| Brand: | Samsung | ||
| Average Rating |
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records video to optional SD/SDHC memory cards or optional MMCplus memory cards * an optional 8GB memory card holds approximately 3 to 7 hours of footage, depending on the settings * 680,000-pixel CCD image sensor (460K effective pixels for video) * 34X optical zoom lens (1200X digital zoom) * built-in stereo microphone * 2-11/16 widescreen LCD * digital image stabilization * Web & Mobile mode for web-friendly video recording with easy uploading to YouTube * swiveling hand grip pivots up to 180 degrees for comfortable shooting from any angle * high-speed USB port * more info
Popularity: 5% [?]
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Very Easy to use
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
We had our first opportunity to use the camcorder a couple weeks ago, and I am not a manual reader, I like to try it and see it work. The set up and labeling are quite clear, and I was albe to use it without any trouble. I found the transfer from the camcorder to my laptop to be an easy experience as well. I will be reading over some part of the manual eventually, to see the more technical aspects. But if you are looking for something to take out of the box and use with ease, this is definately a good one for you.
Great-looking camera. Terrible computer connectivity/useability, flaws.
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
When I first received my Samsung SC-MX20, I was really looking forward to the ease of use promised, but immediately ran into many problems. Right away, this is the first USB device I have ever seen that OSX cannot recognize. So I have to boot into my Windows partition on my Mac in order to transfer the video over. Then there is the well-documented problem of the 16:9 aspect ratio flag not being set, which no firmware updates are yet available to fix. All your imported movies will be squished to 4:3, even if you recorded them in 16:9.
And one that is completely inexcusable, right on the front of the camera it is printed that the lens takes 30.5mm filter attachments. This is simply incorrect. I bought some 30.5mm filters and they did not fit, then I found out it actually uses 30mm filters. I bought 30mm and they fit perfect. How can a company completely miss something like that in their development phase?
And one of the things that could be overlooked if none of these other problems existed: the battery door is simply too flimsy. With the way you have to hold the camera, your thumb constantly slides the door open because it doesn’t latch very tight. They should have made it open towards the side instead of straight back, or at least provided an option for it to screw down tight.
Love this camera since I’ve figured out the fix
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I purchased this camera after having read the review here and in many other places. I had the highest hopes, only to be frustrated.
To be clear, the camera is really slick to use. The adjustable hand grip is awesome. The menu options are clear and easy to understand. The screen is clear and bright. And the battery life is outstanding!
The issue is with the finished videos on a Windows computer. When recording in widescreen format, the camera does not “tell” the computer that the videos are widescreen and they will look squashed and stretched. Also, the videos in widescreen are “interlaced” which causes some distortion when viewed on a computer.
The editing software that comes with the camera is flashy looking, but proved to be impractical. When I tried to made a small adjustment to a two minute video, it took almost 17 HOURS for it to save the changes.
I found this fix: samsungscmx20 blogspot com (Amazon won’t let me post the full URL, sorry.)
It converts the videos to be used with Windows Movie Maker, but it also fixes the widescreen issue and allows you to de-interlace them if you want.
The finished videos are really great! Samsung got this one “almost” right. For the money it is an excellent buy, and with the fix the finished videos are great.
Big disappointment
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Extremely light and easy to use. Very plasticky with a kind of a cheap feel. Cool colors that attract comments. Picture is very substandard compared to both a point-and-shoot camera and cameras costing $100 more. Colors are blah, picture contrast is low, artifacts and noise galore. Impossible to prevent shake. My kids loved using it and didn’t seem to care about the picture quality issues. As a result I gave it 2 stars since they would have loved to keep it as I packed it back up for a refund…
Very pleased
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I used my new MX20 for the first time on a week’s vacation. Quite surprised at both the ease of use and the excellent results without using any of the buttons other than ON and Record. Mine has the 16MB internal memory. Even tho I used the camera extensively during the entire week, I never ran out of storage space and only had to top up the battery in the evening. When I reviewed the video results for the first time back home I was amazed at what I consider excellent quality. And by the way, much of my filming was on a small whale watching boat, quite unsteady, yet without my invoking the steaying feature, the video results were very fine. I was surprised.
My only critique has to do with the manual, particularly with transfer to PC instructions. The manual confuses transfer with copy, using the terms interchangebly. It also appears to be writing about single images, rather than video files. Finally, rather than try to further understand the ambiguity I just used the camera as a storage unit, first just copying the video files to PC, and after testing results, then deleating from camera. Another detail, instructions say the results can only be viewed with included S/W, CyberLink Mediashow. No. Not true. Don’t sweat it. It is important, however, to turn on the camera prior to plugging into the USB of computer.
I am really very happy with the SC-MX20. That’s all I can say.
SC-MX20, DEAD AFTER SIX USES, ANALOGOUS TO EXTORTION TO FIX
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I purchased a Samsung SC-MX20 Camcorder in October 2008. I used it about 6 times. I never dropped or mishandled it in any way. The camera stopped working completely after the “low battery” message appeared. HERE’S THE KICKER. It’s still in PARTS warranty, but I have to pre-pay Samsung for labor, and then pay to ship the camera back to them. I was so irate I told Samsung I’d call them back. SO DON’T BUY A SAMSUNG, you’ll end up paying through the nose if anything goes wrong. WHAT A RACKET!
Just OK…
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This digital camcorder is pretty nice. But, I got it at the same time I picked up another camcorder from Sanyo and I have to say I like the Sanyo better. The pros on this camcorder is it is a pretty small form factor (not small enough to fit into my pocket like the Sanyo though), it uses a rechargeable battery and it’s records on a standard media. But, it doesn’t take still pictures and the camera looks and feels kind of cheap. I do like the fact that there is a lens cover though. And the three hour battery life is nice, although that may be one of the reasons the camera is a little larger than some others. That, and the lens. It does have a more traditional video camera feel in you hand as you put your fingers through the strap and wrap them around the top of the camera just like you did with your 8mm camera back in the day. It comes with software that makes it easy to upload videos to YouTube, which is a bonus for the technophobe.
Overall, this isn’t a bad camcorder. I just think there are better ones out there for the money. It could be a little easier to carry around and the quality of the body could be nicer. Also, since it doesn’t take still pictures, it’s not going to replace the digital camera you already have. I think most of us still take a lot more stills than shoot video and it’d be nice to not have to carry two devices to do that.
I’m a sucker, but I really like the camera…..
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I pretty much agree with a great deal of what has been said. Having previously owned a SC-MX10, and loved it, all things considered, I bit the bullet and bought a refurbished MX-20.
Overall, I must say that the camera is really nice, and the feature set, especially given the price point, is excellent.
On the other hand, I was friggin’ furious with the 16:9 issue, which others have addressed. Samsung owes everyone a firmware upgrade. We should not have to jump through hoops to correct their oversights.
[...]It works great, it’s free, and you can easily set the aspect ratio to 16:9 before converting. One note: the bitrate adjuster on the FREE version goes up to 9000 kbps, which is actually higher than the camera itself records at. If you want to go higher, either for this camera or for other purposes, the software is[...]for a lifetime license. I’m going to go ahead and get it.
Samsung makes flawless LCD TV’s. They are getting closer to that on their camcorders.
Better Than I Expected
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m quite satisfied with this camcorder as it successfully performs the task that I most wanted it to be able to accomplish. I wanted to be able to post videos to YouTube for my students and I can now do that with no difficulty whatsoever. I tried to use webcams for this in the past but the quality was low and the lag time between the audio and video made it difficult for my Non-English speaking students to follow my speech. H.264 capability eliminates this problem as as long as the subject is sufficiently well illuminated, thus keeping the frame rate from throttling down, it performs the task at hand quite well. I have at this point only used the product for the aforementioned purposes, i.e. shooting a largely stationary subject indoors with well controlled lighting, so I can’t speak to any usages beyond these circumstances as yet. There is a small problem in terms of the unit’s inability to recognize that it’s shooting in 16:9 wideangle mode, but there are fixes available on the internet if you’ll just Google the products name. You have to convert h.264 to AVI in order to edit it as well, but again there are converters available if you’ll just look for them on the internet. There is also an excellent users blog on this product if you’ll just Google it. It’s not a perfect camcorder for every situation, but if your looking for a reasonably priced unit to make YouTube posts this is a good choice.
The software included is pretty good
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ve had this camera for just over a week, and when I ordered it I was afraid I’d have trouble getting the video into usable formats, as well as a little concerned about the widescreen comments on here. I just wanted to add into everyone’s consideration the fact that the Cyberlink MediaShow software (included with the camera) does a very good job with both of these. You can organize and edit your video very easily, as well as “produce” the videos into smaller sizes (and convert to WMV format in the process, if you like), and when it views/saves videos it puts them in widescreen if you have it set that way. Windows 7 RC doesn’t put them that way when you download the video from the camera, but MediaShow does. I was expecting trouble with all the negative comments on here, but I have to say it’s been much better than I thought it would be.
The only reason I say 4 stars is that the camera is pretty plastic-y feeling in your hand (compared to my coworker’s more expensive Canon) and loses focus pretty often in anything but good lighting (even when the object fills the screen). For the price though, these things are not very surprising.
SAMSUNG Flash Memory Camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a Great little camera.Short learning curve. (Only took a couple pics of my feet!)Easy to handle.. Great clarity! I highly recomend it especialy for A first time “Flash Memory” user. Uses a lot of battery in play back mode but this is easily overcome by plugging in to the furnished adapter/charger.
Samsung SC-MX20 Flash Memory Camcorder w/34x Optical Zoom (Black)
lighting?
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
i dont see where there is a light on the camcoder or any mention about any option for one. i will like to know more about this that is the only thing that is holding me bak from getting this camcoder.
thanks, kiko
Cool features, slight flaws
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I make videos on youtube. So when my digital camera crapped out on me, I thought I’d upgrade to an actual camcorder. But with only $200 saved up, a high end one was out of the picture.
The Samsung SC-MX20 was right up my alley. Good price, nice quality, cool features. Overall, this camera is great. Just thought I’d point out a few things.
1. If you are used to really good cameras, you’ll be disappointed with this. It’s great for amateur work and quick vids, but for high quality video making, this isn’t for you. Movement is sometimes quite pixelated.
2. Zoom. Wow. I love it. Can see farther than I can. But for far zoom, I’d recommend a tripod. You know how shaky it can be if you hold it…
3. Nice sound quality. With my old camera, one of my big problems was the “bubble mic”. It would pick up not only my voice, but the AC, Computer, ice cream truck outside, etc. Now, it’s much more focused in on the subject matter.
4. Swivel grip and lcd screen are very flexible and versatile. great for odd angles.
5. The Schnieder Lens is very clean, but again, pixelation problems. This might be fixed with the sports setting. I haven’t tried it yet. And I dig the manual lens cover switch.
6. I was hoping for still photos. No such luck. The closest is interval shooting, and that is pretty nifty…
So overall, it’s a 4 star. What I was looking for (mostly) and in price range. Get it. Unless you’re super picky.
Great HD camcorder for the money
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m not a spontaneous buyer of anything, so before I bought a camcorder I wanted the best deal. This is a great camcorder! I love the way it stores onto a SD card (I bought x2 4G cards) and I always keep the setting on high – never had a problem of running out of memory – same card at the beach, mountain trip, etc.
Pros:
-I also like the size (a coke can) and keep it in my pocket sometimes. I wish it were a little smaller.
-I love the interval setting which lets you set up your camera (plugged in) pointing towards the sky and take cloud and sunset video which played back looked professional as the clouds wiz by and the sun drops fast into the horizon.
-Fast start up
-great optical zoom
-good image stabilization
Cons:
-Zoom at max needs a tripod
-too big to carry in pocket for long periods of time
Enjoy! P.S. I really wanted to buy the Samsung step-up from this model but for $500+ I hesitated. I am pleased with this purchase – and great price on Amazon.
Good enough for the price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a good primary camcorder. I think at this price range you can’t expect much. The video quality is good outside with enough light. However, inside room, it gets really noisy.
Also, you need to change the flag of 16:9 recording so that softwares can identify it as 16:9. I will recommend this for posting web videos, but maybe watching on large screen tv won’t be a good experience.