This is the best-built Samsung camcorder in our collective opinion, and it feels very solid to hold. The VP-D975Wi PAL uses DV tapes. The gun grey I dark grey colour combination has spawned a million followers, and Samsung doesn't deviate from the beaten path-why change a winning combination? Everything is very ergonomic, and the Samsung VP-D975Wi PAL seemed built for our hands. The menu layout is somewhat of a trendsetter-intuitive, well-Iaid-out, and simple to under¬stand-you won't spend much time getting easy with it.





This model supports digital IS (as opposed to optical IS), which doesn't do much in the way of preventing or even min¬imising hand shake; even minor jerks are noticeable. We also had issues with focussing at the long end of the zoom, where the sensor would focus properly and lose focus-and this would continue. Incidentally, this happened when focusing on on-screen text. Very irritating, but this might actually have been caused by the lack of a really effective IS system too.

The viewfinder could have been better, and after the Panasonic models, the Samsung VP¬D975Wi PAL disappointed. The illumination assist bulb works reasonably well to a distance of 4 feet, after which it loses effectiveness, particularly in dim conditions. Night Mode wasn't very effective on this camcorder, and we don't rec-
ommend the Samsung VP-D975Wi PAL if you plan on a lot oflate-hour shooting. That said, indoor quality was pretty decent (but far from perfect)-there was noticeable noise, and some discolouration around certain objects. This was due to a strong yellow cast indoors

at Auto settings; once we used manual settings, we were able to rid the video of this cast, but the point remains that most users will shoot at Auto settings.
The Samsung VP-D975Wi PAL is afford¬able, but a little expensive for a DV tape media based cam¬corder. Canon's DC210 makes a stronger statement at the same price.

Specifications:
1/ 6-inch (CD image sensor (1.0 megapixel);
LCD viewfinder 2.7inches (112,000 pixels);
Weight: 1.05 kg .