CAMCORDERS

SAMSUNG VP-HMX10C

Filming in a

s those who know me will attest to, I believe that flash memory will eventually take over from all disc-based formats. By the way, I include HD-DVD and Blu-ray in the above statement. My reasoning is simple. A flash-based player, or in the case of this review, camcorder, requires virtually no moving parts that can go faulty. No motors to spin a disc apart from zoom in the case of a camcorder that require power and generate noise, no servos to align lasers, and best of all no lasers that can be easily damaged. There are currently however two aspects that count against flash memory, and these are cost (by comparison CDs, DVDs, and other HD disc media are cheap as chips), and capacity.
The cost of flash memory has dropped dramatically over the past few years, and it will continue to do so, and capacity has increased dramatically. Proof of this is the Samsung VP-HMX10C looked at here. This camcorder features internal flash memory of no less than 8 GB, and this delivers around two hours of recording at High Definition (720p) levels.The battery however only lasts a claimed 90 minutes, so youll need to keep the charger close by if you plan a marathon filming session. The main reason that the Samsung has such good filming capacity,is that it uses one of the latest compression formats, H.264. H.264, it turns out, is a new generation technology based on MPEG-4, and is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10. H.264 can (according to information found on the
Internet) match the best possible MPEG-2 quality at up to half the data rate, and is capable of delivering superior video quality across the entire bandwidth spectrum from 40 Kbps to upwards of 10 Mbps. Before moving on to camcorder performance, it is worth mentioning a few more claimed benefits of using flash memory, with these being longer battery life and QuickStart in 3 seconds. Had the VP-HMX10C been equipped with a viewfinder, its battery life would probably have been able to at least match its recording time. No viewfinder means that the LCD screen has to be powered up at all times. Perhaps Im just a little old fashioned, as I generally prefer to use a viewfinder rather than the LCD screen.This is as once my eye is up against said viewfinder, all ambient light is excluded and I can actually see the subjects Im filming.

A U D I O

V I D E O

flash.

Trying to see your subject on a LCD screen in bright sunshine can sometimes be a little difficult. In actual use, the camcorder delivered a mixed bag of performance. Its macro facility was probably the best Ive seen, and I could get to within millimetres of the subject I was filming. The camcorder also sat comfortably in my hand, and controls were well placed. The swivel hand grip meant that I could shoot at some interesting angles without having to take my hand out of the grip. Performance in bright light was superb, and there was more than enough detail to test the capabilities of any HDTV. Colour reproduction was also good, although I did feel some colours tended to be a little over saturated. I had mixed feelings about touchscreen operation, as even though it was easy to access and use the menu system, I felt that an ordinary toggle switch would be quicker and easier to use. I would also be a little concerned about getting fingermarks all over the LCD screen, as this is the only method you have of seeing what you film. An area where I felt the Samsung fared poorly, was in low light. Here images were grainy, and the built in video light had little effect. Overall, though, the VP- HMX10C was intuitive and comfortable to use, its on-camera editing feature meant that I could easily delete unwanted scenes, and as long as you dont expect too much from it when the light goes, you should appreciate its definition and ease of use.

Joel Kopping

VITAL STATS
Resolution.1280x720/60p, 720x480/60p Storage media.Internal 8 GB SDHC/MMC+ LCD monitor..2.7-inch Zoom.10x analogue, 20x digital Connections..USB, Composite, S-Video, Component, HDMI Supplied software.. Power Director (Editor S/W) Power Producer (Authoring S/W) Power DVD (DVD Player S/W) PRICE..RVERDICT The Samsung VP-HMX10C is compact, light and feature rich. Its internal memory is more than enough for most and HD image quality is great in bright light. Low light performance is however below par. SUPPLIED BY Samsung SA 011-549-1500 www.samsung.co.za

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12/2008:01/2009 R3 600
12/2008:01/2009 R12/2008:01/2009 R04/2008 09/2008 08/2008 07/2008 02/2008 09/2008 10/2008 09/2008 02/2009 07/2008 09/2008 05/2008 10/2008 06/2008 04/2008 06/2008 08/2008 08/2008 09/2008 10/2008 03/2008 04/2008 02/2008 10/2008 02/2009 04/2008 08/2008 05/2008 07/2008 10/2008 10/2008 07/2008 11/2008 11/2008 11/2008 09/2008 02/2008 03/2008 04/2008 09/2008 11/2008 10/2008 02/2009 11/2008 RRRRRR 8,000 R 900 RRRRR 3,000 R 279 RRRRRRRRR30 200/RRRRR11 500/RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR29 995/RFrom RRRR3 990
Shrimp/Mahi Combination Pre/Power Amplfier

12/2008:01/2009 R4 990

NAD NAD NAD NAD NEC Nordost NuForce NuForce Olympus Onkyo Onkyo Opera Consonance Opera Consonance Opera Consonance Oppo Optoma Ortofon Panasonic Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm PHI Philips Philips Philips Planet Waves Polk Audio Polk Audio Pro-Ject Pro-Ject PSB Q-Acoustics QED Raysonic Rega Rega Rega Request Revel Roth Roth Music RTI Samson Samsung Samsung Samsung Samsung Samsung Samsung
T 765 C515BEE T535 Viso Five Multisync 20W GX2 Heimdall Reference 9 SE V2 Icon E420 TX-NR906 TX-SR606 Billie/Joplin Orfeo Tristan DV-981HD HD800X MC Jubilee DMC-FX520 PDR 10 V4 DSP-3400 Studio 20 V4 DSP3100 Studio 40 V4 Stylus 170/270 PDR 8 58.40B Cyclops PET730 MCM108D HTS 8100 Component Surroundbar 50 DSW Micropro 2000 Debut SE II Pre & Amp Box Subseries HD 10 Q-AV System Performance Audio 2 CD 128 Saturn Exon 3/Cursa 3 R5 IQ Ultima 2 Alfie Audio Cocoon MC4 T2-C Studiodock 41 LA40A590 YP-P2 VP-HMX10C DVD 1080P7 HT-X810 Various (Cover Feature)
AV Receiver CD Player Universal Player DVD/AV Receiver LCD Monitor Cable Power Amplifier Desktop Amplifier Digital Camera AV Receiver AV Receiver Cable CD Player Amplifier Universal Player Video Projector Cartridge Digital Camera Subwoofer Subwoofer Loudspeakers Subwoofer Loudspeakers Outdoor Loudspeakers Subwoofer Loudspeakers DVD Player Micro HiFi Sound Bar Video Cable Sound Bar Subwoofer Turntable Pre/Power Amplfier Subwoofer Loudspeakers Cable CD Player CD Player Pre/Power Amplfier Loudspeakers Audio Server Loudspeakers iPod Hub iPod Docking Station Remote Control Active USB Monitors LCD Television MP3 Player Camcorders DVD Player Sound Bar Blu-ray Player
04/2008 05/2008 06/2008 02/2009 03/2008 02/2008 03/2008 02/2009 08/2008 11/2008 09/2008 08/2008 07/2008 07/2008 03/2008 05/2008 09/2008 05/2008 06/2008 06/2008 07/2008 07/2008 02/2009 02/2009 05/2008 02/2008 02/2008 06/2008 11/2008 05/2008 10/2008 08/2008 05/2008 02/2009 10/2008 07/2008 05/2008 02/2008 04/2008 10/2008 07/2008 04/2008 08/2008 09/2008 03/2008 11/2008 02/2008 02/2008 03/2008 04/2008 05/2008
RRRRRRRRRNA RRper m/Rper 2. RRRRRRRRRRR2 690/RRRRR 900 R 7,000 R125 per m RRRR2 799/RRRR 529 RRR14 899/RRSystem dependant RRRRRRRR 999 RNA

12/2008:01/2009 R5 699

12/2008:01/2009 R3 795
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