I’m thinking it’s about time I write a column without getting on a soapbox. No ranting. I promise. Just plain, straightforward, honest, true-blue journalism.
Let’s just talk about my new baby.
Samsung SC-HMX20/XAAC
She’s a Samsung SC-HMX20C/XAA camcorder. Records FULL 1920 x 1080 at either 60i or 30p on its own internal 8GB of memory or on a push in SDHC Flash Card. This is not 1440x1080 HDV, this is the real thing. OK, the VBR compression is high but the result is terrific. Oh, I forgot, she also shoots slo-mo at 300fps; however the image size drops to a miserable 448x336. Perfect for golfers but not for PLUs (people like us).
You can buy 8GB Transcend SDHC cards at 30 bucks each at NewEgg here. That will give you 71 minutes of true HD recording — actually 142 minutes if you use the built-in memory as well. Compare $30 for a 8GB SD card with the cost of a SXS Sony 8GB EX1 card @ $487 here. That’s $30 vs. $487! Unreal.
Dear techie freaks, the link to all of the groovy Samsung data is here.
Here are stills from my Sony HVR-V1U vs. Samsung SC-HMX20C shoot out. The Sony V1U is roughly $4,500, weighing in at 4 lbs — the new Samsung is $850, weighing in at 1 lb.
Now spot the difference! Hmmm. Samsung is cheaper and lighter. Sony wins on picture detail but not by much. You can download 105 MB of 1920x1080 ProRes QuickTime files here.
But that name SC-HMX20C/XAA! Poor dear. Whatever happened to real names like Tahoe, Ranger, Impala, Edsel? Did the car manufacturers steal them all? (Not a rant. Just a passing comment.)
How would you like to be called, SC-HMX20C/XAA? I guess “SC” would do for short. But wait, Samsung have a SC-HMX10. So we can’t call you just plain “SC”. Maybe, “SC 20.”
“Good morning SC 20. Nice to meet you.”
“I am not a number - I am a free cam!”
“I agree. You are not a number. I name you SUSIE. My Little Black-Eyed Susie.”
“Free! Free! Free at last! Be seeing you.”
“Come back Susie, you’re not that free. But I’ve got to say I’m glad that you’re here. I’ve always had a small, cheap camera to throw around. In my days of film, it was a Bell and Howell Autoload.
Bell and Howell Autoload 16mm camera
The Autoload takes 50ft pre-loaded 16mm film cartridges. Mount it on a helmet for chase sequences and parachute jumps. Put it on conveyor belts with an assistant ready to catch it at the other end. Leave it in the middle of The Avenue of Americas and cars drive right over the top of it. Despite all the adventures, my 16mm Autoload never got hurt.” “
Wow! Am I going to have fun with you!”
Casio EX-F1 still camera/camcorder
“Hope so, Susie. I was interested in the Casio EX-F1. But it’s really a still camera that does movies. Then I discovered you with the same Sony IMX017CQE CMOS chip inside, but a real movie camera.”
“I know the Casio EX-F1, my cousin, sort of.”
“Susie, here’s the plot: we’re sending you up in a helicopter tomorrow.”
“Noooooo! Perhaps we could start with a conveyor belt shot.”
“Conveyor belts?! No such luck. The local San Rafael quarry isn’t talking to me since I let NBC News use my quarry explosion shots.”
San Rafael Rock Quarry hillside blast.
We are alone. I’ve left Susie in the edit suite, she can’t hear me. First her good points. Her movies look almost as good as my Sony HVR-V1U. Stunning. I was blown away. Better pictures than the overrated Canon HV20 (eBay for you my girl).
I did a three-camera shoot off here. At first glance Sony and Susie are equal — if you look really hard, the Sony V1 is a tad sharper but that could be just a sharpness setting. To the average viewer they look the same — the big difference is Susie’s zoom is nowhere near wide enough.
Susie with an aspheric RedEye wide angle. She’s cozy on a REDpod.
Susie needs a wide angle lens attachment for run and gun shooting. With the help of a 49mm to 62mm ring, I’ve added a RedEye aspheric. It’s a trade off between picture quality and getting a usable wide angle. On many shots, wide is better than pin sharp.
The viewfinder is bright. In low light Susie outperforms the Sony V1. Flipping from 60i to 30p gives an extra boost to low light performance.
Switching from 60i to 30p is simple. Changing the shutter speed is a pushover. There’s manual exposure and focusing. Mike audio in is a mini jack with no level control.
If you’re as confused as I am about how Susie’s 1/1.8” sensor compares with Canon’s HV20’s 1/2.7” or a 1/2” sensor, try reading this. I could be wrong, but it seems Susie’s sensor is bigger than 1/2”.
Now the bad.
First off, the REALLY bad. When I transfer the files from the card or her internal memory to my MacPro disc drive, QuickTime can’t read them. I emailed Samsung USA and they know nothing.
A passing good Samaritan, Mei Lai Wah, saw my video on Vimeo and posted:
By installing the avc1Decoder QuickTime component by MyCometG3, available free on Apple's download page, I can view 1080 60i clips from the Casio EX-F1 on a MacBook Pro.
I found MyCometG3 using Version Tracker and installed it. Bingo. How I love instant success. I could actually see the files in QuickTime. Whoo hoo! I can even import into FCP at a full 1920 x 1080. But editing ain’t easy. Susie’s timeline in FCP hates any other format. Perhaps I’m doing something wrong.
I’m lucky, I have a nanoConnect box and a BlackMagic HD-SDI card. I feed HDMI from Susie into the nanoConnect — then to the BM card. I can import right into FCP. It’s a real time transfer but it works and I get a normal ProRes timeline.
The camera is well designed but the docking cradle for HDMI out and power in╔ sucks.
HDMI comes out from a docking cradle. Whoever designed this gismo should go back to college and wear a DUNCE cap for a week. The camera sits at a crazy angle and the unit only works on mains power.
The manual comes on a CD. I had to print out 133 pages and get them bound at Kinkos. Shame on you Samsung, $850 bucks and you can’t print a $5 manual? And it’s not very good manual either. Says that a shutter speed of 1/30 will make the action appear slower. Huh? Will 1/250 make it go faster?
Here’s another classic from the manual, copied and pasted for your enjoyment: Face Detect might be displayed even if the subject to be recorded is a person like although its not a person.
Come on, Samsung. Hire a good technical writer who can speak and write in English.
Susie loves to ride on my Jeep. Today she wanted the Raynox DCR-FE180PRO lens.
All cameras have their good and bad features. Love the good and forgive the bad ones. Susie’s REALLY GOOD feature is her weight. She weighs just 1 lb.
You don’t want to put a heavy camera on an auto suction mount nor at the end of a 20ft. polecam. As for flying your new Sony EX1 up in a model helicopter — forget it. Susie to the rescue. She’ll go anywhere. Yes, today it’s the helicopter ride.
“Noooooo!”
“Susie, you’ll love it. I promise you.”
Last minute check out from Mars. Hang on tight, Susie!
Mars, who designed and built the 'copter, is mounting Susie onto a lightweight aluminum plate. The neat thing is that Susie’s video output goes to a tiny transmitter so that Oscar, who is controlling the camera mount’s pan and tilt servos, can see exactly what Susie is shooting.
I switch her on — press the record button — and she starts instantly (so unlike my Sony V1). We’re good for 71 minutes of record time at 1080i. I run back to my Sony on a monopod, ready to shoot the takeoff.
The moment of truth. Susie takes off for the first time. “Wheeee! Geronimo!”
Mars spins up the electrically powered rotor blades — choof, choof, choof, and then, sheer magic — Susie takes flight. The video coming from the air is great and vibration free. Amazing! Better and cheaper than shooting from a real 'copter.
Oscar, Mars and I are excited. We are shooting an HD movie from the air and what we’re seeing is silky smooth. Good girl Susie. We love you madly.
Oscar controlling the camera, me (white shirt) shooting the flight, Mars piloting the chopper.
Susie is my third video camera. I wouldn’t use her as my prime camera, but for shoots that need an HD camera weighing almost nothing, she’s perfect. Now to fire her out of a cannon.
“Nooooo! I love the chopper but please not the cannon!”
Stefan Sargent has a production company in San Francisco. He has made a zillion TV commercials, pop videos and corporate films. Stefan's docs have been screened on the BBC, the Discovery Channel and somewhere else. You can find Stefan's Web site here.
