the same as the V4 without the Schneider lens but with rechargeable power. Price was $299.99 + state tax. The V4 is available from various online sites for under $270 shipped (after the $50 rebate), but doesn't come with rechargeable power. You can get the Canon SuperShot A70 for about the same money, BTW.

And I checked out that issue about the SD card and the battery compartment on the V4/4500 Super (and I assume it's the same with the V3). You don't have to remove the batteries to get at the card, but you do have to open the door to the battery compartment.

 

[Silex]

Yup. You guys are right about all reviews. I'm still wondering if this 4500 Super is the same as the V4 though. Would be heck of a deal since it comes with the recharable lith-ion and I believe you could use the rebate on it too making it $249.99 + tax. Correct?

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Silex
Yup. You guys are right about all reviews. I'm still wondering if this 4500 Super is the same as the V4 though. Would be heck of a deal since it comes with the recharable lith-ion and I believe you could use the rebate on it too making it $249.99 + tax. Correct?

AFAIK, there's no rebate on the 4500 Super. I saw no mention of one online and no mention of a rebate at Costco when looking at it yesterday. It says Samsung lens and for all I know it is the Schneider lens in fact. I wouldn't know how to determine whether it is or not. My short search didn't show as good a price online for the 4500 Super as the V4.

I'm wondering how this camera stacks up against the Canon A70, the other camera at the top of my list.

 

[superstein61]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: heh2k
looks dead. they cancelled my order and the camera's no longed on the site. i ordered it on 12/23.

No foolin'! You ordered the V3 at OneCall on 12/23 and they cancelled your order? I'll feel a little better now for not ordering 12/23 in the evening. I thought I missed the deal by minutes if not hours. Didn't know they would/could cancel an order that went through. When I went to the site to order on morning of 12/24 it was no longer at the site.

Hmmm, I ordered mine in the wee hours of the evening on the 23rd (technically it was around 2:30am on the 24th) and received it today. A sweet camera. I had expected small after all the comments - but even smaller than I thought.

 

[superstein61]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: Silex
Yup. You guys are right about all reviews. I'm still wondering if this 4500 Super is the same as the V4 though. Would be heck of a deal since it comes with the recharable lith-ion and I believe you could use the rebate on it too making it $249.99 + tax. Correct?

AFAIK, there's no rebate on the 4500 Super. I saw no mention of one online and no mention of a rebate at Costco when looking at it yesterday. It says Samsung lens and for all I know it is the Schneider lens in fact. I wouldn't know how to determine whether it is or not. My short search didn't show as good a price online for the 4500 Super as the V4.

I'm wondering how this camera stacks up against the Canon A70, the other camera at the top of my list.

Well, if this is any help - the manual I rec'd with my V3 lists both the V3 and 3500 Super on the cover, so I assume they are one in the same

 

[Myth465]

my guess is same camera and different lenses and accessories. as in same operating system and functions

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: superstein61

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: Silex
Yup. You guys are right about all reviews. I'm still wondering if this 4500 Super is the same as the V4 though. Would be heck of a deal since it comes with the recharable lith-ion and I believe you could use the rebate on it too making it $249.99 + tax. Correct?

AFAIK, there's no rebate on the 4500 Super. I saw no mention of one online and no mention of a rebate at Costco when looking at it yesterday. It says Samsung lens and for all I know it is the Schneider lens in fact. I wouldn't know how to determine whether it is or not. My short search didn't show as good a price online for the 4500 Super as the V4.

I'm wondering how this camera stacks up against the Canon A70, the other camera at the top of my list.

Well, if this is any help - the manual I rec'd with my V3 lists both the V3 and 3500 Super on the cover, so I assume they are one in the same

My online searches didn't locate the 3500 Super for sale.

 

[mindless1]

I'm a bit too lazy at the moment to reread the whole thread, but AFAIK the Digimax V3 can still be had for a good price w/rebate.

For example, find your fav vendor or best price, then subtract the $50 MIR. For example, it'shere for $230, - $50 rebate = $180.

I got in on the Onecall deal and couldn't be happier, think it's still a deal @ $180 AR, but of course you'd need make sure the rebate is valid if purchased from ???. I found the following tel. # at another 'site, might be able to use it to confirm eligable stores,
800-635-8478, though from the wording of the rebate, which specifies "not eligable at QVC", would it not imply that it IS good everywhere else? That's just my guess, I'm not the one risking $50 rebate though.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: mindless1
I'm a bit too lazy at the moment to reread the whole thread, but AFAIK the Digimax V3 can still be had for a good price w/rebate.

For example, find your fav vendor or best price, then subtract the $50 MIR. For example, it'shere for $230, - $50 rebate = $180.

I got in on the Onecall deal and couldn't be happier, think it's still a deal @ $180 AR, but of course you'd need make sure the rebate is valid if purchased from ???. I found the following tel. # at another 'site, might be able to use it to confirm eligable stores,
800-635-8478, though from the wording of the rebate, which specifies "not eligable at QVC", would it not imply that it IS good everywhere else? That's just my guess, I'm not the one risking $50 rebate though.

Mindless1, you are awesome! The other day I rated you a "10." You are the ONLY Anandtech person I've ever rated. If I could rate you a 20, I would! Thanks...

I called that number but they are closed for the weekend. They're opening monday at 8:30 AM Eastern time.
- - - -
Edit: I checked out the rebate at www.checkmyrebate.com and it looks pretty positive so I went ahead and ordered at 6ave.com, who I ordered from before. It's $236 there with 6 cents shipping. The first thing I asked the guy when I called is if the rebate will be good. He said they are an authorized dealer and if it's Samsung's rebate, he figured it would be good.

Checking it now, that other place would have charged me $29.95 shipping, so it was a better deal at 6ave. I can maybe check out the rebate on Monday morning and still cancel if the rebate's not good there.

Edit2: The form at www.checkmyrebate.com says it's for "participating stores." Then it says it's not valid at Staples or Costco, and there was the other blacklist, QVC. QVC doesn't seem to have it anyway, if they're talking about qvc.com.

This is almost as good as the OneCall deal a couple weeks ago. It doesn't have the remote control and the extended warranty. Other than that I suppose it's the same.

A funny thing, though, is that the rebate form the OP had in the initial post (and which I'm printing as I type) says it's good for cameras bought by 1/31/04 and the one at www.checkmyrebate.com says it's good for cameras bought by 1/15/04. To print that one, though, I think you have to indicate that you already have purchased the camera. It's a screwy form and contradicts itself, saying $20 and then that you will get a $50 check.

Edit3: The rebate forms say to include a "cash register receipt." What do you people include? A copy of your packing slip/receipt maybe? Or a print of email confirmation from OneCall, etc.?

 

[stringcheeseincident]

i clicked the link and it says nothing about a samsung camera...i searched for it and a 1.2MP camera comes up, nothing else. wtf?

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: stringcheeseincident
i clicked the link and it says nothing about a samsung camera...i searched for it and a 1.2MP camera comes up, nothing else. wtf?

Yeah, you clicked the link in the original post by the OP. It's dead there because they are out of stock and they don't expect additional stock as the camera is, I presume, out of production. Try the link below, but the best deal I could find is at 6ave.com. I called them. Go to their website and... heck, here's the number: 1-877-684-2831



Here's the link to the V3 at 6ave

I think the rebate will be good there too, but I can't guarantee it. YMMV, buy at your own risk. I just bought it and I guess to be sure you should call the number a couple posts back in the post by mindless1, for rebate confirmation (Samsung's), Monday morning. The guy I talked to at 6ave.com said they still had something like 50. IF the rebate works, it comes out to $186.06 shipped, assuming you don't have to pay taxes. I think 6ave are in New Jersey, and maybe have stores in New York.

I've been checking out this segment of the digicam market for around 6 weeks and IMO this is easily the best deal around for a 3.2 mp 3x optical zoom camera, particularly if you want more than a point and shoot. Of course, it depends a lot on whether or not they'll honor the $50 rebate.

 

[Muse]

Called the Samsung redemption center and was assured that I will get my $50 rebate. My impression is that they will honor the rebate if you buy the V3 or V4 (unless you buy from QVC, Costco and Staples, although she didn't mention that, the rebate forms do) by January 15th.

 

[docmanhattan]

Originally posted by: Muse
Called the Samsung redemption center and was assured that I will get my $50 rebate. My impression is that they will honor the rebate if you buy the V3 or V4 (unless you buy from QVC, Costco and Staples, although she didn't mention that, the rebate forms do) by January 15th.

Good to hear.

I just placed an order with 6ave.com. I'm hoping to have to have it before the end of the week.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: docmanhattan

Originally posted by: Muse
Called the Samsung redemption center and was assured that I will get my $50 rebate. My impression is that they will honor the rebate if you buy the V3 or V4 (unless you buy from QVC, Costco and Staples, although she didn't mention that, the rebate forms do) by January 15th.

Good to hear.

I just placed an order with 6ave.com. I'm hoping to have to have it before the end of the week.

I called them today. They said it would ship in 1-3 business days. That means today, tomorrow or Wednesday. I got the 6 cent shipping - UPS Ground, so I don't expect it before next week, being 3000 miles away.

 

[Xtremist]

I feel like an idiot... But which thing on the bottom is the UPC!?!?!

Is it the one in the center (8 801089 722010) or the other one that says "For U.S.A. only" ( 0 44701 00335 9)? I'm a dumb@ss