Friday, January 9, 2009

CES 2009: Six new Samsung HD camcorders, 64GB internal SSD, YouTube cam [day 2]


CES 2009: Six new Samsung HD camcorders, 64GB internal SSD, YouTube cam [day 2]
Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 2:43 pm

Forget the economy: Samsung’s press conference was so packed that despite the several hundred they let in, a hundred or so more spilled over into the press room. No matter, though — let’s get to the goods.

Samsung’s new H-Series full-HD camcorders

Samsung’s new H-Series of full-HD digital camcorders (HMX-H100, HMX-H104, HMX-H105, HMX-H106) has been announced. The HMX-H106, Samsung’s new flagship full-HD digital camcorder, is “the world’s first to feature an internal 64GB SSD, which the company is also conveniently announcing here. The company says its SSD technology is faster than HDD, including quicker boot-up and read/write speeds which is required for the amount of data recorded in full-HD resolution: when actively reading and writing data, approx. 1/8th of the power of a comparable HDD is consumed.

The HMX-H105 and HMX-H104 offer 32GB and 16GB SSDs, respectively, and like the flagship H106, also allow for memory expansion using an SD/SDHC memory card.

The HMX H100 does not feature the SSD and requires an SD/SDHC memory card.
The new camcorders utilize H.264 compression, and users can record up to three hours directly to the 16GB HMX-H104, six hours to the 32GB HMX H105, and an unparalleled 12 hours to the 64GB HMX-H106 (at full-HD resolution and set to fine mode).

All of the camcorders feature a 1/4.5 inch, 2.2 mega-pixel CMOS imaging sensor, a 10x optical zoom, Schneider Kreuznach Varioplan HD lens and Optical Image Stabilization. They also have an HDMI connection, and each unit can capture 4.7 mega-pixel digital still photos.

The H106 will be available in April 2009, and the H105, H104, and H100 will be available in March 2009.

SMX-F34

Samsung has also announced its SMX-F34 YouTube-friendly compact camcorder. It has a battery life of up to three hours, Schneider optics, built-in memory, digital still photo capability, and Samsung’s 42x Intelli-Zoom. It features a memory card slot for SD/SDHC and 16GB of internal flash memory, and thanks to H.264 compression, is able to record up to eight hours of SD video with the 16GB built-in memory.

The SMX-F34 offers a CCD sensor that delivers a resolution of 720×480, and features a Web & Mobile shooting mode for YouTube and the like. The ability to capture digital still photos separates the SMX-F34 from the company’s current SC-MX20, with a dedicated Photo mode to allow the capture of 800×600 resolution images.

The SMX-F34 will be available in four colors: black, silver, red and blue, all trimmed in silver and touting a swivel hand-grip. It will be available spring 2009.

HMX-R10

The HMX-R10 is a CMOS-based full-HD digital camcorder that offers the ability to take 9MP digital stills. It’s also got different ergonomics: “Thanks to the lens being angled at 25 degrees, the user can grip the camcorder in a more relaxed manner and record their subjects with ease, further reducing the stress on one’s wrist,” according to the company. It also has a 5x optical zoom and swiveling 2.7 inch touchscreen LCD. It will be available summer 2009.

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