SAMSUNG HMX-H106 Review

HMX-H106 series have equipped SSD (Solid-State Drive) for the first time in the world. It supports 1920x1080i Full HD based on 1/4.5 inch CMOS sensor. In addition, it has 180° rotating full angle grip and easy-to-use built-in software Intelli-studio. It is a home camcorder with various high-quality features. The models released in Korea are H106 (64GB), H105 (32GB), and H104 (16GB). It will have different capacities.

Full HD Camcorder H106 series

Last January, Samsung introduced a new H106 series at ‘2009 CES’ in Las Vegas. H-series, HMX-H106 in the front, is a compact camcorder with Full HD. H106, which is introduced now, has two noticeable features. It has up-and-coming SSD (Solid State Drive) memory and 180° rotating full angle grip. And its full angle grip is very unique, creating a sensation. The difference among H106, H105, and H104 is their different capacity- as big as 64GB, 32GB, and 16GB.  Other than that, the specifications are same; Full HD recording, 10x optical Schneider zoom lens, optical image stabilization, interval recording, etc. In this review, let’s find out about how H106 series is differentiating itself from other competing products.

※ This review is based upon HMX-H106 model, and samples and photos on this review are taken with H104. In addition, all the video samples are resized to smaller size, so its actual resolution is different from them.

16:9 Full HD quality

Normally, the resolution is divided into HD(High Definition)와 and SD(Standard Definition). If you take a closer look, under 800x600 is SD, from 960x720 to 2048x1080 is HD. Out of HD, over 1080 in vertical is Full HD. HMX-H106 series supports 16:9 Full HD recording. What’s important is that you can take in 1920x1080 resolution which fills 16:9 wide screen. It is different from HD camcorder that takes in 4:3 ratio 1440x1080 resolution, and enlarges it to 16:9 screen. Full HD quality has a recording type which is accurate enough not to show any distortion.

1/4.5 inch CMOS sensor

HMX-H106 has 2,200,000-pixel 1/4.5 inch CMOS sensor. The sensor is not that big. So I cannot say that it is relatively a strong aspect since the size of sensor can decide the photosensitivity. What’s noticeable in HMX-H106 sensor is not its size but its kind. It’s not a traditional CCD sensor. CMOS sensor shows low energy consumption and efficient charging. Besides, you can take a shot in direct face of light like sunlight or street light. Smear, appearing of lines, and Blooming around the light source rarely show up.

Interlace type of natural movement

Camcorder video is recorded in two scanning ways. One is Interlace and the other is Progressive type. Basically, it supports both of them. 1080/60i type for Full HD divides 20 frames/sec into odd and even fields. And through the interlace way, the output comes on one screen. Fields image in 60n frames are shown successively. It is similar to two toothed wheels  engage with each other and turn rapidly. While interlace type supports Full HD, HMX-H106 series’ progressive type is limited to HD quality. 720/60p shows 24-frame type of movies, and shows 24 frames continuously like film. These two scanning ways end up showing different results. Normally, interlace type is good for natural movement, and progressive type shows good image quality.

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