Samsung SC-HMX10 High Definition Digital Camcorder - SCHMX10
w/built-in 8GB Memory, 10x Optical Zoom and 2.7" LCD

I bought this to take videos of our baby boy and it is wonderful. The quality of construction is very good. The videos taken are very good if the area is brightly lit. It does okay in dimmer light, but you will notice noise. I've uploaded the videos to my computer but haven't had a chance to burn them to a DVD yet. My computer may be too slow to play the videos because they are choppy. I'll look into that some more later, but for the few months we've been using it, it has been great.
 
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I was looking to replace my old Hi8 analog camcorder. My intent was to buy an inexpensive SD camera using a hard drive or SDHC cards. At the time of my purchase, I discovered that the HMX10 (from last year) was only a little more than this year's better SD cameras. The reviews said that the HMX10 didn't really compare to the better *HD* cameras, but I found that it compared well to the *SD* cameras. First, video quality in good light is excellent, only breaking down a bit where there is a lot of motion. The clarity is so far beyond my previous Hi8 camera, it's not even a contest. In really low light, the picture gets too dark to use. (I haven't checked into any "low light" modes, yet.) The video screen is nice, clear and bright. I thought I would *not* like the touch screen interface, but I find it very easy to use. This camera is definitely for the "I want a simple to use camcorder to record the family and vacations" user. Because of the touchscreen, the controls on the camera are the absolute bare minimum, which makes picking up and using the camera very easy. A few things in the interface require a bit of digging or reading the manual (like switching between video and photo mode). From my point of view, that's the biggest weakness of the camera, though still a relatively minor one. Since the video files are ordinary video+audio MP4 files, that can simply be dragged and dropped off the camera, working with the videos is very convenient. This video camera won't replace your digital still camera, but the 2MP photos are surprisingly good. Good enough for HDTV display, or inclusion in DVD presentations. The built in memory holds about 1.5 hours of HD video. I added an inexpensive 16GB SDHC card for a total of 4.5 hours. In a pinch, any fast SD or SDHC card will work. Battery life looks to be about 1.5 hours of recording plus some reviewing. Fortunately, batteries can be found cheaply on the web. I've picked up an external charge (cheap as well), so that I won't have to recharge the batteries in the camera.
 
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I could write a long rewiew telling you everything I love about this camcorder, but I will just say this. Buy.com is great, the company that I purchased this thru BUY is excellent, the camera is so easy to use, You cannot beat this price for a HD camcorder in the stores. Took 30 seconds to plug up to HDTV and watch beautiful video I took in HD. Took 2 minutes to hook up to PC and drag and drop the videos to my PC. You are nuts if you don't hurry and buy this camcorder at this price!
 
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The price for this camcorder was great! When I got it, I was able to get it all working within minutes. The only set back has ben finding a way to play the mpeg4 files that I record in HD on my computer. Seems like the the only way I can view my movies without herky jerkyness is to hook up the camcorder directly to the tv, which isn't that bad since it comes with a remote! I'm sure there is a solution for my computer viewing problem, I just haven't found it yet.
 
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Got this for $299. Video format works great on my computer. Running Vista with 2 GB of RAM. Bought an extra 8 GB sdhc memory card class 6 and it works perfect. Hooked up to my 50" HDTV and the quality is amazing. I really like the the cradle with remote where you can sit back and watch the videos from further back in a chair. Haven't tried the still photos yet, but I'm sure they'll look nice like the video. I would highly recommend this for use for general family videos and outdoor shots. Included software is somewhat buggy on my computer but I'm not worried about that. Buy.com got it to me quickly and had no problems with the ordering process. I am very happy we got this camcorder in time for the holidays!
 
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For $289 I figured I wouldn't be out too much if the camera was hard to use, or if the picture quality wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. UNBELIEVABLE! It is every bit as clear as I had hoped. I used the HDMI and plugged it right into my HT and was watching a video of my daughter walking our dog on a 101" screen in HD (just wanted to record something to try it out). This is the perfect mate to my 720P HT projector. I have not experienced any trouble with the file format. The included software is inefficient but makes great home movie DVD's in near perfect quality. I also bought a 16GB Class 4 SD card that lives inside the camcorder but have yet to even tap into that extra capacity. My camcorder came with a spot on the LCD where it looks like it is bleeding liquid crystal, but am too lazy to send it back to Buy.com -- mine is probably just a fluke. Buy.com is awesome, they are fast and trustworthy -- oh, and they have AWESOME prices. Who would have thought a 720P Coke can sized camcorder for under $300, what's next?
 
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For less than $300 (after rebate) this camera is outstanding. Yes, the format requires an application on the PC. I'm using Sony Vegas. Excellent video quality, all solid-state electronics (no hard drive to glitch - no tape drive to break) and 8GB internal plus whatever you want to add in an SD card! With my purchase of Vegas software, an 8GB SD card, and this camera I have an outstanding Hi-Def video system for under $400. You can't find that many places right now. My only negative comment is the "feel" of the camera. Yes, it's mostly plastic and it weighs next to nothing. It's disarmingly light - which makes you not want to drop it from any height! I don't know how rugged it will be on the road, but it has excellent features, video quality, and price. Thanks!
 
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Pros-Small and very lightweight. Internal flash memory w/optional slot for additional memory. No moving parts. Mic input. Touchscreen. 30mm wide lens adapter ready. Price. HD(good-bye tapes...forever). Wish it manual focus ring. Cons-Not 1080p(most of you can't even tell). Image stabilization system not up to par with higher end hd cams but a good tripod fixes that. No cold shoe but a simple $10adapter fixes that.. I have been using camcorders since 1995. This samsung has to be, by far, the best camera I've owned in terms of picture quality and sound. I had been using a Panasonic gs-320 mini-dv camera for the last 1 1/2yrs. If you do a google search for the gs-320, you'll find out that it is a very good mini-dv camera with high ratings. But it is a mini-dv. That technology is basically old. Anyway, a week ago I went out and bought the Samsung. Recorded my pets outside. Uploaded to my computer and watched the footage with VLC player. My jaw hit the floor. The picture quality is absolutely amazing. Makes the gs-320 quality look like an old vhs tape. Another great thing about this camera is that it is so easy to transfer the footage to your pc. Just connected camera via usb cable, open video folder, then simply drag and drop to your pc's hard drive. I enjoy editing and authoring my movies and so I used powerdirector 6 to convert to mpeg2 hd. Then I used Sony vegas 8 to edit. Followed by Adobe Encore to do the authoring. Burned to standard dvd using Nero 8. Took it over to my dvd player....and again, ,my jaw dropped. For those of you who might be turned off by the negative reviews(format, editing, and pc upgrade)don't be. Powerdirector 6 or 7 will handle this format. I have yet to open up the software that is bundled with the Samsung. I use my own software. As far as the pc hardware requirements is concerned, I would say any computer with a core2dual processor or better can handle hd easily(mine is a e6600 c2d w/2g memory and a cheap $30 graphics hard). Even a pentium d processor would be ok. Anything less, well, this is when you must upgrade. Anyway, sorry for such a long review. Bottom line, this camera will not disappoint you. BTW, I got mine brand new for twohundredfifty dollars closeout deal at my local b..lots store.
 
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avchd is a new high definition format developed by panasonic and sony if u want to edit this format you need expensive computer with quad core processor so decide if u can afford to buy another computer because your computer is gonna be useless if u dont have quad core but if u want to watch ur fottage just like that on tv then this is a good bargain
 
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I love this camera, it is an amazing product. Form factor: Small and light. This feels like holding a can of soda, except it's lighter. The size is almost identical to a soda can, and the weight is a little lighter than a full can. The handle swivels very nicely to allow for ergonomic use around a foll range of motion: It's very easy to aim the camera anywhere, even if you're holding it below your center of gravity (the handle pivots so you can easily transition from elbow-below-camera to elbow-above-camera). Lens: The optics are very impressive. I can go from a very nice wide-angle shot that captures the whole room to a 34x sniper-scope quickly and clearly. The autofocus is quite quick, though it occaisionally has to hunt to find the right depth. Video quality/Compression: I've been very impressed with the video quality. The only circumstance where I can get bad results is when I'm using it in very dark circumstances. Anything darker than 'mood lighting' tends to look a bit grainy, though there's still plenty to see. I even tried using this in a car at night, and I was still able to read the gauges from the back seat of the car (without zoom). I am amazed with the compression this camera can achieve. At its highest quality setting, it can record 90 minutes of video onto the internal storage with amazing clarity and detail. The highest setting runs at about 12MBps. What amazes me about this, though, is the video compression is able to preserve a LOT of detail, even at the lowest quality setting. The differences between the low and high quality settings are actually easy to miss. It doesn't look block and nasty, it doesn't lose color fidelity, it just saves space (if you choose low quality) be simplifying the image. Storage/Compression: I have yet to put an SD card in this device, as I've found the internal 8GB storage to be ample. If I wanted to, however, I could put in a 16GB SDHC card to extend this to allow 5-14 hours (depending on compression) of HD video without offloading, not to mention standard definition. There are no moving parts in the storage system; it’s all solid-state. Compare this to Tape, where you have to rewind and seek around all the time and are stuck importing the video at playback speed. With the HMX10, you have full editing functionality on the camera, instant playback of recorded content, and very fast transfers to your PC (around 20x playback speed, depending on quality level). This will last longer than any tape mechanism ever would. Most video cameras fail first at the tape mechanism. The HMX10 will last longer from not having a tape drive. Technical details: Video: 1280x720, 60fps progressive, NOT interlaced (actually 59.94fps per NTSC standard). Also available: 720x480 60 fps progressive, 720x480 60 fps interlaced. The files recorded by this device are **standards-compliant** MPEG-4 Part 10/H.264/AVC (interchangable terms, for the most part). This affords it a number of cool benefits: You don't need the bundled software 'cause there's free implementations all over the place (such as ffdshow), it's a well-engineered coded that is /extremely/ efficient. You will need to get some codec to play the video on the PC. I would recommend ffdshow tryouts (http://ffdshow-tryout.sourceforge.net) for a good free options, and CoreAVC (http://www.coreavc.com) for a very good $8 option. THIS IS NOT A BAD THING. This is the best format available for HDTV video compression, it is highly effecient, non-proprietary, and well-designed. This is what you want in an HDTV camera, really. Really really. Random coolness: You can hook this camera directly to an XBOX 360, and it will be able to play the video right off the camera. Remote Control is included. External Mic connection available. Very nice glossy finish. Lens cover built in, not a tack-on. 30mm lens that can recieve adapters (I use it with a Sony 30mm wide angle lens adapter).
 
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