Samsung SMX-C20 Ultra Compact "Touch of Color" Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom (Purple)
by Samsung
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SamsungFormat: CD
Release Date: 2010-03-22
Model: SMX-C20PN/XAA
Color: Purple
Product features:
- 10x Optical Zoom
- One-Touch Sharing Button
- Time Lapse Recording
- IntelliStudio 2/0 (Built In Computer Software)
- USB Charging
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Samsung SMX-C20 Ultra Compact "Touch of Color" Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom (Purple)
Customer Review: False advertising (does not output widescreen) VERY low quality.
Summary: 1 Stars
I previously owned a hard drive based Sony Handycam. The camera died (out of warranty) so I searched for another. I thought i'd go for a lower price point this time around since I would be using this primarily to shoot casual videos of my daughters. This was around half the price of a Sony or Canon. I should have stuck with Sony because boy did I get burned.
I was expecting a lower quality product but there are many things working against this unit here.
The biggest problem with this camera is the videos do not end up encoded in the proper 16:9 widescreen ratio. This seems to be a problem with other lower end Samsung cameras (the MX-20 has the biggest complaints about this online) and if I would have known this ahead of time I would have stayed clear. The camera records the video in 720x480. This is widescreen and looks fine on the camera. The minute you plug it in to your TV or play the file on the computer you will notice the black bars on the side. The video is actually in 3:2 ratio!!! This is a bug in Samsungs encoding. Search for Samsung widescreen camcorder problem and you will find it. I found this unacceptable and false advertising (Samsung asserts widescreen and I was told personally it will "fill the screen and won't have any black bars on a widescreen tv" from a rep.)
If that wasn't enough of a reason to send it back, there is the quality of the actual camera. The buttons are very cheap. Everything has a fragile/plastic feel. The LCD doesn't even swivel smoothly. You really have to press the record button hard(and the power button) for it to function and it feels like you are going to break it. I knew this product was a lower end product but I still expected some semblance of quality from Samsung (I love their TV's and appliances). The lens of the camera has no cover as well.
The quality of the video is low to decent. Very basic settings and function.
What did I like about it? Well the color of the camera itself is nice and I like the angle/ergonomic concept of it's design. The timelapse option is a good idea but since I am sending this back after a few days, I didn't even get a chance to try it.
I research a lot before buying and unfortunately this camera is very new and not a lot of people are talking about it. Even if the widescreen issue doesn't bother you i'd still recommend looking into another brand (Sony, Canon) who have better build quality. I'm going back to Sony after I return this.
I hope this helps others when making the purchasing decision for a camcorder.
Description of Samsung SMX-C20 Ultra Compact "Touch of Color" Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom (Purple)
The Samsung C20 has an ergonomic design that blends style, comfort and innovative technology into one digital camcorder. You'll capture life?s special moments and share them over the Internet - in one touch. Shoot in Comfort The unique 25 degree active angle lens promotes a healthy hand position that eliminates wrist pain and fatigue, enabling you to shoot in complete comfort for extended periods of time. Easy to Edit The Edit function of the Samsung C20 allows you to combine and divide files on the camcorder, enabling you to edit without transferring files to a PC. Easy One Touch Sharing Sharing your memories couldn't be easier. Simply connect the camcorder to any PC, select the files you want to share, press the external one touch upload button, and put your world on the web for the rest of the world to see. Freedom to Use any Computer The Samsung C20's embedded Intelli-Studio software allows you to use any PC to view, edit, and share the memories you make. Simply connect it to any PC via USB and enjoy freedom and flexibility. Superior Video Compression (H.264) 'Video compression' no longer means 'video degradation'. With the new H.264 video CODEC, advances in compression technology have resulted in virtually loss-less compression. That means what you see is what you get. Buy your camcorder takes less memory to keep it! So you get to record more hrs. of video while using less memory. Time Lapse Recording By capturing frames at intervals and then putting them in sequential order, the time-lapse recording function allows you to record the beauty of an entire sunset in in minutes or seconds. (Features and specifications are subject to change by Samsung without prior notification.) Specifications: Optics Sensor 1/6 CCD Lens 2.4-24mm Zoom Optical: 10x Digital: 1,200x Filter Size None Recording System NTSC Recording Media SD/SDHC Up To 32GB Video Format Standard Definition MPEG AVC/H.264 720 x 480i (60 fps) Still Image R...Camcorders
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