Samsung SC-X300L First Impressions Reviewby James MurrayPublished on Jan 18, 2007 12:00 PM 
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Audio
The audio for the Samsung SC-X300L is recorded via the two mono microphones found on the outside of the LCD screen. The microphones will record well when the LCD screen is pointed at the action but if the user has tilted the screen in any other direction the microphones will either being pointing at the ground or into the sky. This may seem like a nonissue for users at first, but if capturing footage at unique angles, the audio may end up muffled. You'll also want to be careful that you don't accidentally place your thumb over the mic when holding the LCD straight.
Audio playback occurs through the in-camera speakers found in the area masked by the LCD when closed. In addition to these audio options, the user will find that there is a headphone jack located under a port cover on the back of the SC-X300L. This jack will enable users to listen to MP3 files that have been saved to their flash memory. The problem is that you can’t listen to audio when recording and the quality will be anything but impressive or full frequency. Also, why would you clog up a limited amount of space with music when you should be saving that space for video? Finally, it should be noted that this jack is proprietary and if the headphones included with this camcorder are similar in design to the ones found with the Samsung NV3 digital camera, wearing them out in public would be grounds for mockery by your friends.
Playback
Entering playback mode is activated by pushing left on the two-way touchpad that surrounds the zoom toggle. This control was poorly marked and we had a hard time hunting it down. Although we were unable to access the playback model on the CES show floor - that option was locked out - the Samsung representatives emphasized that little to nothing had changed this year.
With last year's model, the immediate playback of prior footage is done by pressing inwards on the joystick. Adjustments to volume level are done by pushing the joystick up or down. And finally, pressing the zoom slider upwards provides the user with a display of six thumbs - one for each clip. Deletion of selected video clips occurs by pressing the delete button located directly beneath the LCD on the LCD frame.
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The front ports (left) include USB and an SD card slot. The rear slots (right) include DC-in, AV-out, and the external lens jack (omitted on the SC-X300) |
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Connectivity
Users of the Samsung SC-X300L will find two areas for ports on the small sliver of a camcorder body, with two sets of ports located on the front and three ports on the back. On the front of the camcorder body, underneath a hard plastic port cover, the user will find the vertically positioned SD/MMC memory card slot and the USB port for transfer of video and audio files. This port cover opens from the right side via a tabbed edge. It neatly snapped back into place when closed, giving reasonable satisfaction that your card will not go flying out when you take a nosedive. On the back of the camcorder, in the lower two-thirds of the body, are two port covers. The top port cover will open to reveal a DC-in port; the lower port cover protects the external lens jack and the AV-out jack. The SC-X300 (non-L edition) simple omits the external lens jack. Because the AV-out jack is a proprietary fit and since this is also the headphone jack, users will need to rely on the included headphones.