Samsung SC-HMX20 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Aug 3, 2008 8:50 PM
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Picture & Manual ControlAutomatic Control (5.0)
The automatic responses on the Samsung SC-HMX20 are good enough to suit most of the shooting environments you're likely to encounter. Exposure shifts are fast and accurate. We noticed that the LCD can make the exposure shifts appear jerky, as if they're going up or down in a step-function, but on an actual monitor the transitions are smooth. However, the camcorder showed a tendency to overexpose, which can create a lot of blown-out areas in outdoor shooting.
The white balance adjustments are also fast. The Auto setting appeared to be more accurate than the presets for Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Tungsten, so you can feel confident sticking with simple point-and-shoot operation.
The auto focus worked extremely fast in bright light, but in anything less, the auto focus floundered. In genuinely low light conditions, the performance was very poor. It's an unfortunate blemish in an otherwise strong camcorder.
There are a precious few one-touch features that allow the user some level of control without complicating the process too much. Strangely, these controls are not located in the Q. Menu for easy access, despite the fact that they're intended for beginners. Instead, they're all located in the Admin menu. There, you'll find Scene Modes (Auto, Night, Sports, Portrait, Sports, and Beach/Snow) and Back Light compensation. That's it. Usually, you find more on a consumer camcorder.
Overall Manual Control (5.0)
The manual control offerings on the Samsung SC-HMX20 are rather slim for a camcorder in its price range, and there are certainly better finds if this is your primary criterion. However, the interface is exceedingly easy to use. If you like having some manual control, but find most camcorders too confusing, this could be an option.
Manual controls on the SC-HMX20 include focus, white balance, and a simple exposure tool, along with the one-touch controls described in the section above. There is no direct control over the aperture, which is something you'll find in most Canons and all Panasonics in this price range. Panasonic also offers gain control for that little bit of extra edge in low light.
The Samsung SC-HMX20 uses a touch screen interface. Sony is the only other company to use touch screens. On the whole, touch screens are intuitive (if properly executed), but fail to make the power user happy. The problem is that the these screens are magnets for fingerprints and grease. A filthy screen can make something like manual focusing quite problematic. There's also the potential problem of making the touch-buttons too small for your finger, which is a complaint we've had with Sonys before. Samsung manages to side-step this issue, fortunately.
All of the pertinent manual controls can be reached via the Q.Menu—an abbreviated menu that is accessible while actively recording. This allows you to make changes on the fly.
Zoom (5.0)
The zoom control is a toggle located on top of the Samsung SC-HMX20. The positioning is awkward because it's located too far forward for use by the index finger. Instead, you must use our middle finger, which lacks the same dexterity. In the place where the toggle should be is a photo shutter button. Considering how much more use the zoom is likely to get, Samsung could have planned this out a little better.
The level of control the zoom offers is quite poor compared to industry standards. There is no way to get a slow crawl, or anything close to slow. In fact, there seem to be only two speeds: fast and faster. This makes it frustrating and difficult to frame the shot you want.
When zooming, a scale appears on the bottom of the screen to give you a sense of where in the zoom range you are. However, the camcorder does not offer a specific numerical value of the zoom power, making it even harder to duplicate a shot later.
Zoom Power Ratio (10.0)
The optical zoom on the Samsung SC-HMX20 measures 10x—about standard for the price range and category. The digital zoom extends out to 100x. We always recommend that you leave the shutter speed off unless it's absolutely needed, as it digitally distorts and degrades your image.
Focus (3.5)
The manual focus is not great on the Samsung SC-HMX20, mostly because the touch screen is your only interface. Until they develop a self-cleaning LCD, fingerprint smudges are always going to be a problem with this combination.
There are actually two methods for manual focus. The first is a traditional focus control. On screen are two buttons to press, one to bring the focus nearer and one to bring it farther. You can push and hold rather than repeatedly tapping, and we're thankful for that. Displayed in the center of the screen is the focal length, in centimeters/meters. The level of control it offers is good, but it moves very slowly, making it impossible to achieve a grand rack focus effect that you see in movies. The other problem is that all these buttons and graphics appear right in the middle of the screen. Chances are, however, that the thing you want to focus on is also in the middle of the screen. Samsung made the same mistake Sony did. Get that junk out of the way and let me see my subject! We much, much prefer the ring control on the JVC GZ-HD30 and GZ-HD40, or the dial on the Sony HDR-SR11 and HDR-SR12.
The focus in action
The second focus method is called TouchPoint. This is a direct rip-off of Sony's Spot Focus control—so much so that we wouldn't be surprised if it was some kind of infringement. That's not to say that we don't like it. The interface couldn't be easier. You touch the area of the screen you want focused, and BAM!... it's focused. It's great for large objects, but not for fine focusing.
Exposure & Aperture (6.0)
The exposure control on the Samsung SC-HMX20 is extremely simple, even more so than Sony and Canon. When activated, a scale appears in the middle of the screen, with a minus button at one end and a plus button at the other end. A cursor moves along the scale, with thirty increments in all. In the middle, above the scale, is display that gives you the increment number. This number display is great, because it allows you to repeat the settings for a shot later.
The exposure controls
The control couldn't be more straightforward, which is a lesson that the other manufacturers could stand to learn. Sony has a similar control but omits the number display. Canon has a smaller scale and the control is harder to find. JVC's is easier to find, but also has a smaller scale than the Samsung. Panasonic doesn't even have a simple exposure control, instead offering a more powerful but less intuitive independent aperture/shutter control.
Shutter Speed (6.35)
The shutter speed control on the Samsung SC-HMX20 is also simple to use. When activated, a scale appears in the center of the screen, with a plus and minus button at either end. Simply push the buttons to adjust shutter speed. Settings include: 1/30th, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000, and 1/10000. This scale offers enough options to satisfy most shooters.
White Balance (7.0)
The white balance options are quite good compared to the competition. Settings include: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Tungsten, and Custom WB (Manual). This is better than the standard Auto/Outdoor/Indoor settings you find on most camcorders, because you can attempt a more accurate color balance in multiple types of indoor and outdoor settings without having to perform a manual adjustment. Fortunately, making a manual adjustment is very easy—almost too easy. Simply push the Custom WB button and the adjustment happens almost instantaneously. Normally, you'll have a a second or two of adjustment time, usually accompanied by a blinking icon or some visual indicator. Nothing of the sort here, so just be sure that you don't hit this button accidentally.
The white balance in action
Gain (0.0)
There is no manual gain control on the Samsung SC-HMX20. Only Panasonic offers this control in the world of consumer camcorders.
Other Manual Controls (3.0)
Tele Macro - This feature allows you to capture fine detail from a distance. On some camcorders, this feature will automatically push the zoom out to its furthest point when activated, which is annoying. The SC-HMX20 doesn't do this.
Face Detect - When activated, the camcorder detects faces and adjusts for exposure and focus. A green frame appears onscreen when it detects a face. Here's a list of other things it detected as a "face" while we were shooting: a bike tire, a wall map of the greater Boston area, and a corner of a desk. Granted, each of these was only momentary, but it's clearly not a perfect system yet.
Guideline - The guidelines on this Samsung are the best implementation of this feature we've seen to date. When you arrive at the Guideline submenu, four options appear on screen that show you exactly what to expect. Options include: nothing, one horizontal/one vertical, crosshairs, and two horizontal/two vertical. On most other camcorders, you either get only one choice, or you get a non-descriptive bit of text for each option.
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