SAMSUNG SC-MX10 SOLID STATE CAMCORDER
Date: July 31st, 2008 Article by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor) Product was submitted by: Samsung Canada <--SHOP FOR SOLID STATE CAMCORDER HERE CORPORATE INFORMATION
Head Office Corporate Information Samsung delivers management reform through New Management to maintain high international competitiveness. SAMSUNG is dedicated to contributing to mankind's quality of life. The year 2000 will be declared as the First year of Samsung Digital Management to speed up the digitization of all areas of management with an ultimate objective to become a leader in the digital age of the 21st century. Samsung has continuously improved its financial structure by increasing profits, reducing costs, and enhancing brand image. SAMSUNG's stability and development potential are universally recognized. Canadian Corporate Information After only a decade of growth since first entering the Canadian market in 1987, Samsung Canada, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, has emerged as the market leader. We are growing in Canada by about 20% per year and continue to build a strong presence in every market we enter. Operating as part of Samsung's Americas group, our Canadian operations gain considerable competitive advantage from Samsung's local Americas R&D, manufacturing, and technical support. Samsung Electronics in Canada focuses on consumer electronics and information systems products. Consumer electronics began in Canada in 1987, followed by IS in 1992. The information sales division has grown 61% since 1992. Samsung has introduced a wide range of IS products into the Canadian market, which include hard disk drives, CD-ROM drives, printers, fax machines and monitors enforcing its leading market position and fast year-over-year growth with a strong local presence and reseller network to serve Canadian consumers from coast to coast. Samsung is building a strong presence in Canada as it h as all over the world. PRODUCT INTRODUCTION
Seeing the consumer has seen the demise of the standard film camera, your standard camcorder will soon be following the same path. Through comments from friends, family and from my own personal use, consumers want an easier to use camcorder that will allow them to take advantage of their home computer and internet connection to share memories with friends and family through sharing a vid eo file rather than relying on playback from the camcorder itself, or though a dubbed and copied video to a DVD from a standard videotape.
When you sit back and really think about it, it is still pretty amazing that the camcorder even till this year has been domin ated by a recording media that was created in the early 20th century. Sure the DVD camcorder came out, but the low recording times and battery life killed its popularity when compared to the MiniDV alternative. Also coming into the market is the micro hard drive variety, but their prices have been so high, the average consumer still finds it hard to pony up the money. With digital memory price dropping at an amazing rate, the solid state camcorder in my opinion will be the de facto standard for the next decade once all the manufacturers have brought all their c ompetition online and the struggle begins to make everyone's products better than the other company's alternative. Solid state memory brings an unparalleled size reduction that brings the features of a standard camcorder to the market in a package that weighs half, and is half of the size of your regular MiniDV, DVD or hard drive camcorder. As I witnessed in the HD solid state camcor der as reviewed recently HERE, there are a lot of things to praise about the new upcoming technology. PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS & FEATURES (From Samsung)
With its 3 sec quick start, compact and light size, durability and low power consumption and uber-chic design, the new SAMSUNG MX10 Memory Cam will be the first camcorder you'll want to use all the time. Walk into a closet, and chances are, you'll find a camcorder buried way in the back. Now, imagine a camcorder so compact and stylish that you didn't have to hide it. Imagine a camc order that lets you easily upload your videos to your favorite online video service, or email to family and friends. With SAMSUNG's MX10 Memory Cam, it's not that hard to imagine.
PRODUCT COMPOSITION
Wading into a crowding camcorder market at US$215-$250, this solid state camcorder is coming in at a rather affordable price. But mind you, it doesn't have any onboard memory and additional memory to use it will be necessary.
First out is your usual user's manual along with the warran ty and helpline registration paperwork. But also included is a full version of DVD Suite from Cyberlink. This essentially allows you to burn your solid state recorded content onto a DVD for archiving or viewing.
Next out is the hardware kit which includes a soft carrying pouch, an AC adapter, a USB cable, a composite A/V cable, a len's cap w/ lanyard, a battery, a lithium ion battery to keep the camcorder's memory. Nothing is missing other than some actual memory to use the camcorder right out of the box.
And last out is your actual camcorder. Just as a size reference, I took a photo of it beside a standard nine volt battery. As you can see, this is one compact camcorder which weighs in at only 9.92oz / 281grams. Anyone complaining about carrying thi s camcorder needs to get into the gym and do some weight training. I have digital cameras that weigh more.
PRODUCT PICTORIAL & WALKTHROUGH
Let's see what makes this small camcorder tick.
First is the actual Schneider-KREUZNACH lens which has an excellent 34x optical zoom, a 1200x digital zoom and a 1.6l/f. Overall a very powerful lens for an entry level product. Lenses with these sort of specifications are also seen on camcorders with a price tag well in excess of twice the price. Also to note, the stereo microphone is housed in the perforated housing immediately under the lens itself.
The right side houses the hand strap and swivel mechanism which allows you to record at lower levels without having the need to get on your knees. This is a great feature for chasing your infant for some great family video footage.
Moving to the rear main control area, everything is pretty standard and easy to use. You have your record button, the power slide switch, a mode button, an Easy Q button for one touch perfect settings (highly recommended) and two LEDs to indicate whether you are in recording or playback mode.
Flipping open the small access door allows you to gain access to the connection panel to charge your battery or to connect the video or USB cable for playback or transfer.