Samsung HMX-W300RN Rugged Full HD 1080p Pocket Camcorder (Red)

Ok, so I don't know why there are negative reviews on this item,, I have purchased and extensively tested like 5 different cameras in this class over the past few years and I am very impressed with this camera.

I have been using a Flip Mino for personal use as well as work related video that I use with After Effects so that may tell you my stringent requirements.

This camera has video stabilization, the Mino doesn't.

This camera has replaceable sd card storage, the Mino has 8gb built in. The advantage to the W300 is that you can take it on vacation and you can bring extra storage without bringing a laptop to dump your footage onto.

Most waterproof cameras are actually designed for still pictures under water so the sound quality is muffled by the membrane that protects the camera.

The W300 has excellent sound pickup as good as the Mino! Most waterproof cameras are really just rated about 3-5 feet submersible. The W300 is rated for 16Ft so you can take it into the deep end. Shock proof and dustproof make it an excellent choice for river rafting or trips to the beach.

I wish I had this camera when we went to Disneyland last summer and my Mino was almost ruined on Splash Mountian. it was out of service until it dried out.

last but not least is image quality. Mino is 720p W300 is full HD 1080P side by side video in a dimly lit room showed grain artifacts in the Flip Mino but not the W300 contrast is much better in the W300.

The Mino cannot take still images. The W300 takes Excellent 5mp photos even in a dim room and the focus is automatic and the camera will wait to snap until the image is optimum.

Now the bad

Well, if i have to complain about anything,, it doesn't come with a HDMI output cable, but there is a micro usb port to plug one into. But I never used the HDMI on any camera.

I like this product quite a bit so far. It has some very nice pictures and video (the 2 pic of the baby are mine). The 4 stars is because it takes a long time to micro focus (once it gets there it's beautiful), and sometimes just focusing at all is a little hard, but most of the time it's pretty good. I have not taken this to any sports or anything, just filming my kids running around has worked great. In the photo mode, I wish I could force it to take the picture, even when it's not ready and get some good depth of field. The underwater video and pictures turn out really nice. Picture color and quality is good, but I tend to like the color in my pictures to be a little more saturated and have more contrast and this has a really nice feel in the photo. The camera is very easy to use (menu and everything) and the battery life is pretty good. It does take a little time to charge and I'm not sure if a larger card would ware the battery out faster or not... mine is a 2 gig card I got out of my phone (I get about 17 min. full HD 1080 on this 2G card I have and a lot of pictures). The sound is really great. It rarely has the loud noises that underwater cameras have and it doesn't have any issues above the water. Oh, the color is more yellow/orange rather than this reddish orange the picture shows.

Overall I am very happy with the camera/camcorder.

From what I could tell, the differences from the W200 and W300 are... Camera color, 5 Meters waterproof depth instead of 3, Slightly different circle around the lense (product design) but I am trying to get a wide angle to add to it and wanted the complete circle around the lense.

Ok, hope this review helps. :) Hapyy picturing!!

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I wanted to like this camera. I liked the user interface -all buttons, and easy to remember which button does what. Good quality stills and video in the daylight and underwater. Good sound. Some minor issues include taking too long to focus, the zoom is digital and unusable, it's hard to get the microSD out of the recessed slot, and you need a USB extension cord because the USB plug is too short.

I went snorkeling with it once, and flooded it. I'll accept that it's my fault, but for my uses the unit is too fragile. I don't know whether I dove too deep for its 16-foot limit or the accidental opening of one of its two doors totally flooded it, but salt water instantly killed the W300 the first time out. (I have a full explanation of what happened on YouTube, so search YouTube for "philip samsung W300" and you'll find a longer video with samples of the stills and video.) It works well during the day, not so well at night.

If you are going to use it in an environment where it's subject to weather and splashing, it's an acceptable unit. But if you're taking into the pool or ocean where it's subject to being knocked around, the latches on the two doors are not sufficiently robust to keep the doors water tight.

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please be aware that this camcorder has at max 20 minutes of record time at a single session, after 20 minutes it will stop recording.

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The video works fantastic when holding very steady or on a tripod. We use it alot for recording kids piano recital for example. The mic works really well with great sound pickup. Auto Focus and auto exposure quality is excellent as well as HD playback quality. Very impressed and love how easy it is to carry around for these moments. The problem is when your recording kids running around for example. Unless you pan VERY smoothly or make slow calculated movements (when standing in one spot) you will get a fairly obnoxious "jello effect". It's really noticeable when recording while walking as an example. The video is still clear but it looks like your watching it whilst it's embedded in a bowl of jello it just is really wiggly looking. We took it on our ATV for a real bumpy ride... again, great video quality and is best if you hold it steady and just use your body as a turret. Image Stabilization compensates well but beware of my so called "jello effect". Here's the clincher (and a big one IMHO)... I would NOT recommend taking this underwater. The 2 door latches especially the Micro SD / HDMI door latch can pop open with ease by inadvertently brushing against it. True underwater filming devices and camera housings often have a dual latch system to prevent this occurrence. Trust me, again IMHO, if you take this underwater (my initial intentions were to use this on a snorkeling trip) there's was a great likelihood that when fumbling around underwater this latch might pop open. You might get lucky but if subjected to much underwater use it will happen I am not going to risk it. Say goodbye to your new toy if that latch pops open under water especially salt water. You might be able to pull it off in a controlled environment such as a bathtub or swimming pool, a few times, but I can still see it happening. I did take some pictures with it as well and will give that a thumbs up too. Better than iPhone quality IMHO but some may argue that. For me a pocket video cam was the ticket and I decided to keep this puppy because it takes great vids and records sounds well. Just beware of it's limitations. My $.02 cents worth. Thanks