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Samsung SC-HMX10 8GB Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom (SDHC compatible) | 
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| Brand: Samsung
Category: Photography
List Price: $649.99
Buy New: $356.29
You Save: $293.70 (45%)
New (13) from $349.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Optical Zoom: 10
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 32
Minimum Focal Length: 3.2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 6
Dimensions (in): 7 x 5 x 5
MPN: SC-HMX10/XAA
Model: SC-HMX10
UPC: 036725301849
EAN: 0036725301849
Availability: Pre-Order (0-0 Business Days)
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| Features:
| • | Capture high-definition video to SDHC and MMC memory cards | | • | 10x optical zoom; 20x digital zoom | | • | Electronic image stabilization | | • | PictBridge compatible; print directly from your camcorder | | • | USB 2.0 interface for easy file transfer |
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| Accessories:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Be prepared to capture that elusive moment anytime, anywhere with the SC-HMX10 High Definition Camcorder, It packs a 10x optical with 20x digital zoom and 1.5M pixel CCD with Electronic Image Stabilizer for remarkably clear pictures, viewed in the 2.7" LCD display. The memory can be expanded via the SD/MMC slot. It offers USB 2.0/ PictBridge for printing stills.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Everything is great, except you can't watch the videos on your PC November 24, 2007
146 out of 189 found this review helpful
Well, Samsung, which usually has superior electronics that function as smooth and well as they look, has fallen victim to the software lobby which has screwed the pooch on this camcorder. Here's what I'm talking about...
It is a total snap to set up, learn to use, and use this sleek, cool-looking, and small camcorder. It is equally as easy to transfer videos to your PC, which is a huge downfall of every other camcorder. With the SC-HMX10C (which was featured on Oprah as one of her top 10 favorite things this holiday season), it is literally as easy as hooking up a USB port and "cut and paste" the videos to your desired folder. The videos can be recorded in a range of clarity from HD, all the way down to standard definition economy. The videos are all recorded in .MP4 format. Here's the kicker, and where Samsung screwed up and sold out...
The videos are recorded with a certain codec, which is essentially a formatting code programmed into the video file that allows the video to be viewed only by certain video players. In this case, the only software that can view the Samsung SC-HMX10's videos is the cheap, annoyingly poor quality Cyberlink DVD Suite software that comes with the camcorder. And it just so happens that the version that comes with the camcorder will only play the audio...not the video. And it will only even do THAT by right clicking on the video file and choosing "Open With" and the included software. I guess Samsung got lobbied by Cyberlink to codec the videos so you had to use their software to view it and Samsung caved. It even states right in the user's manual, "Use the provided software to play back the movie images in the PC. The movie images recorded on your HD camcorder may not be played back in other software" (p. 92). It's akin to creating an otherwise SWEET camcorder and coding the video so that only RealPlayer (PC World's #2 worst tech product of all time) could play it. My older Olympus camera records videos in .MP4 format and Quicktime always plays those videos with no problem at all. But with Samsung's specially coded .MP4s both Quicktime and even iTunes lock up and/or crash if I try to view the videos with those. The only way I can watch the videos is by converting them to an .avi using a free program called Super by eRightSoft...an easy, but annoying process. And the videos are then highly pixelated and not even close to HD or even standard definition video quality.
(NOTE: I have not yet tried to play videos directly from my camcorder to my TV, nor have I tried burning the videos I copied to my PC to a DVD and watching them)
So now I have a cool, sleek, $763 (that's what I paid, including taxes) camcorder that will cost me over $100 in "repackaging fees" if I return it that is absolutely worthless because I can't watch the videos it takes that are easily transferable to my PC.
It makes you wonder why companies like Samsung that have an otherwise totally superior product would cave in and make its playback versatility so exclusive that it is (at least in my case) unusable.
I did call Samsung customer support and hardly waited at all to talk with a "Level 1" support tech (meaning, they basically have a FAQ that they're familiar with to answer most customer support issues) that spoke english really well. Unfortunately, since this camcorder is so new, she had no resources to draw from so I had to be transferred to a "Level 2" support tech (someone with a more detailed, working knowledge of a group of items). Unfortunately, they're only open from 9am-9pm on weekdays (it's Saturday as I write this).
A word to Samsung QA and every other company out there that has anything to do with video files: There are only two media players worth a darn - Windows Media Player and Quicktime. If your videos aren't 100% compatible with either or both, then they're a waste...
...just like the Samsung SC-HMX10C unfortunately. Despite a very user-friendly interface, cool looks, and a sleek, small size, I still gave it the worst rating (1 star) because I can't watch the videos it's supposed to be taking. As I stated in the title above, having a camcorder in which you cannot view the videos is rather self-defeating.
Any other questions, you can contact me at headbanger51 at yahoo dot com. I hope someone from Samsung does contact me, because the issue of having videos specially coded so that only ONE player (the annoying version included with the SC-HMX10C) can view said videos is an issue of biblical proportions in its annoyance.
If I were running things at Samsung QA, I'd at least post a downloadable codec on their website to install into Quicktime to make the videos viewable.
I hope this was helpful.
UPDATE (27 Nov 07): I spoke at great length today with level 2 tech support at Samsung. I'm happy to report they were based in NJ so they spoke clear english and were very patient. However, after speaking with several people, no one could figure out how to play the files on my PC. After downloading several different programs and emailing me several different codecs, even tech support threw in the towel. Interestingly enough, tech support was not yet aware of which software came bundled with the SC-HMX10. In my lengthy conversation with them, my unofficial conclusion is that this product was rushed to release to make the holiday shopping season. I cannot pinpoint what else was said to help me reach that conclusion. I just know remember that there were several things said that made me think it was rushed. I remember him saying there were a lot of issues being troubleshot. I would think that this would be one that would have been troubleshot many times over by now to ensure the video could be played on the widest variety of software configurations on a PC/Mac. As of today, I have sent in a request to Executive Customer Relations for a full refund, since the store I bought it from will charge me $115 in restocking fees! Each case is reviewed on an individual basis. But I'm hoping, and obviously feel justified in asking for and being granted a refund.
 Great little camcorder January 5, 2008
34 out of 34 found this review helpful
I reviewed this camcorder on another camcorde site, but not alot of people peruse that site, so I thougt I would post the review here as well.
I didn't purchase this camcorder from Amazon, (but only because someone got it for me as a gift from another store) but when I was looking for advice on this camcorder it was hard to find.
I'm putting my review here in hopes that it helps someone who wants to buy this camcorder but cannot find any helpful reviews on this camcorder, because it's so new.
Here it is....
Okay, since the place that the camera was bought from has a great return policy, I thought I would open it up to see just how good or bad it was.
Let me say that I am by no means qualified to compare pixels, low light, etc etc etc...my review is based on my being a father and amateur that just wanted a easy point and shoot camcorder that records pictures and movies in great quality.
Upon opening this camera, let me say that it's the smallest thing I've ever seen. It would fit into a fabric sunglass bag (oakleys), that's how small it is.
I shot movies outside in full sunlight and inside during the day and the movies came out great!
I also tried to shoot in low light situation and it worked pretty good as well. I have nothing to compare it to, but whatever I shot looked pretty good.
I also tried it at night time and this is where it was kinda weak. Alot of details couldn't be seen, but being that it was Christmas, I took it to our local city hall and shot the surrounding decorations and I could see everything on my t.v.
The night time shooting is decent if there is sufficient ambient light. I did notice that when I shot video in almost complete darkness (streetlights only) I couldn't make out any details. The zoom was plenty fast and most of all (to me anyway) the performance was great.
Overall, picture quality was AWESOME....I don't know where the other reviewers (especially on Amazon) are shooting their videos but I was very impressed with my video quality.
Now, this doesn't say that it's perfect.
There are some definite flaws to this camera.
The battery for one. The battery will (according to the manual) shoot for about 20-30 minutes with all the zooming and stuff. I shot for about 10 minutes and I had no problems, but if I had to shoot all day without a spare, I wouldn't be happy about it. I thought that this was way too short. I wouldn't have minded so much if they sold an extended life battery but they don't (heck you can't even find a spare battery for sale, anywhere!)
Also, to take a picture, you have to push a button and switch from Video mode to Picture mode, and this takes approximately 1-2 seconds to switch over. I really didn't like that feature.
Since I don't have a high Definition dvd player, I had to hook the camcorder to my t.v. to watch the movies in hi-def and to do this, you have to open the lcd screen and plug the cables into the side of the camera.
The unfortunate thing about this camera was the format in which it records to. I have to agree with a lot of people that this new hi def format is a killer for most computers. I have a PIV 3.2 with 2 gigs of ram and while trying to make a movie in hi def, my computer would lock up and take forever to process the movie. However, if you convert it back to SD using the cyberlink software that is provided, you will notice that it looks almost as good as the hi def with half the processing time.
Since this is the format that most hi def camcorders are using, I don't see how anyone can fault Samsung for it.
So here are my pros and cons for this camcorder;
Pros;
Size....fits in the palm of my hand and it's super light
Performance/video quality....awesome, great quality
Cost....about 300 dollars cheaper than the Canon I'm going to get in the future
Media...records to a 8 gb internal memory or you can use sd cards to record to
looks....looks cool
Ease of use...touch screen, easy menus, point and shoot, perfect for those that don't want to have to learn how to use a gazillion different functions just to take videos of their kids...
Cons;
Battery...small, does not last, and unable to find xtra batteries
Photos...unable to take snap shot during video recording..takes too long to switch over
Use..ridiculous that you have to open LCD just to hook up cables to t.v.
Requirements...not the cameras fault, but still, I'm unable to watch the videos I shot on my computer and you will need a newer computer just to process the data. This HI Def format is great, but I would wait a bit for more support for it.
Would I recommend it...heck yeah! BUT....only if your computer can handle the processing (unless you just want to convert it to SD, then it doesn't matter). For the money and for what it can do, it's a great little camera.
Did I keep it...No, but only because of the fact that my computer obviously couldn't handle the files and since I don't have a high def dvd player (yet) I didn't want to keep plugging the darn thing into my t.v. just to watch it in hi def. The battery life was a small factor as well. My friend has a Sony hdd camcorder and he has an extended battery on it that will last for almost 4 hours (he says so) and that makes me want one that will last that long as well.
I'm going to wait until the support for hi def is more readily available and I also wanted the capabilities to record for longer than 1 hour without having to buy a bunch of SD cards...a hdd camcorder will not incur any additional costs to do so.
Eventually, I will buy a hi def camcoder, and who knows, in the future maybe I'll buy this one again if the price drops and more parts are available for it...i.e. batteries..
Hope this insight helps someone who is considering this camcorder, because it really is a cool little camcorder that records videos well.
Thanks for everyones advice on this matter...
Differing opinion November 30, 2007
33 out of 38 found this review helpful
I do not fully agree with the previous posters comments. The camera is quite good and extremely compact. With SD memory cards increasing in size and reducing in price, it seems like a great way to go. In regards to the AVCHD recording format, this camcorder and many others from Sony and Canon have the same issue, which was the lack of support from software makers to adopt it. But this has all changed, there are some products from both the MAC and PC, Final Cut Express 4 and Nero 8 respectively that natively handle AVCHD and can edit and convert it into any format. The hardware requirements to run this software seems to require a fairly newer computer, but nothing on the extreme side.
Just my take on it.
Fatal Flaw : Unacceptable as a camera source December 1, 2007
32 out of 50 found this review helpful
No doubt you have read many useful reviews of this camcorder, and I agree that it does an excellent job recording movies and pictures to its flash memory. But unlike every other camcorder I've ever used this one has a fatal design oversight that makes it totally unsuitable for outputting a live video signal into any other source such as a DVD recorder, a video tuner card, video mixer, or a VCR. The problem? When connected as a camera the SC-HMX10a/b/c always displays a certain amount of viewfinder information in the output. When I web stream a live presentation or record it to DVD for resale it is not acceptable to see the word STBY in bright green letters throughout the entire video. Not only that, but each time you operate the zoom control the zoom graphic pops up on the recordings to show where the zoom is being set. If you try to outsmart the camera by pressing the record button it will only change the STBY indicator to a big red recording dot, which will go into your output along with the zoom icon every time you zoom. Second-level Samsung support confirms these design "features" cannot be overridden. Very reluctantly I must rate this product unacceptable for use as a camera source. I tried both S-video and composite output with the same result.
UPDATE: Camera in shop for warranty service. First the good news. I discovered how to use the camcorder as a camera source without recording the viewfinder icons. The secret is to set the camera to photo mode. This clears up the icons, EXCEPT whenever you touch the zoom control. Making a video without zooming is pretty lame, but it beats seeing STBY or REC all through your finished video. Use the higest resolution, and choose the screen aspect ratio that looks right for your playback display. Now, about the camcorder failure, one day, after I had the camera for about a month, I had been running it for about an hour when the LCD display image flipped upside down, as though the screen had been rotated for front viewing. Nothing would restore the picture except cooling the camera for the better part of an hour. Then it started happening all the time. After the camera would run for 10 minutes the screen would go upside down. Now Samsung says repairs will be delayed because the parts are not available. I'm not sure I want the new parts if they fail as easily as the original ones did.
don't buy it you own a Mac November 30, 2007
15 out of 31 found this review helpful
I bought this camera because of size and was really excited to get started. The first movie was ready to go into my Mac and it locked up and would do anything then the camera wouldn't turn off. I exchanged it for another one thinking it was just bad luck! My second one did the same thing and now the camera is on and won't turn off until I return it tomorrow.
I also tried to plug it in a PC with no luck!
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