I just purchased this camera a few days back from Target and couldn't be happier. I did almost a straight month of research on deciding what camcorder to buy. Reviews after reviews make me unsure what to buy. I started with a decision to purchase the Canon FS100. Well a week later the new model FS200 came out and was $70 more. No thanks.Then I found information on this camcorder. It actually won an award for best entry level camcorder. Got to be good I thought. I researched Samsung camcorders from my ultimate source of camcorderinfo.com. They rated the standard definition SC-MX20 very well in comparison to camcorders much more expensive. Therefore I took the plunge.
I have used the camera for a few days now and ran through a battery of tests. First off in regular daylight or inside light the picture is phenomenal for this camcorder. Shots are crisp and clear and the autofocus is quick. Zoom is great as well; great pace to keep focus and the intelli-zoom works well too.
As for the anti-shake function, this works pretty well until you hit 8x or more zoom, then it's tough to keep it really steady. Overall the F34 was pretty good for a digital (non-optical) anti-shake.
Now on to the low light, the dreaded measure of most camcorders. I can tell you that of all the reviews I have read there is no camcorder under $600 that performs really well in low light. This is the nature of low end camcorders. Who is gonna spend most of their time recording at night anyways!!! For this the low light was ok. I went out side at night with just the motion light on and I could see what was illuminated. I turned up the exposure manually and it was even better. Not too bad for a $250 camcorder.
Overall I am very impressed with this camcorder. How can you pass up a Samsung brand item that performs well with 16GB built in and a 3 hour battery for $250? It's a steal compared to JVC and Canon. I would highly recommend.
Well, I had a video review ready but it simply won't upload so I had to shorten it substantially. Also, I'm new to video reviews so be kind. To be perfectly fair, I wanted to mention the following (and somewhat obvious)...
1. Took out of box, charged and recorded hand held while walking in neighborhood park with mowing taking place in background. Unfortunately, the video goes fuzzy and there is a lag time when moving about quickly. In fact, it becomes downright blurry although it's not as obvious when you are actually holding the camera. Upon playback the fuzziness becomes more obvious.
2. Handled sound very well. The park was actually pretty loud but this buffered the background noise and picked up only the sound of our voices. Surprisingly decent.
3. Color saturation fair but not stellar. Again, I made zero adjustments only the straight out of the box settings. Accurate but not great.
4. Ergonomic and convenient size. Buttons easy enough to locate. Light weight, easy to hold. Strap is non-slip.
5. Software installation simple enough but had to change format 3 times before would upload to website. Is a lot slower than anticipated took 6 minutes to do 'save as' for a 2 min clip. I'm fairly underwhelmed by the included software. It has some cute little navigation etc but the Adobe and even the Microsoft "movie-maker" were a lot faster.
6. I would have uploaded a second video clip where I was standing still but Amazon only allows one so I deliberately selected the WORSt one to show the deficiencies. When I buy an item I want to know the limits of what I can do with it...when standing still, this item does much better. When moving/walking the lag time and shake (especially on zoom) becomes very obvious and exaggerated. Standing still, the picture is still a bit grainy and color saturation (out of the box settings) isn't great but quite sufficient for a general all-purpose inexpensive camcorder.
7. Comes packed with everything needed to get started takes an optional card but not required.
Bottom line this is a fun, entry level camcorder with suprisingly good sound. Not great for those planning a lot of movement as the lag time and blur gets pretty bad. Much better when standing still to record the action. Color saturation on factory settings is okay/acceptable but wont knock your socks off. Easy to use albeit a bit slow on the coversion with the supplied software. Everything you need to get started is in the box, battery recharge is fast. At this price, a solid buy.
Buy Samsung SMX-F34 Flash Memory Camcorder w/16GB Memory & 42x Intelli-Zoom (Black) Now
Please note that this camera does not shoot in HIGH DEFINITION.The idea of migrating the storage of camcorder shots to an internal memory was very appealing with this camera. It stores up 16GB and there is a slot to add an SD card. Hence, there is no extra cost in buying an SD card, which is not the case for all camcorders in the same price range.
What we liked about the camcorder
very light, very easy to hold and shoot.
has a built in lense cap, which is terrific and mades the whole design have a much cleaner finish. Also, when you switch the camcorder on, it will tell you when you have not opened the lense cap!
built in 16GB of ram and a slot to add an SD card
a visible botton on the outside that allows you to choose between using the a) camcorder b) camera c) watch the movies stored
the menu is very user friendly and some of the options we liked include:
i) grids to help you frame your shot
ii) focus that allows for auto focusing, face recognition or manual focusing
iii) simpe scence shot options: sports or portraits
IV) has anti shake option, which comes in handy if you are using the zoom (also see below for the not so great bits about the zoom).
vi) up load to utube is very easy
v) cuts on wind noise (it works and reduces the muffle sound)
vii) the program for editing your shot is very simple, as the intention is to allow you to edit (if any) before loading to utube or send it for friends/family to see. If you are looking for a more sophicated finish then you need to buy a separate program.
Maybe it is the price bracket this camcorder falls within, but we would have liked to see improvements in the following:
the zoom feature is great to a point, but if you plan to use it to its full capacity then I would recommend that you use a tripod. Otherwise, the whole shot comes out very 'shakened'.
we noticed that the zoom button was more sensitive compared with other camcorders in the same price range, which made it very difficult to zoom in and out without you feeling that you were travelling through the stargate!
the camcorder and camera options are best used in good lighting. Not advisable for low lighting events.
no flash light.I wanted to record my children in a format that I could easily work with and save on my computer. But my biggest concern was video quality. When I looked at it on TV I didn't want to regret not getting a hard drive or HD camera. I have been recording on one setting below the best quality and I would say that the quality is as good or better than my old 8 mm tape recordings. The camera is a breeze to use and it is very convenient and easy to carry with you. The 16 gb built memory is great with room to spare. I would defiantly buy this camera again.
Want Samsung SMX-F34 Flash Memory Camcorder w/16GB Memory & 42x Intelli-Zoom (Black) Discount?
Last year, Samsung introduced the consumers to the first generation SC-MX20 Flash Memory Camcorder. This year, there are a few updates that make a solid value for budget minded consumers. This camera includes the capability for still photos (at 800x600 resolution), 16 GB of internal memory, 42x Intelli-zoom, and Time Lapse Photography. This is an excellent point and shoot camera/camcorder.The camera features a 2.7" 112k pixel LCD screen, 34x optical/42x Intelli-zoom/1200x digital zoom, a swivel handle and a rotating LCD screen. This particular model operates utilizing a SDHC (high capacity HD card) or MMC (multimedia card) plus.
WHAT IS IN THE BOX?
AC power adaptor
Audio/video cable
USB cable
Software CD (Cyberlink Media Show, Windows Only)
User manual CD, quick start guide (hard copy)
No carrying case this year
DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION:
An important feature for any electronic device is a battery life indicator. This camera states the amount of battery life in minutes. It is useful to carry a spare when traveling. In addition, the camera displays the amount of time left based upon its internal memory and flash memory card.
The housing is hard plastic in a cobalt blue color with matte silver accents. A switch operates the built-in lens cover. The built in cover really helps when traveling since it is one less loose part to have to keep track of. The camera has a handle that swivels 180 degrees to allow versatility for positioning. The LCD screen flips out 180 degrees, also, and can be closed with the screen facing out, if desired.
The unit has a bullet shape with a flat bottom surface to keep from rolling off of the table. The back of the unit has a flip off cover exposing the USB port, AV port and DC power in port. The underside of the unit has a battery door with an adjacent slot for the SDHC Card.
This camera features a simple design. The top of the unit includes the zoom/wide angle control, the photo shutter button, and mode button. There is also a record button in the back for one handed operation; however, to turn the unit on, you need to slide the power button down which requires 2 hands.
To the left of the LCD screen, a menu button, 4-way directional control button and central enter button, and record button, are unchanged from last year's model. The microphone is in the front of the unit and is quite sensitve. There is a solitary speaker along the left side of the internal housing.
A volume control toggle, fast forward, reverse, play and pause button are utilized with the 4 button directional keys, during playback.
OPERATION:
The biggest improvement to last year, is the whopping 16 GB of internal memory. Startup time from the off position is about 6 seconds. The user can toggle between photography and video recording by either pushing the camera shutter or pushing the "Mode" button.
At near maximum zoom levels, the camera shake from pushing the shutter button is too excessive to get optimal focus. This is also the case for the camcorder operation. You really need a tripod for zoom greater than 20x.
Playback uses the directional keys to highlight the clip of interest. The menu button allows the user to format the internal memory/memory card and protect a clip. The advantage of flash memory recording is the instantaneous review of images
The Easy Q button makes this camera a point and shoot camcorder that optimizes all of the various parameters for the best `foolproof' clips. Intermediate and advanced users can optimize their artistic talent with various digital effects (through iScene), 16:9 or Standard screens, white balance, exposure and shutter settings.
One of the newest additions this year is the time lapse photography, which is great for focusing on a flower bud opening and closing through the day, recording the setting sun or watching beach goers come and go over a long period of time.
PICTURE/SOUND QUALITY:
Picture quality has improved over last year's model with regards to lower light; which seems to be a perceptible improvement. However, very low light demonstrates a lot of noise, still.
You really need to use a tripod since the amount of compensation from "anti-shake" is minimal, at best.
Recording time with the built in memory is as follows:
Web/mobile @640x480 924 minutes
TV normal @720x480 (60i) 640 minutes
TV fine @720x480 (60i) 490 minutes
TV superfine @720x480 (60i) 396 minutes
You can take about 31,000 still images at 800x600 resolution.
PROS:
Compact and light
34x optical zoom with 42x Intelli-zoom
Built in memory, 16 GB
Still photo capability
Time lapse capability
CONS:
Minimal Anti-shake
Limited in low light settings (but improved from last year's model)
Only up to 16 GB cards are supported
No integrated flash for still images
VERDICT:
Given the added improvements over the 1st generation Flash Memory Camcorder, this camera deserves 5 stars.
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