Samsung SC-HMX20C Camcorder Review

Reviewed by Sean

It has been a year since Samsung released the SC-HMX10, a high definition camcorder. Now Samsung released C-HMX20C, the next generation of SC-HMX10 supporting full high definition which is 1920x1080 resolution. SC-HMX10 seems to be a quite competitive product in its design and functionality.

Samsung has offered me to review its new SC-HMX20C camcorder that would be launching soon. Then, I have spent for a while to get to know SC-HMX20C and here is my review.
Let’s look at the appearance first and then its performance.

Appearance
Having only a few buttons, the design of SC-HMX20C looks so simple.
The first impression when I saw the SC-HMX20C camcorder was that it looked like a can of Coke or bear, a cylinder shaped body. Since SC-HMX20C is the next generation of the SC-HMX10, the design prototype seems to be the same and the shape led me to easily grab the SC-HMX20C with my little hand. However, it seemed to be a little heavier than its appearance.

The front side is full of 10x optical zoom lens which has a focal length of 6.3mm ~ 63mm and a 30mm filter diameter. Along the side arc of the lens, the built-in stereo microphones reside. When you use two hands to operate the camcorder, you have to be aware of not covering the microphone area with hands.

The right side is composed of a leather hand strap which rotates 150 degrees downward from the main body. This swivel angle is enough to move the body to capture views.

The back side has the mode button that changes modes: camcorder, digital camera and playback. A record stop/start button is located slightly on the right side with the power switch located underneath. Along the bottom curve, there is a cover in which the removable battery and SD/SDHC memory card can be inserted.

The left side is the main part. When you open the LCD cover, you can see the 2.7” LCD. The LCD panel is composed of the Q.Menu button, zoom in/out jog and the record start/stop button. The LCD panel also rotates 90 degrees upward and 90 degrees downward. On the main body side, the HDMI port and USB port are lined up. You can also find the built-in speaker, an additional Q.Menu/i.Check and flash light button on the main body.

The top side consists of the zoon in/out jog which is located on the right position to control with the right hand.

The zoom in/out jog feels so soft when operating it. This would be one of the pros of this product.


The SC-HMX20C package also includes a docking station where you can place the camcorder on it and which provides additional HDMI, USB, and component connections.


Performance
The more I use SC-HMX20C, the more I like it. The video quality is perfect. I have a 47” LCD Full High Definition TV which supports 1920x1080 resolution. I connected SC-HMX20C and my Full HD TV. The recorded videos from SC-HMX20C were perfectly played well and the LCD screen of my Full HD TV displayed the recorded contents as detail as I can see the makeup on my wife’s face. As I watch the screen, I could understand the power of the Full High Definition functionality.

However, the recorded video files could not be played well from my PC directly. The specification of my PC is a Pentium 4 Intel 2.8GHz with a built-in graphic on the main board. The video files seemed to be heavy for my PC to run. I have not tried to use a separate graphic card. But I think you should have a high performance PC to fully enjoy what you have recorded from your PC.

The user’s guide specified the PC system requirements as follows:
OS: Windows Vista/XP (Service Pack 2)
CPU: Intel Pentium4, 3.2GHz/AMD Athlon 64FX, 2.6GHz recommended
Memory: 512MB (1GB or more recommended)
USB Port: USB2.0
Resolution: 1024x768, 16bit color or more
Video Card: nVIDIA Geforce 7600GT or more, ATi X1600 series or more

Also, the provided DVD Suite software runs best under Intel Core2Duo processor or the CPU that supports MMX, SSE, SSE2 or 3DNow.

SC-HMX20C provides 8GB of built-in memory. You can also use an external SDHC or MMCplus card for additional memory. But I think 8GB of the built-in memory is enough. 1GB holds a little over 8 minutes of recording time with the best quality. This allows 71 minutes with 8GB memory. One day, I went to a picnic with SC-HMX20C and I could fully use the built-in 8GB memory with the provided battery. The battery capacity was enough for me to use 8GB.

Since the LCD is the touch pad screen, I could easily manage files and control the menu. Although finger prints remaining on the LCD is a weak point, it was not a big deal.

There are some functions of SC-HMX20C that I liked most as follows:

1. Continuous still image capture during video recording:
When recording video, still images of HD quality in JPEG format can be stored up to 5 pictures per second.

2. Slow motion video recording.
This was a good feature when I analyzed my golf swing to see what I need to correct. The 30 frames per second provided super slow motion speed.

3. Image stabilizer
The electronic image stabilization is another favorite for those who are not quite as steady handed or are in a moving motion. Also it is good when recording video while zooming in. This must be a necessity feature.

4. Still image
SC-HMX20C is also used as a 6.4 megapixel digital camera. This is more than enough to get good quality images for non professional users. Although the sensor is not super high quality and it will not replace a good high quality CCD sensor, the SC-HMX20C camera is worth looking at and using on holidays.

5. Touch screen LCD
The 2.7” touch screen LCD is really convenient when I operate the camcorder.

6. Quick power up
As soon as the power button is pressed to turn on the camcorder, the LCD boots up immediately. This quick response allowed me to get ready to take shots.


Menu and Setting Screens
It would be too much to cover all the setting that SC-HMX20C supports. I took some image cuts of the main setting menu for the camcorder to help you understand more about the camcorder.


There are 6 screens that cover the settings. Each setting has a child setting and so on. Followings are screens shots for the video setting menu and camera setting menu. As you can see, many of the same settings for the digital camera are also available for the camcorder. Some of the exceptions are features such as image stabilization and Color Nite.


The digital camera has a 6.4MP CMOS sensor and it performs quite well as an ordinary digital camera for general users. With setting the Continuous Shot feature on, I could continuously get shots of moving image while pressing the Photo button. This led me to select the best shot among them. Even, I could get still images in the Full HD quality (1920x1080) while recording video. The still images taken at dusk have some noise. This would be more common for the CMOS sensors than high quality CCD sensors. However, it would be OK for me since many other digital cameras have CMOS sensors.

Specifications
Following is the product specification in general.
System
Signal Type: NTSC
Video Format: H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC)
Audio Format: AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
Sensor Type: CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor)
Sensor Size: 1/1.8”
Number of Pixels: 6.4MB
Lenz: F1.8~2.5 (10x Optical Zoom, 100x Digital Zoom)
Filter Diameter: 49mm
Focus Distance: 6.3~63mm
Storage Media: 8GB built-in Flash Memory, SDHC/MMC+
Dimension: 2.6”x2.65”x5.47”
Weight: 1.01 lb

LCD Monitor
LCD Size/Pixels: 2.7”, 230K pixels
LCD Type: TFT LCD, Touch LCD

Video Recording Spec
Recording Format: H.264
Recording Resolution: HD: 1920x1080i (60i30p), SD: 720x480
Recording Quality: Super Fine/Fine/Normal
Audio Format: AAC
Number of Channel: 2 Channels (Stereo)
Speaker: Yes (built-in)
Microphone: Yes (built-in)

Still Image Spec
Format: JPEG
Resolution: 3264x2448 (8M interpolation), 2304x1728(4M), 3M, 1.5M, 340K
Quality: Super Fine

Interface
USB: USB2.0
IEEE1394: No
Composite: Yes
S-Video: Yes
Component: Yes
HDMI: Yes
Direct Print System: DPOF, PictBridge

S/W and PC OS
Compatible OS: Windows XP/2000/Vista (32bit, 64bit), Not Compatible with MAC
Bundle PC S/W: Cyber Link DVD Suite


Pros:
Easy to use and carry
Good design
Touch screen LCD (2.7” large LCD)
Ultimately quick start up
Good video quality of 1920x1080 resolution: Full HD quality
6.4M CMOS sensor
8GB of built-in memory and 1.5 hours of battery life
10x video/camera optical zoom

Cons:
A little heavier than its appearance
Takes time when changing modes (video -> camera -> Play)

Conclusion
I was quite impressed with the Samsung SC-HMX20C Full HD camcorder. The only thing I could enjoy the full HD quality screen was through watching TV channels proving HD broadcasts. However, I could record and playback the full HD contents that I made by myself from SC-HMX20C. I felt like I was a movie director ^.^ Even though the quality of video and still images in a low light environment are not as good as in a bright situation like outdoors, the quality was perfectly OK for me.
SC-HMX20C is easy to operate. 8GB of built-in memory which holds up to 71 minutes with the full HD quality (1920x1080i) is enough to take video for a day with the provided battery. If you need additional external SDHC card, you would definitely need another battery.
In general, I think that SC-HMX20C would be one of the best Full HD camcorders in the world so far.

Reviewed by Sean: http://goitworld.blogspot.com