Review by AC: Camcorder Review: The Samsung SC-MX10 Flash HDD

The Associated Content reviewed Samsung SC-MX10.

Until now, all flash based camcorders have been created with a handgun or rectangular design. The Sanyo Xactis, A-HD models, DXG's, and similar camcorders all sport the unique 'gun' design where the user holds the camcorder upright in the same manner they would handle a gun. Others, such as the Creative Vado, Flip's camcorders, and the handful of RCA's all sport the square rectangular design that is awkward and unique.

The 'traditional' hand held camcorder that is popular on expensive hard drive camcorders hasn't been found up until now on any flash-based camcorders. The Samsung SC-MX10 camcorder is flash-based and sports a traditional shape that appeals to so many users. In addition, the hand wrap is placed on a unique swivel joint that gives the camcorder a more comfortable, portable camcorder.

The body itself is light and made of plastic - if you drop it, it will definitely break upon impact. On the positive side, the device is easy to hold and doesn't make an impact when around the neck or in a bag. It doesn't sport a viewfinder, but does have a foldout LCD display that is widescreen. The audio quality on this camcorder is very nice, far superior to the crappy audio found on the cheaper flash camcorders- it records in stereo, versus the mono that is found in the cheaper flash HDs .

The video, unfortunately, isn't as nice, as it only records in 480i, which is standard quality. It certainly doesn't look poor, it just isn't HD. The camcorder itself has some nice features, including a very high level of zoom. The optical zoom works very well and is available up to 34x, and the digital zoom is good for a crunch, though it does reduce the quality, as does all digital zoom. The digital zoom goes up to 1200x.

This camcorder has a CCD sensor, so the bounciness that is present in CMOS flash camcorders isn't found here. It features both auto and manual white balance and night mode, making day and night shots both optimized to the highest level. It also features auto focus and manual focus, making this camcorder truly user friendly.

To be continued...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/807315/camcorder_review_the_samsung_scmx10.html

Samsung's new YouTube-friendly camcorder: SC-MX20

Posted by David Carnoy Post a comment

The SC-MX20 will be available in August for $279.99.(Credit: Samsung)
Each month seems to bring a new YouTube-centric digital camcorder and July is no exception: Samsung has announced the SC-MX20, a $279.99 model that's the successor to the SC-MX10. It'll arrive in stores in August and come in blue, black, red, and white.

According to the news release, the camcorder has a 680,000-pixel CCD sensor that delivers a 720x480-pixel resolution that allows the SC-MX20 to capture video with "stunning color and clarity." That may be a slight exaggeration, but the new model does feature a Schneider lens with 34x optical zoom, a 2.7-inch LCD, advanced noise reduction (3-D Noise Reduction), Samsung's allegedly improved Advanced Image Stabilization, and Face Detection, "which can automatically detect up to five faces and adjust focus to ensure better composition." According to Samsung, the value priced SC-MX20 shares some features found in its higher-end SC-HMX20C, including its design.

What makes the SC-MX20 YouTube-friendly is a special Web and mobile-shooting mode that simply tells the camcorder to shoot video with YouTube-optimized video settings. According to the release, "By selecting the Web & Mobile mode, the camcorder's resolution is automatically adjusted to 640x480 (H.264 / AAC / MP4) and optimized for use on Web sites. Unlike other camcorders, users can easily import video from the SC-MX20 and play it on MP3 players and other portable multimedia players supporting H.264, without having to convert the files." Some CyberLink software is thrown ... Read more