Samsung SC-HMX10 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Feb 11, 2008 10:00 PM
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Ease of Use (7.25)
This breed of camcorder excels in the looks department and delivers a fairly adequate HD image. It’s also exceedingly user friendly. Samsung has adopted Sony’s touch screen interface and put its own spin on it. The interface is flashy, well-organized, and simplified. The sub Q. Menu places all manual controls right at your fingertips in an instant, and all controls are governed onscreen.
For those who feel like letting the SC-HMX10 do all the work, there is an Easy Q button, which places the camcorder in a lockdown state. The level of security is fierce here. When the SC-HMX10 is placed in Easy Q mode, shooters can no longer access the Q Menu or Administrative menu. All adjustments are made automatically—this is the definitive autopilot.
As far as media goes, the SC-HMX10 is very compatible and easy to work with. All MP4 and JPEG files can be dragged and dropped on a PC and recognized by most major editing software. Playing back footage is a snap, as well. All clips are represented as icons and can be accessed simply by pressing on the icon.
There are a couple bugs, though. When adjusting exposure in Photo mode, the shooter must rifle through four menu pages in order to reach the slider. If you want to take a series of pictures in multiple exposure levels, you have to repeat the process over and over. Canon keeps the slider on the main display pane, allowing you to adjust the exposure instantly after each capture.
Also, the placement of the LCD cavity ports is a bit awkward when shooting with a tripod—the cables tend to gang up on the confined area. However, not many shooters—especially in this particular market—will be using a live HDMI preview, so this is a minor issue. The onscreen buttons are a royal pain to press, though. It may take multiple attempts just to access a menu or option. At times, we were almost calling for a stylus.
Handling (4.0)
Once upon a time (about three or four years ago), a high-definition camcorder was required borrow as much as possible from their professional-grade cousins, either in the level of manual controls, or the feel, or the look. Now that HD has been firmly planted in consumer’s minds as the technology of today and not the technology of tomorrow, the restrictions are beginning to loosen.
The Samsung SC-HMX10 is far from a pro camcorder in nearly every regard. The body is extremely compact, simple to operate, and falls shy of the quality of camcorders only slightly more expensive. Yet, the camcorder remains a solid performer in its own category of “budget HD.” Its competitors, the Sanyo Xacti series (including the VPC-HD2), Aiptek, and others tend toward an upright pistol-grip design that typically causes a lot of handling issues. The horizontal form factor of the SC-HMX10 is one thing Samsung definitely did right.
The camcorder’s handling has two features that make it stand out. First, it uses a touch screen interface, hitherto the exclusive domain of Sony. Touch screens draw a lot of criticism. We’ve written about it so often with Sony that it rolls right off the tongue: touch screens pick up fingerprints that grease up the screen. Not only is this ugly, but it makes it difficult to evaluate focus, especially when there’s no viewfinder to fall back on. Secondly, unless the screen is quite large (3.0 to 3.5 inches) the onscreen buttons tend to be too small. Particularly on the Samsung SC-HMX10, we were routinely hitting the wrong buttons by mistake due to size and close proximity to one another. That said, touch screens are intuitive, and have helped lock Sony’s reputation as the camcorder of choice for point-and-shoot. It’s certainly not the worst strategy in the world to swipe something from the winning team.
The second, and certainly less useful, feature is the swivel grip. This bizarre bit of engineering allows the camcorder to be pivoted at the axis of the hand grip either up or down, giving about 135 degrees of rotation. It doesn’t negatively affect the camcorder to have it there, though we see little benefit. The LCD screen already swivels on its own, so this just gives you more swivel. And how much swivel do you really need? In addition, the action on the swivel is tight, and snaps into place in a few positions, which means you can’t have a shot with a smooth, steady swivel from one end to the other. At best, this is a cheap gimmick you’ll use a few times. Of course, the swivel grip runs the risk of snapping right off if you yank it too hard, as seen below.
Menu (7.0)
The SC-MX10’s menus mirror the camcorder’s stylish architecture—they’re fast, sleek, and compact. Sony used to be the only manufacturer to feature touch screen LCDs, but Samsung has done a good job of making the touch screen its own. Menus are animated and fly at you. Information is organized in the familiar file folder tab format. When selected, each option is accessed instantly, assuming you hit the button in just the right spot, which can be tricky. The downfall of Samsung’s touch screen interface is its small size. Buttons must be pressed numerous times in order to take, and those with wide fingers will have a heck of a time attempting to select an option. We saw similar problems with Sony’s 2.5-inch screens, though their 2.7-inch screens seem just large enough.
There are two primary menus on the SC-HMX10—the Q. Menu and the Administrative, or Main, menu. The Q. Menu is accessed by pressing the Q. Menu button located on the LCD panel. Think of the Q.Menu as the “greatest hits” version of the Main menu. When accessed, a mini menu appears containing options for Storage, Focus, Exposure, Shutter Speed, White Balance, and Guidelines. These are the controls that Samsung assumes you’ll want right at your fingertips. Everything else is buried in the larger Admin menu.
The Q.Menu
The Administrative menu is accessed by pressing the Menu button, a touch screen button located in the lower right hand corner on the screen. The Administrative menu offers everything you see in the Q.Menu, plus many more options:
| Administrative Menu | |
| Image Control | Scene Mode, White Balance, Exposure, Anti-Shake, Digital Effect, Focus, Shutter, Tele Macro, Quality, Wind Cut, Back Light, Fader, Digital Zoom |
| Settings | Date/Time Set, Date/Time, File No., LCD Control, Storage Info, Format, Beep Sound, Shutter Sound, Auto Power Off, LED Light, Rec Lamp, Remote, USB Connect, TV Type, Component Out, Default Set, Language, Demo, Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC), Product ID |
| Record Media | Memory, Card |
Portability (7.0)
The SC-HMX10 is closely linked to a compact JVC Everio in terms of size. This midnight Casanova will not fit in a pocket, but it’s petite enough to find its way into a clutch purse or messenger bag. This camcorder looks so hot, you’ll probably want to keep it in your hand all night anyway. The SC-HMX10 measures 61.5 x 67.5 x 120.5mm (2.42 x 2.66 x 4.74 inches) and weighs in at 330 grams (11.64 ounces). Be sure to pack extra SDHC cards for when the 8 GB of internal storage runs out. You’ll definitely need extra battery packs due to the enclosed battery design’s constraint on upgrading to a bigger pack. All in all, the SC-HMX10 will travel well.
The 2.7-inch LCD on the
LCD and Viewfinder (3.0)
Samsung SC-HMX10
The SC-HMX10 is equipped with one of the sturdier 2.7-inch LCD screens we’ve seen. It features a rubberized LCD panel and thick, rugged construction. The LCD screen swings out 90 degrees from the body of the camcorder and rotates up to 270 degrees. Coupled with the swivel grip, you can achieve a full 360 degree rotation, which is great for hard-to-reach angles. The screen does an excellent job warding off solarization at steep angles and is accompanied by Q. Menu, Zoom, and Record Start/Stop buttons. The screen resolution is a standard 230,000 pixels, which is good, but not great.
There is no viewfinder on the SC-HMX10.
Battery Life (9.1)
The Samsung Sc-HMX10 ships with the IA-BP85ST battery pack. We tested this battery for longevity by continuously shooting to the internal memory. The LCD was open and no manual controls were engaged during operation. In total, the battery lasted 91 minutes and 22 seconds (1 hour, 31 minutes, and 22 seconds).
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