Video! Stills! MP3! External Camera! Wow!!!!
Written: Jun 28 '05
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Pros: Uses ALL sony memory sticks, Durable construction, Small (Deck of cards) size!!
Cons: so-so still (picture) quality, and the battery life leaves much to be desired!
The Bottom Line: Recommended for Xtreme Sport junkies and Trendsetters; Samsung has made a quality product here that can be used in many different environments.
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| kidfubar2003's Full Review: Samsung SC-X105 Flash Media Camcorder |
I've been using this great little tapeless camcorder for the last week nonstop and wanted to start writing about it since nobody I've showed it to has any idea what it is!
This is the long awaited Samsung "miniket" camcorder that records to the 512MB internal memory or memory stick (more on that later)which was supposed to be released in 2004, but took on another year of delays. Samsung decided to add a sweet external camera in the package that can be mounted to a helmet for extreme sports (Mountain biking, Sky Diving, dirtbiking, etc)Finally it was released in April 2005 and overall has definitely been worth the wait.
The unit is very small, a little larger than a deck of playing cards, and will easily fit into your pocket, purse,etc.
The entire unit is rubberized and gives the feel of a durable product that will last a lot longer than your typical "plastic" camcorder. I have read from a few sources that the unit is water resistant but I will not be trying that test out.
Storage Capabilities: The Samsung comes with 512mb of built in storage which can hold plenty of Mp3 files, or ~20 min. of fine quality video, of ~10 min. of superfine dvd quality video. The best part is that this unit utilizes all sorts of Sony memory sticks. I have finally found a use for all my OLD purple memory sticks, as well as my WHITE Sony magic gate memory sticks. I can also take the new pro duo (smaller) memory sticks and use them as well, granted that I use the memory stick adapter. I would highly recommend purchasing a larger capacity memory stick such as a 1 gigabyte which can be purchased fairly cheap now ($99-$129) and I have seen that SanDisk offers a 4 gigabyte memory stick! WOW!
External Camera: The camera is very easy to use and comes with two different length straps. One can be used for your arm, while the other is designed to mount to a helmet. I mounted mounted mine to a snowboard helmet and checked it out. While I didn't take mine snowboarding, I did run around to check how stable the camera would be and if it would hold up. The camera stayed put and I can't wait to use it on my motorcycle!
Photography (Still) Capabilities: This is one category that I was disappointed with. The max quality available is 800x600 which is fine for emailing pictures and Ebay auctions, but not for prints :( I took my Samsung to the Long Beach Aquarium today and took numerous pictures of the fish/sharks/jellyfish, upon putting them on the computer, I can easily see that the Samsung is not going to replace my digital Camera (Sony DSC-T1) I really wish that Samsung would have put at least 2mega pixel capability into the camcorder
Video Recording: I recorded at fine quality (720) and am very impressed. I loaded the video to my computer and it looks great for personal use. I really can't fault the Samsung in video quality, it's everything that I wanted.
MP3 Quality: Even though it only has basic functions, it's very easy to use. You simply drag and drop the Mp3 files to the Samsung by the supplied USB cable via USB 1.1 or 2.0 transfer speed. It is not a specialty MP3 unit such as the iRiver or Ipod, but it does the job. Soundquality is nice, volume goes loud enough, and the supplied earphones are a great fit!
Voice Recorder: Nice additional feature, I have tested it up to 10 ft. from the source and it recorded just fine. I can't wait to test this unit in my classes next semester!
Battery life: The worst part of this camcorder is the battery life. The manual says that you can expect 60min. of continuous recording, but I'm lucky to get 25 min! The manual says that features such as using the zoom and electronic stabilizer control will drastically reduce battery life; I guess they sure do! I wish that Samsung would have put an extra battery in the box as they do with many of the cellular phones (Are you listening Samsung?) I purchased two more batteries from SamsungUSA. The standard battery costs $49.99 and the double capacity is $79.99
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 599.9
Recommended for: Trendsetters - Hip and Stylish Gadgets
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Epinions.com ID:
kidfubar2003
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 1 member
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