Samsung F40 Ultra Zoom Camcorder (Black)

I want to preface this review with a comment. If you are expecting that this camera is going to put out High Definition quality videos and be amazing in low light situations, then you're looking at the wrong camera. In fact, MOST cameras will have difficulties in low light situations. The camera was not designed for HD, obviously, so that expectation should go out the window.

Overall, the camera is great. Purchased for $165 from Amazon's website at the end of March 2010. The camera has excellent zoom and picks up sound very well. The reason that the camera was purchased was to capture golf shots between friends. It's very lightweight and easily fits within the compartments of our golf carts/bags. It's still a bit big to fit into my pants to the point where I feel comfortable taking a golf shot. Don't get me wrong, it is still small and CAN fit into your pant pockets. I just don't like the feel of it when I take golf shots.

I had considered purchasing the Flip HD and Kodak zi8 (which I do have) and must say that though the form factors on the handheld camcorders is better from a size standpoint, you simply can't beat the benefits of this camera.

For those of you who are concerned about the battery life, let me assure you that the 4.5 hrs of battery life is definitely real. I tested it today since I was skeptical about it as well. This 'concern' came about because the battery indicator light is not designed well and appears to drain faster than it really does. At one point, there were zero bars on the indicator but the camera continued taking video for an additional 45 minutes.

Here's a compilation video of different clips taken under various conditions. We bought this camcorder when it went on sale at a nearby store. To summarize & confirm a couple of complaints:

~ it does have poor quality shots in low light shooting

~ photos are taken in 2M so they're not the best quality either

Things I liked about the camcorder:

* pretty good battery life

* awesome zoom capability

* microphone picks up sound very well

* lightweight, small, comfortable & easy to use

* love the "plug & play" into either a laptop or TV

Overall, for the price, this is a good basic starter camcorder.

Buy Samsung F40 Ultra Zoom Camcorder (Black) Now

I am very disappointed in the SAMSUNG F40 ULTRA ZOOM CAMCORDER. The A#1 killer is the picture quality. The SAMSUNG F40 ULTRA ZOOM CAMCORDER has 5 quality settings: TV Super Fine, TV Fine, TV Normal, Web Fine, and Web Normal. All of the TV settings give you an image with obviously interleaved scan lines. That results in a very ugly image with jagged lines when you move the camera. When I first saw this, I was incredulous. Maybe I'm just spoiled by my Sanyo camcorder that cost twice as much. When I selected the Web resolutions, the scan lines seemed to disappear or at least were minimized, but the image size and resolution diminished. I tried other settings but nothing helped. On this point alone, I have absolutely no use for the camera.

Some reviewers have suggested that the SAMSUNG F40 ULTRA ZOOM CAMCORDER would be ideal for a teenager's first camcorder. Even on this, I'm torn. On the one hand, it's inexpensive, lightweight, and quite easy to use (even my five year old figured out how to take movies). On the other hand, the image quality is awful. But it IS cheap. Well, a quick scan of competitors reveals that there are even less expensive camcorders (half the price!) that get good reviews AND do full HD.

I really wanted to like this little guy. It has a nice form facter, is very simple to use, and is incredibly light. It might be just right for a kid or someone with a very specific budget. But, at this point I can't even justify keeping it in my glove box in case I see Sasquatch being abducted by Jimmy Hoffa and flying away in a UFO. The picture quality from the SAMSUNG F40 ULTRA ZOOM CAMCORDER is just that bad.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung F40 Ultra Zoom Camcorder (Black) Here

Samsung F40 Camcorder

Camcorders have evolved a great deal since their initial popularity in the 1980s. I recall when VHS camcorders were the hottest thing and weighed about 10-15 lb, had a lousy NiCd battery, and had horrible standard definition quality. As the camcorder segment evolved, digital cameras and smartphones have adapted with better optics, longer battery lifespans, and larger storage capacities. Even webcams have achieved 2.1 MP resolution, while cellphones/smartphones can have as much as 5 MP.

The Samsung F40 isn't one of the latest and greatest camcorders available. There's no night vision, active image stabilization, long battery life, or high definition resolution. It's only 1.9 MP, has a 4 hour battery life (which is pitiful compared to digital cameras with smaller batteries), clumsy viewfinder, awkward controls, very poor image quality (in video and photo modes), and uses RCA composite jacks to hook up to a television. About the only saving grace for this camcorder is its Schneider Kreuznach 52X optical zoom lens set. I've used cheap spotting scopes that were advertised as 60X and anything greater than 8x with those scopes was a blurry mess. The Samsung F40 at 52X will pick up flies and rust stains on a fence about 100-200m away.

The optical quality is so good that I've been thinking about using the F40 as a spotting scope at the range. It can take still photographs and record video without switching modes, making it perfect to record groupings or 3-gun matches. There is zero to minimal chromatic aberrations at 52X zoom.

The biggest drawback is the low resolution and poor battery life. Since there are no moving parts besides the lens, it seems unusual to have only 4 hours of battery life when digital cameras like the Casio EX-H10 are rated for 1000 photos in the CIPA standard using a small Li-Ion battery.

The Samsung F40 uses SD/SDHC cards, and it requires about 1 GB for every 23 minutes of film time. A 8GB SDHC can hold 191 minutes of recording time or 6025 photos. The F40 does not come with a SDHC card and must be purchased separately! The SDHC card must be formatted via the F40 or else it throws a hissy fit.

The lens motor is very quiet and is barely audible during the recordings. There is a standard tripod threaded insert on the bottom. There is no lens cap, instead there is an old-school shutter like the ones from old 35mm point and shoot cameras. The instruction manual/guide is useless and doesn't explain the backlight and LCD enhancer features or the smart/auto setting. The lack of night vision is a big bummer along with the Standard Definition quality. HD quality with better resolution and 3rd generation night vision would have made the F40 a really awesome camcorder.

Pros: Relatively compact, about the size of a thick digital camera. German optics at 52x is crystal clear, take photographs or videos without switching modes, quiet lens motor, takes SDHC cards

Cons: Short battery life for a modern solid state camcorder (4 hours and change), requires opening the viewfinder to charge the battery (via USB or AC adapter), does not come with SDHC card, no night vision, no HD quality, poor resolution

Overall: 4/5 stars

UPDATE: Here's why I feel the 4 hour battery life is kind of low. This is a 1.9 MP standard definition camcorder. Most cellphones have cameras that would put the F40 to shame in terms of photo/video quality. The webcam on my netbook has about the same quality, and has a 10+ hour battery life. My Casio EX-H10 camera is rated for 1000+ photos on one charge, and has 12.1 MP with HD quality video capability (16:9 aspect ratio as well), and has 10x optical zoom with the ability to fit into my shirt pocket. The only real saving grace for the F40 and other similar camcorders is the optical zoom capability and quality. Unfortunately, the videos and photographs come out very grainy. Had they been able to mate the 52x optics with decent capture quality, it would have been much better. I can't wholeheartedly recommend the F40 especially when there are better digital cameras as the same price.

Want Samsung F40 Ultra Zoom Camcorder (Black) Discount?

To begin at the beginning, as Dylan Thomas would say, the FX40 is an (approximately) $200 camcorder, not a $3,$4,$500, etc. one. So, everything that follows is based on that. AND for an inexpensive camcorder it IS very impressive indeed. The picture/sound quality is excellent in an every-day use sort of way (which is to say, if you're planning on making that epic drama that's gonna make us all for "There Will Be Blood", get a more expensive piece of equipment) and the zoom (variously rated at 62x or 65x) is impressive for someone who lives on the Space Coast and is taking pix of the last few shuttle flights. That having been said, there are a few nits to pick that, frankly, are just annoying and unnecessary. Yes, it's true that the box says it's a flash memory camcorder. What it doesn't say is that it's ONLY a flash memory camcorder and has NO built-in memory, AND Samsung doesn't include a memory card! So, you can't use the thing without a trip to (at least) the drugstore. Considering how inexpensive memory cards have gotten, it wouldn't hurt for Samsung to include, at least, a basic one, but they don't, so you might want to include one in your order. Second, and really nit-picky but annoying, there is no information in the printed "Quick-start" guide on the simple fact of HOW LONG YOU CHARGE THE BATTERY before first use! (It may/may not be on the instructional CD. I haven't gotten there yet... but, really, that's kinda basic!) (oh... by the way.. a call to Samsung customer service provided the info. 1hr/58 mins. Why not just 2 hrs? Quien sabe... that's Kemo's brother). Anyway... To sum up: It's not the top of the line, but for a mid-line camcorder, it's pretty darn impressive.