| Brand: | Samsung | ||
| Average Rating |
|
The SC-HMX10 high-definition camcorder packs a 10x optical zoom with 20x digital zoom and 1.5M-pixel CCD with an Electronic Image Stabilizer for remarkably clear pictures, viewed in the 2.7-inch touchscreen LCD display. It also features 8GB built-in flash memory which can be expanded via the SD/MMC high capacity slot. more info
Popularity: 1% [?]
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
GREAT
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I paid $380.00 back in july, the video quality is just great, i will say awesome, I know that a lot of us are looking for something exellent when talking about HD, for me the video quality that this camcorder offers is exellent when recorded in 720p the video looks awesome, the 8gb hard drive included with it lets u record 90 minutes of video in 720p HD I bought a 16gb SDHC card and it takes 180 minutes of 720p HD video, what else u need?, I dont know about u but I have a samsung lcd 52″ and when I play the video on it, it looks beautiful, you cant go wrong with this camera.
The software included works good and easy to use it, the only thing is that making HD DVDs is not that easy, but I bought several expensive softwares to make hd videos, and I learned that there is not a software for HD VIDEOS that works 100% great yet, so talking about the camera, Its awesome and is worth the money.. I hope this review helps someone..
best deal for hd camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I needed a great hd camcorder for my first baby. I hate buying badly built products (plenty of them out there) so I researched like crazy to buy the perfect one. The problem with hd camcorder is the size of video files. They look great in the camera, but it is a monster to edit and do any work with them. So I got this because it shoots 720P AND 480P.
480P is not high definition, but it is very close. 720P is good for action. There are hardly any camcorders that can do these two resolutions.
I am using Sony movie studio vegas and it works great with no issues at all. I do not like the program that comes with it. People say it works, but it is a free program. You get what you pay for.
Finally, the price. This used to be $900 when it first came out. Not anymore. If you want to blow $900 for the latest and the best hd camcorders, this is not the one. But for less than $400, this is a steal. I’m extremely happy with it. Most electronics will break one way or the other, so I feel that getting a good deal is more important than getting the best of the best.
perfect match of quality and price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
i used it on my trip to hawaii and it is gorgeous with all the functions- yet to pull out the videos and check them on HDTV, but i am sure it’ll look good.
pros: light weight, handy, swiveling palm-rest, double record buttons, lens shutter for additional protection from light and moisture etc., smooth cloth pouch with purse-strings to keep the camera, docking station with full functionality so that i don’t have to open the side-screen to find the AV/HDMI jacks, intuitive menu suitable for both novice and pro, with reasonable functionality which satisfies both crowds.
cons (my remedies in brackets): no infrared light sensor/emitter, less powerful LED headlight (no complaints, but would be nice to have them!), short lasting batteries (just bought 2 more with charger for 25 bucks from ebay – compare with single battery costing 45 bucks on amazon!), 8 gb internal memory (good enough for a few days, but i bought 16 gb hdsc from newegg for 25 bucks.. the camera supports upto 32 gb hdsc!), 10x zoom (good enough, but if you want get 2x zoom lens adapter – i actually got 0.4x wide angle adapter to cover the landscapes and to cover more people without going to far away), no lens filters (bought 30mm UV and polarizer lens for dirt cheap from ebay), no camera cover (bought one from amazon – i suggest buy a big one, so that you can fit the AV cables, chargers, additional battery etc)
all in all, i am very happy with this refurbished product and looking forward to its long lasting functionality!
unbiased review
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am very annoyed by all the negative reviews that are not the cameras fault but USER DEFAULT. That’s not to say the camera is perfect but it comes close esspecially for the price $397.00!
I want to clear up some of the problems other people were having based on them just not reading directions or their tvs, pcs etc. having issues.
First of all you have to have a HD tv with a HDMI cable. It does not come with the HDMI cable! They can be very expensive and but if you have HDTV you should already have one to be able to view your cable, sattelite or bluray in HD so rest assured.
Hooking up the video camera to the HDMI cable was so easy… you just unplug your HDMI cable from whatever it is in (cable box, dvd player) and plug it into the port, put it on the right input & turn on the camera! voila! very simple and easy.
Like someone else reviewed they are VERY specific on the specifications the computer has to have in order to run the software it comes with! And even if your computer meets those standards if it is bogged down with lots of programs, pictures, games etc. it is not going to work correctly!
This is pretty easy to get around though you can edit your videos on the camera and just hook up your camera and burn it to a dvd (which you should already have on your computer if you have a dvd burner) that way you dont have to have the software on your computer if it is slower or doesnt meet the standards.
I do not reccomend this camera for anyone who wants to record in low light situations! It is not terrrible but it is not good. As far as recording in dark situations I would rate it a 5 out of 10. But I do not plan on using it in the dark much if ever so this isnt a issue for me. I do plan on tweeking the settings more though to get it to look better in low light but it might also just be easier to turn a light!
Another complaint is the zoom and focus. It is only 10x zoom… This is fine for everyday use but if you plan on using this for concerts or anything far away this may annoy you. Also I hate how it sometimes takes a little bit to focus this might be something I can get in there and fix with the advance settings and you can always edit that scene out which I have already done directly on the camera.
Now with the complaints out of the way I want to rave about the camera!
First the Clarity! It is unreal and even my husband was shocked. I couldnt belive the detail it could focus in on on our daughters Elmo stuffed animal… You could see the details of the fuzz and stiching it was amazing! It was raining when I got the camera and I sat inside and opened up the door and focues in on the rain dropping and for a distance it was crystal clear! I am going to try and upload still pictures of this to share on this review later.
I love the touch screen it isnt the kind where you barley touch it you actually have to tap it which I like because a overly sensitive touch screen can be very annoying and cause problems.
The size is perfect… it’s very small but not annoyingly small. It comes with a soft pouch and it fits perfect in my purse and I look foward to being able to keep my digital & video camera in my purse when I leave the country in 2 months.
The swivel grip is a nice touch and we have already used it when taping our infant on the floor.
I reccomend this camera to anyone who has HD in their home and want something cheap & easy to use. It isnt anything professional and isnt perfect but it is very close and for $397.00 you cant beat that. I had the choice between this camera and a few other standard cameras for the same price… why not get the HD camera that is capable of standard recording and hd? It is also very trendy looking so for all you starbucks artsy people this will definitly impress your friends with it’s cool design and touch screen.
I think for the $397.00 price tag this is the best camera you could get. If you want to shell out $1000 for a HD camera then go for it but if you cant afford that and were already looking to just get a normal camera for under $500 then this is the camera for you. I also wanted to add there are 3 recording resolutions HD, Standard and below standard… Standard looks almost as good as HD & below standard looks pretty darn good too! the only diference is you get more recording time on the 8gb drive and like 5 minutes more battery time.
I do plan on getting a 8 or 16gb SD card but only because I am going to the Bahamas and I want to make sure I can take lots of HD videos of the beach
I think the average person can get away with the 8gb hard drive and a 2-4 gb card. It does come with a card that tells you how much time you will get out of the hard drive in all the modes & how much time you will get with a 2, 4, 8 & 16gb sd card which I think is nice they included that information.
I am sure I will update this review as I use the camera more and hopefully get a good still image of my HD recordings to share with all of you.
I was worried about buying this camera because of the mixed reviews but I went through and read all of them and when I saw most of them were user default I figured this was the best option for the price and boy was I right!!
~Oh one more thing I gave it 5 stars based on the price. If I had payed full price I would have given it a 4
I wish I never bought it.
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera because I thought the direct usb connection would save me time instead of having to play it back old school style, The compression used is some kind of modified outer space mp4 file.
“Oh mp4! I know mp4.”
No. You don’t know this one.
I don’t think anyone does.
So don’t expect any of your favorite editing programs to work with this unless you plan on importing it the old school analog way…
Which if you do, there goes all that quality high definition you paid for. There goes your good audio you paid for too.
So whats the point? I’m left with a 999 dollar analog camera. I’ve been waiting two years for “technology” to catch up with this mp4 file and it hasn’t happened.
All in all, I’ve been duped by Samsung.
Don’t let them fool you too.
PS. It does terrible in low light.
great family camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great little camcorder for family-type stuff. I was torn between getting a standard-definition camcorder or biting the bullet and go hi-def..I’m so glad I went hi-def. The picture difference is stunning, and the 720p resolution is more than adequate for large screen tv’s, although I am mostly watching on my PC. You will need a fairly newer computer and a newer video card or you will get a lot of stuttering and slow-motion video during playback. One drawback is the photos taken with this cam are barely OK. It is not a replacement for even a cheap camera.
For the price this is just a great toy for recording family activities and events. I didn’t want to spend more than $300, and I am very satisfied with the quality of this camera
Pros:
* 720P 60FPS resolution: videos look great and are smaller and easier to work with than 1080P resolution, you can store more files on the built-in card, takes up less hard drive or DVD space when you offload the files.
* very easy to operate
* competitive price
Cons:
* poor photos
* need a newer computer to view the footage smoothly
* indoor or low-light is grainy, but this is true for all consumer-level camcorders. Just turn on more lights if you can. Outdoor recording is fantastic.
* have to use genuine Samsung batteries, 3rd-party batteries will not work. Current price $50.00
* cannot charge battery outside of camera, makes it hard to keep spares charged up.
Figured out the format issue…
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
So, after hunting around for software that could play the video I finally found a good article posted on the net here:
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/2775.page
A poster says “Hey, some formats you can actually just change the file name to .mp2 and it’ll open up on any player.”
I thought he was joking, then I tried it and it actually works!
I couldn’t open it up in WMP or Premier CS3 before. The only thing that would open it was Zune software. Well, VLC player would open it, but it would be VERY slow.
But as long as the right codecs are installed, renaming the file to a .mp2 extension allows me to open it in both WMP and edit it in Premiere. Although Premiere still jerks around, I probably just have to render it (which looks like it’ll still take a long time btw). But, just playing back in WMP I can jump around like it is a regular video without any problems.
Hope this helps.
Great buy
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I wanted an HD video camcorder that wasn’t expensive and would be easy to carry. This unit delivered on both counts. You can get these for for under $[...] and the video looks great on my 50 inch Plasma.
Pluses:
*Internal storage (8GB): great for when you forget to bring an SD card
*MP4: high-capacity (16GB SD card good for over an hour at 720p).
*Simple operation
*Takes standard HDMI cable which makes HD playback a breeze. The included wireless remote is a great plus for viewing.
*Expect quality HD in daylight shooting
*The unit will fit into a coat pocket, purse, or belt pouch and you can take it anywhere.
Minuses:
*This unit is cursed with the same CODEC issues that beleaguer all HD camcorders. Simply put: if you want to edit the footage that you shoot or play it back on a computer you will probably have issues. The lawyers have tied up this process so that it is a mystery. One would think that the camcorder manufacture and the software companies would simply publish a list of which camcorders and editing packages are compatible: they don’t. Unless you are certain that a particular editing package works with the HMX10, then don’t buy it. The included software is problematic: it worked for a while an then broke for no discernible reason. An easy solution to playback on a Windows system (Media Player) is to install (free) COLE2K Codec Advanced 7.1 from http://www.download.com.
*Don’t expect great low-light performance
*Image stabilization is so-so
Conclusion: a solid, low-cost entry into HD movie making.
Nearly as Simple to Use as the Macintosh Playing Its Movies Now
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my very first camcorder. (Okay. I know: I’m culturally deprived.)
Right of the box, it’s amazingly simple to use, and for $250, my new Samsung SC-HMX10C (8GB flash drive) was simply irresistible when I bought it twenty minutes ago at Big Lots, just down the street, where the dozen allocated to that store evaporated in a matter of minutes.
After plugging in its external power supply, I quickly and easily shot a few snippets of video and a photo or few, then connected its USB cable to my old, slow (pre-Intel) Macintosh mini, whereupon a Samsung external drive icon popped onto my desktop. I dragged four videos and a handful of photos from the folders in the Samsung drive into a folder on my Macintosh. When I double-clicked a video, Apple’s Quicktime sprang to life, displayed the standard H.264 (MPEG-4.AVC) video from the camcorder perfectly (without any of the On-Screen Information that another reviewer misled me to fear would show up in the recorded video).
The SC-HMX10′s right-out-of-the-box simplicity is my focus here, because all that I’ve done is to pull it from its box, plug in its external power supply, switch it on, flip open its huge LCD screen, point it at my wary but curious cats, and press the big red button next to my thumb. When the cats stopped playing games, I simply wanted to see how quick and easy it would be to examine and edit the photos and movies on my Macintosh.
Quick and easy were the words that fit so well.
Twenty minutes out of the box, and everything’s looking good so far.
Then I tried two more ways to examine or edit the camcorder’s movies on my Macintosh:
1) I opened my old, original version of iMovie on my Macintosh, and dragged one of the video snippets onto its movie clip editing pallette; iMovie played it perfectly, without a hint of a hiccup, on the spot.
2) I plugged the camcorder’s S-Video Out cable to the input to my Macintosh’s EyeTV Tuner-Recorder, which records an MPEG-2 (DVD grade) video of the camcorder’s LCD screen output, while I rummaged among the Samsung camcorder’s LCD touch-screen menus and replayed on the camera the video snippets and photographs stashed in its internal flash drive. I like that the camcorder continues to display everything on its own LCD all the while it is transmitting that imagery on its video-out connection to a television or any other player/recording device.
Let me see now. I think there’s a User’s Guide and a CD in here somewhere . . .
I’ll wander back to share some more meaningful impressions, after I’ve explored the full range of features (and possible problems or peculiar limitations) of this seemingly wonderful video camera.
Stay tuned.
Perfect
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this before Christmas holiday. it was very useful.
This camcorder is very great quality, in spite of low price.
I couldn’t find out HD camcorder in this price.
This will make anybody satisfied.
Hurry up, or you cannot get low inventory.
Samsung HD Camcorer
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This camera was an excellent product for the price. The HD picture, touch screen ease, on camera editing, and built-in memory are all well worth the price. Figuring options out as you go (I’m not much of an instructions reader) was straightforward. Reviewing video either on the camera or on a HDTV was easy.
Warning: If you want to use your videos on a computer, the file type the videos save as (MP4) may not be compatible with Windows type players. You’ll need to purchase/download a video converter program to change the file type to something your Media Player can read, MPG for example. Once you convert the file, you can edit or view your videos, burn them to DVD’s, or post them on Facebook, etc. I used the Xilisoft Video Converter file.
Awesome picture quality. Best bang for buck.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’m another poster who purchased at Biglots for only $250. For this price, it has to be one of the best bang for buck video cams period!
720p HD video quality. Flash memory. Super small and light. What more can you ask for? Well, I wish it had a cold shoe,OIS instead of EIS.
If you buy this, it will literally take you 1minute or less to get the camera hooked up to your pc and transfer the video(video transfer takes longer depending on the length)to your pc. I did a short video of my pets outside our backyard. Watching the footage on my pc blew me away. then i edited and recorded to a standard dvd, watched it on a standard dvd player. Once again, I was blown away by the quality of the video.
Don’t be fooled by all the reviewers who claim their pc couldn’t play the mp4 format. Just download VLC player or mediaplayer classic(both free programs) and you’ll be watching your hd videos in no time. My advise is to have a core2duo pc or better with more than 1g of memory. Otherwise you may experience issues with playback and editing.
If you paid more than $500 for this cam, well, not the best bang for buck in your case. Under $300, definitely worth it. Get rid of your old mini-dv cam and join the future of consumer video camcorders.
Decent camera for the money but…
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
The camera takes excellent video in outside sunlight. I was very happy with a lot of the video I took. It did decent job when it was cloudy before a rain storm. But indoor florescent lighting must have turned on the auto gain because all the pictures were grainy.
The auto focus is horrible, the manual focus is too difficult to use.
I like the fact it has a standard definition mode and has S-video out.
It does have a mic in, but wish it had a headphone out.
Trying to navigate the touch screen while recording causes jumps in the video. Navigating the touch screen was not the greatest, but I could have lived with it.
The “out” ports were inside which I didn’t think was a good design.
The video format is MP4, make sure you have a PC that can handle this compression. MP2 would have been nicer video compression and less of a resource hog.
My *biggest* problem was that nine out of ten times I turned it on it would tell me my SDHC card wasn’t formated. I would turn it off and turn it back on and it was fine, I used two cards. If it didn’t give me that error the camera would just lock up, I would have to remove the battery to get it to work again.
Overall I liked the camera and would have put up with the other disappointing features if I didn’t have the format/lockup problems. I ended up returning it. I would recommend spending a little more money if you can.
Great HD camera for the money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Like a previous poster, I bought mine also at Big Lots for $250. For that price I am extremely satisfied. No wonder this made Oprah’s favorite list last year. It’s very easy to use (and I’ve used camcorders for over a decade starting with VHS-C), lots of features and the camera quality is wonderful outdoors. Indoors it’s only ok but for a flash recorder at this price, it’s very very good. Certainly better than other digital recorders at this pricepoint. Built in mic pickup is great and if you have external mics, it has a mini input for that too. Zoom is only 10x which is par for the course it seems for these compact recorders.
I would like to buy a spare battery for this at some point as the current one lasts barely an hour.
For people having issues with codecs on their PCs, make sure your PC can handle high definition. It’s a huge resource hog and your 3 year old PC may not be able to handle the playback. Try Media Player Classic after you’ve installed quicktime. It’s a svelte player that will hopefully maximize your frame rate. I have no issues playing the files back on my Opteron system as well as my Core 2 PCs. Even my Mac is able to handle playback and editing with no issues. Since I can’t rate 4.5 stars, I’ll give it a full 5 instead. If I had the money though, I’d go with the big brother which does 1080p and has a mouth-watering 300fps mode which is great for sports instruction as well as self improvement (see golf/tennis/swimming).
Very clear HD
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have had this camera for a few months, it is fairly easy to use. My only complaint is how difficult it is to transfer videos to the computer it should be an easy step but it is not. Apparently once you want to burn it you will need to burn it on a blue ray disc player so that it can be played on a blue ray player.
The picture quality is great for the price. I bought it for my wedding in June and we were pleased with the video. I just wish that it came with better software explaining how to transfer the video it is quite a task, and can be very frustrating!!!!!! It took our friend who is an engineer to be able to figure out how to transfer the video to the computer and burn a disc. That disc can only be played on a computer!
My husband seems to think that the technology that is available so far is not ready to support these high def cameras. We also feel that it could have a better spot light for when being used at night!
The editing software is horrible. I give the camera 4 stars the software get 1 star!