Samsung SC-X210L Camcorder Review

Still Features (2.5)
The X210 has limited capacity as a still camera. It can record JPEG stills to the internal memory or to an SD/MMC card, but only at a 640 x 480 size, which equates to 0.3MP. Even the cheapest point and shoot camera easily shoots at over 12 times that resolution. This already calls the “hybrid” abilities of the camcorder into question.

The flash and SD / MMC card slot

Still mode makes available most of the same manual and automatic controls that are found in video mode: white balance, Program AE modes, digital effects, electronic image stabilization, focus methods, backlight compensation, and digital zoom. In addition, the menu has options for flash and continuous shot.

The flash is located directly below the lens and is too small to do much good over distances of a few feet. Its location is also problematic: the lens will have a tendency to cast shadows of your subject’s nose up onto their face, with the added bonus of creating a bright white rim along the edge of the nostrils.

A continuous shot feature (often called burst mode by other manufacturers) allows you to capture up to three stills in succession with a single push of the shutter button. The flash cannot be used with this feature.

Also, the external lens cannot be used to take stills.

Still Resolution (1.7)
The Samsung SC-X210’s stills were tested for their resolution by shooting a standard ISO 12233 resolution chart and running those stills through Imatest imaging software. In total, the 640 x 480 stills managed an approximate resolution of 169218.75.

The chart below shows how the Samsung stacked up against comparable camcorders.

Still Performance (3.25)
The SC-X210 shoots stills at one resolution, 640 x 480. Still performance was not much better than its video performance. The camcorder had trouble making out fine detail like text, and there was a general fuzziness to the image. The color balance was off, with most of the yellows and greens melting into each other in a flat, ugly yellow. There was also a fine scattering of blue noise throughout the picture.

Last year’s SC-X105 had similar issues, but the image was even fuzzier. Neither of these camcorder would in any way make a decent substitute for a dedicated still camera.

The JVC GZ-MG30, by contrast, had a much better 640 x 480 still, with (comparatively) decent color balance and sharper looking image. It too, however, suffered from some blue noise. The Sony DVD92 showed much stronger saturation, which in this case, looked better than the flat colors of the X210. Fine grain black noise was strong, though. The Sony HC42, on the other hand, had a remarkably similar color balance to the X210. The difference was sharpness; the HC42 was much, much sharper. There were blue noise patterns throughout, but not the rough, black grain of the DVD92. The Canon Elura 100 also had a similar color balance, with poorly reported yellows and greens. These were probably the sharpest stills of all, though, and it did not have any of the blue noise.

Overall, this is not a still camera replacement, despite what the marketers may claim, and should not be relied upon to take pictures of anything important.