Samsung SC-D6040 DuoCam Review

The SC-D6040 features a 10x 2.7-27mm f/1.4-1.8 zoom lens on the top for the camcorder and a 3X (~35-105mm in the 35mm format) f/2.8-5.6 zoom lens on the bottom for the digital camera section. When the camera is powered down, the 3x lens is retracted and a built-in shutter closes to protect the lens, the camcorder lens has a snap on lens cap and accepts 30mm filters.

It uses a contrast detection autofocus system with a focus-assist lamp to help illuminate the subject for accurate focusing. The digicam's focusing range is:

Either lens can be focused manually by pressing the MF/AF button and then rotating the Navigation Wheel shown below.

The built-in flash automatically pops up when needed and has modes for: Auto, Fill-in, Red-Eye Reduction, Slow-sync and Cancel. The maximum flash range is 7 to 10 ft. depending on ISO sensitivity selected.

The eyelevel viewfinder is a miniature color LCD type with dioptric adjustment lever on the top. This viewfinder can be extended out from the body but does not tilt upwards.

The SC-D6040 features a large, wide-view 2.5-inch color LCD with 123,000 pixels that can be used for framing, review and menu operations.

The LCD display flips out 90° and can be rotated up to 270°.

It can be closed against the body with the display facing in or out.

On the right side is the DuoCam's camera mode dial and power switch with positions for camcorder RECord and PLAY, power off and Digital Camera.

Behind the mode dial is the camcorder Start/Stop shutter button, above is the PHOTO shutter release (used by both the camcorder and digicam) and the zoom control for both lenses.

On top is the digital camera's Mode Dial with positions for: Program, Scene (10 scenes total), Aperture priority, Shutter-speed priority, Manual, MySet, Movie, and Playback.

Controls on the left side: The EasyQ button puts the camera in "point-n-shoot" mode in either camcorder or digital camera mode. The DISPLAY button controls the amount of information displayed on the EVF and LCD screens. The MENU button calls up the menu system. The 4-way controller lets you navigate menus and select images during playback. In record mode you press "down" to activate the AE Lock function, press "right" to change focus mode, press "up" to change flash mode and press "left" to quickly review the last image captured.

On the right side just behind the lens is the camcorder's Nite Pix switch and the Slow Shutter button to select the slower shutter speeds for shooting video in dim lighting. The Nite Pix and Slow Shutter can be combined to create the Power Nite Pix mode. Note that all Nite Pix modes yield a green-tinted frame, not full color. The DuoCam does not have a video light accessory shoe or infrared illuminators and is therefore not a good choice for low-light videography.

The I/O ports are located below the color LCD and include: USB 2.0 high speed for downloading to the host computer and for Direct printing to any PictBridge compatible printer. The DV is an IEEE 1394 FireWire I/O port for the camcorder. AV Out handles stereo audio and NTSC video (also S-Video) to connect to a TV set with the supplied cables. The DC INput jack is for the supplied AC power supply/battery charger. (Not shown is the external microphone jack located near the front of the camera).

This is the cable that plugs into the A/V port and has RCA plugs for Video and Left and Right audio. It also has an S-Video cable.

The SC-D6040 is equipped with a multi card slot that accepts Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Secure Digital or MMC type flash cards. It comes with a 16MB Memory Stick card. The chart below shows the approx. storage with the supplied 16MB MS card.

The camcorder uses standard MiniDV tape cassettes that are loaded in from the bottom of the camera. SP record time is 60 minutes, LP record time is 90 minutes.

The SC-D6040 is powered by a proprietary SB-LS110 7.4v 1100mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery. Samsung claims it can power the DuoCam for up to 90 minutes of video recording. The larger SB-LS220 battery extends the camera's runtime to three hours. The battery is charged in-camera with the supplied AC power adapter/battery charger.

The included BRM-D2AE wireless infrared remote controller lets you operate most of the camcorder or digital camera functions from across the room. The maximum effective range is 13-17 ft. (4-5 m) and up to 30° left/right of the center line.