To repair this situation, Canon, one of the prime producers of the camcorders, has released its new chef-d’oeuvre, the Canon DM-XM2 Professional Mini DV Camcorder. This camcorder is certainly the best product ever from Canon. Go through this to know more about one of the best camcorders ever.

Design:

It is a biggie:
When you look at the Canon DM-XM2 for the first time, you will be reminded of the TV camera. It is big in size, when compared to the normal camcorders. But it is quite sleek for a Mini DV camcorder. The conventional Mini DV camcorders are much bigger in size and hence are not so comfortable for home use or for students of media and films. This beauty from Canon is 11.8 cm wide, 13.6 cm high and30.6 cm deep. Normally, you do not find a camcorder of such dimensions but Canon is one of the very few manufacturers that have made it possible. It is also incredibly light in weight, weighing just 300 grams, slightly more than pocket camcorder or a mobile phone. This is the slimmest one that Canon has ever produced. Sony has been the only other company that has managed to produce such a comfortable and cute looking camcorder.

Display:
Like most of the camcorders, the canon XM2  3CCD Camcorder also has an LCD display. The 2.5 inch LCD panel is good enough for watching what you are capturing. This screen is flip type which means that it can be flipped out whenever necessary and can then be replaced after use by flipping it in. Another thing that is worth noticing here is that this screen can be twisted around to any angle, about its axis. So this makes it comfortable when the viewing angles are difficult; especially at times when you need different angles. For an example, it is very nice to have a look at the screen when you wish to film yourself so that you get a more accurate picture.

Interfaces:
The output interfaces offered by Canon DM-XM2 Video Camcorder includes S- Video, Composite video, RCA audio, Firewire, Digital Video, iLink, USB and a headphone jack and the input interfaces on offer are S- video, Composite video, RCA Audio, Firewire, Digital Video, iLink. To briefly detail about their uses, they are mainly used for linking the camcorder to video playing sources so that the media that has been captured can be played. The S- Video, composite video, RCA audio, Firewire, Digital Video and iLink, all come under the same type of interfaces. They can be used to connect to a DVD player, for an example, so that all the media files can be played. The USB interface is different and is of great aid to transfer the data from the camcorder to a PC or to a phone that is USB compatible.

Features:

Canon’s previous product, Canon XM1, was not a big hit because it lacked a lot of features and also was not so unique. It featured many options that were already there in the market and hence there was not that much of interest in it among the cam lovers. So, this time around, Canon has taken all possible measures not to repeat such mistakes and to make its new product more unique. So, it has provided more features in the DM-XM2 Flash Memory Camcorder. These revived features add to the camcorder’s grandeur and make it one of the main contenders for the best camcorder available out there.

Professional Lens:
The Canon XM2 is powered by the very professional L-series fluorite lens that gives you extremely candid pictures of 35 mm. This lens is very rare and you will not find in many other camcorders. This lens not only delivers great pictures but also captures the videos with great detail and the quality of them being almost equal to that of the broadcast TV. Its focus range is very good, grading from a minimum of 4.2 mm to a maximum of 84 mm and its maximum aperture is about 1.6 f and it can zoom up to 20x. The filter diameter is about 58 mm. With this lens, you can get very crisp images even at high magnifications. There is also little chromatic aberration and hence there are no coloured rings around the objects in the picture. Hence, you have no more worries about this issue. Another significant feature is that of the cam’s immense ability to capture good pictures even in dim light. Such a powerful lens is very vital for the success of a camcorder in the market, so the first thing anybody wants out of their camcorder is the picture delivery. The rest are, of course, only add-ons.

Shift the Range:
Canon has introduced the new feature, called the Super Pixel Shift, which helps you in altering the pixel range. You can get a wider dynamic range, especially for movies. It also reduces the vertical smear in order to give you a perfect pixel setting for the videos and hence giving you an excellent video output. The digital photos are also taken with a high resolution of 1.7 mega pixels. This is indeed a unique feature.

Image Stabilisation:
Image Stabilisation is a common but very important feature that reduces the effect of any shakes or movement of the images. It is one of the best technologies that have ever been evolved, when it comes to photography. It has completely transformed the state of photography. Many companies have used this technology to improve the performance of their cameras and to produce the best camcorders. In this case, it is a more advanced technology that is used, named as the Optical Image Stabilisation. With this special feature, the pictures and videos are captured with such great accuracy that even if the objects are fast moving or if the camcorder is a bit shaky, the objects are clear and crisp, without any trails or aberrations. Hence the images are perfectly stabilised.

Microphone:
The Canon XM2 has a very good built-in microphone that senses even minute sounds. There is also a very special mechanism built inside the microphone that makes it record speech sounds or voices with much more clarity than the other normal sounds. The background sounds and noise are also minimised to the maximum extent; giving you very clear and sharp sounds. There is a special addition called the Direction Accurate Microphone, that senses the direction from which the sound is recorded, and the reproduces it the same way and with the same effect and clarity.
There is an option for you to choose between three modes that match the recording conditions, namely normal, voice and windscreen. These options alter the microphone frequency accordingly to enable you optimum recording experience. The stereo ambience is very accurate and the sounds are recorded with good quality. Hence, the microphone will prove to be one of the pluses for Canon since not many camcorders in the market have such a good microphone with features that are as good as these.

Connectivity:
Connectivity is very vital as sharing the pictures and videos, with our friends and family, is as important as capturing them. The XM2 is equipt with a Digital Video (DV) terminal that is useful for non linear editing. To connect the XM2 to the PC, you need to simply use the USB cable. With this, you can synchronise your camcorder and then easily send videos and pictures to your PC and can be uploaded to the internet.

Performance:

The Canon XM2 Novice, Professional use Camcorder is backed by the latest technology available. As we have seen in the features, there is a lot of technology involved. Canon also tried to ameliorate the performance of the camcorder by making subtle changes in its hardware and mechanism. It has done so, in order to withstand the competition, especially from Sony.  So, expect the best performance from Canon.

The Canon DM XM2 has a few enhancements that ply an array of preferences and shooting situations. This enables the user either to choose the best of the options that suit the situation, or to set it to automatic and leave the option for the camcorder to choose for itself.

CCD Unit:
It has an extremely sensitive CCD unit that gets you 540 lines of horizontal resolution and this enhances the performance in dim light situations. CCD stands for Charge Coupled Device. There are 3 CCD units in total, each of ¼” size and 470K pixels. The CCD has an integrated internal sensor suchlike a photoelectric device, in view of producing the images that are being read by the lens, and thus allowing digital imaging process to give you an excellent image quality. This latest digital device technology gives you very clear and distinct images, which otherwise do not look that good. Normally, these CCDs are used in the fields of scientific, medical and professional applications, where there is no compromise of image quality.

Experience the Difference:
When it comes to Video recording, the Canon XM2 is inferior to none. There are two standard recording speeds, namely SP and LP. They help you set the pace of the video and the frame speed is changed when these options are toggled. There is this Image Stabiliser technology that brushes off the effects of blurring and trailing of the images. With this very new option, you are assured of excellent pictures and videos even if there is a relative motion between the camcorder and the objects. The recommended luminosity level is 100 Lux. But the cam works well efficiently even at low light conditions. Its minimum luminosity level is 3 Lux. So, even if the lighting is not up to the mark, the cam adjusts itself to the existing conditions to give you great pictures. You will definitely feel the difference when recording the videos in such conditions.

Memory Photography:
The camcorder has a built-in memory card slot for you. You need to buy an SD memory card only, since the cam is SD compatible. The camcorder is capable of taking digital still photography. When you insert a memory card, you will be provided with the option of Digital Still Shot. The memory still resolution of the cam is about 1.68 megapixels and the maximum memory still image resolution is 1488 x 1128. So, you will get pictures with high resolution and hence with high clarity. There is no MPEG movie mode. The memory cards are available in the market. You can buy the card that suits you the best.

Picture Adjustments:
This is one of the areas that have been modified and improved by Canon. The XM2 has more options in it to enhance the performance, when compared to the XM1. Mainly, the colour phase adjustments and colour gain adjustments have been improved a lot. These options can alter the properties of colour of the images. You are allowed to choose the colour settings yourself or you can set it to automatic. The manual adjustment facility in this camcorder is a great plus to it. Many camcorders are by default, set to automatic so that the cam chooses the colour settings itself according to the outside conditions. But in many cases, you want to select the settings of your choice. This is possible with the Canon XM2. Also, after you set the options yourself, you can save the settings as custom, just as in the case of a computer. These settings will be saved in the memory and they can be reloaded again whenever needed.

The Slow Shutter Speed feature helps you to set the XM2 to lower shutter speeds up to one sixths of a second. The Gain Control has also been upgraded so that now you can increase the gain to a maximum of 18 dB. The Frame Movie Mode option gives you a progressive shooting performance, at 25 frames per second. So you experience a movie like experience as the pictures blend with one another very smoothly, faster than the persistence of vision of the eye. The video footage also comes at 1/50 slower shutter speed, hence giving you a footage that is almost equal in quality to the HD movies. The 16:9 Guide is a feature that allows you to take accurate 16:9 pictures and then guides you in cropping them.

These picture adjustments make the Canon XM2 behave according to your tastes and desires. The customisation option is definitely going to attract many customers.

Amplified Audio Performance:
This is also one of the areas that Canon focussed on. A good quality video should always be complemented by good audio performance. Otherwise, the video would not look that effective. As we have already seen under Microphones, the sound signals are very efficiently captured by the microphones. Also, the audio is reproduced in stereo mode, while playing the recorded videos. The high definition audio performance is formidable and is almost of studio quality. In addition to this, you can manually control the audio level to a two channel audio, where the input levels can be set with the help of a special dial. Also, the left / right level can be adjusted for the two channels. There is an Audio level meter that has a left and right independent peak holder of 24 segments. This, along with the Audio level meter, is displayed on the LCD and the EVF.

The performance of the 12/16 Bit PCM Digital Stereo Audio is certainly a plus to the XM2. The MA – 300 type microphone adapter gives you the simultaneous recording of two independent channels from both the microphones with XLR connection. There is also the BNC Picture Out Terminal that receives and sends signals in the form of digital signals and hence increases the sound clarity.

These are precisely the performance details of the Canon XM2. In short, there is certainly an improvement in the performance of Canon’s camcorders. Particularly, when you compare the XM2 with its precursor, the Canon XM1, you will find that there is an increase in the number of enhancement options and few of the XM1’s features are modified and renovated.

Battery:

The battery is proprietary Lithium type and it has a life time of about one hour for video shooting and a little more for photo capturing. Since the Video quality is high, it consumes a lot of power. With so many features and enhancements discussed above, the battery life certainly decreases. Since the battery life is low, it is always advisable that you must at least have another spare battery that is fully charged, so that you can replace the older one when it is over.

Warranty and Service:

Canon offers its camcorder parts and labour warranty for a period of one year from the date of purchase and the company also has a central and multilingual helpdesk in Europe. There are toll free numbers for you to call the Canon helpdesk whenever you have a doubt or a problem regarding the functioning of the camcorder. The helpdesk gives you expert advice so that small problems can easily be solved by yourself without any delay. But if the experts find that the problem is not a small one and it needs attention, they will send a technician within a few days and the problem will be rectified.

Verdict:

The Canon XM2 is one of the most impressive camcorders in the market. It looks like a television camera, but is certainly very useful for home and outside shooting. It is so easy to use that even novice users get adapted to it easily. The new unique features and enhancement facilities, combined with excellent performance, make it a most wanted camcorder. It is also very durable, unlike many others which may malfunction over a period of use. But, the cost is very high for less frequent usage such as shooting at home. It is more suitable for students of photography and also for professional photographers, who regularly use it. So, novice users may first opt for smaller and cheaper camcorders, get used to photography, and then go for camcorders as good as this one.  An important advice is that it is better if you get this cam insured since it is very pricey and a small damage may cost you quite a lot especially when the warranty period is over.

Check other Canon Camcorder Reviews, Specs in this website.

Canon DM-XM2 Digital Camcorder – Technical Specification Details

Design:

Built and Display:
The Panasonic SDR-S15 SD Camcorder looks as if it is a plaything. It is very cute and small in size, very comfortable to carry and to hold in the hands. Its dimensions are (W x H x D) 43 x 59 102 mm and it weighs just about 165 grams. So, by any standards, this is a very comfortable camcorder that is available out there. It is very easy to hold too, if you close your hands around it to make a fist, the camcorder itself would almost disappear. It feels a little bit plastic-y, but not so much as to upset you. Less noteworthy is the fact that the S15 is available in reddish brown, black, silver and pink.

The flip-out screen is nice and all the main control options are positioned at a comfortable place for operation with your thumb and fingers, so you do not need to reach out for those buttons with the second hand.

The SDR S15 Flash memory Camcorder has a very generous 2.7 inch wide LCD display with 123,200 pixels, gives you a very good picture of the images and the videos beforehand and during operation. But, there is no viewfinder to help you compose your shots. This means you have to rely on the LCD monitor, which can be difficult to see in bright sunlight.

Connectivity:
There is an interface for the AV out and another one for the USB 2.0 Hi-speed. These can be very useful when playing of the videos and pictures is needed. With these interfaces, the camcorder can be connected to a TV or a PC, to play and store videos and pictures. The SDR-S15 falls down in only offering standard-definition MPEG2 video capture and having a USB cable socket instead of an arm that plugs directly into a Mac. However, this pocket camcorder features a few neat image-enhancing tricks that the others do not.

Memory card slot:
With no internal memory to fall back on, there are optional yet essential SD/SDHC card slots in the camcorder’s base that provides you internal memory to store all the media. These cards may vary in their capacity and they can always be upgraded. You can also have a new card for your camcorder, but that should be an SD card too. This memory card compartment is shared with a rechargeable lithium ion battery, and there is a screw thread just in front for mounting the device on a tripod.

Features:
When it comes to the features, it is not a toy though. Everything works in perfect order and just considering the fact what it costs, there are some surprisingly very advanced features packed in it as well.

Intelligent Auto Mode:
There are lots of features to talk about when it comes to the Panasonic SDR. The best of them is the Intelligent Auto Mode, with which you can shoot amazing videos. This feature is a mix bag of several important functions that enhance the picture quality and automatically switch on the options that make your videos look better. One of such is the Face Detector, which automatically detects the faces of the people in the scene and hence adjusts the exposure settings in view of scanning the faces of people more effectively. Another one is the Intelligent Screen Selector option that, when switched on, automatically adjusts the shooting conditions and also accordingly selects the scene settings. The On- Screen display comes out in many languages such as English, French, German, Polish, Spanish, Italian, Turkish and Swedish.

YouTube Uploader:
Another interesting feature is that of the YouTube Uploader. With this option, uploading of your videos on to YouTube becomes a lot easier. For this, you are required to only set the camera up to the Web mode, and then the cam records the videos and then converts automatically the videos into formats that are compatible with that of YouTube. This enables faster uploading and then sharing them with your dear and not necessarily near ones. The SDR-S15 ultra compact size camcorder has a feature that eases the process of copying recordings from either of a memory card and a hard disk drive to a DVD. By simply connecting the camcorder to a DVD burner and then pressing the burn button, you can burn the DVD out of an external memory device. This DVD can in turn be played on any DVD player.

Quick start option:
There is also a Quick start option that allows your cam to start the recording in just 0.6 seconds after opening the LCD screen. This is a near instantaneous start up and along with this, you are also allowed to have a shot composition and review. This is by far, the fastest. The PictBridge software is the one that allows easy copying of the pictures and printing them easily by directly connecting to a printer. It is also very fast in recording on to a DVD, within 2 seconds. You get all this in pretty good MPEG2 quality.

There is a built-in LED Video Light to compensate for any dullness in the light conditions. These features are indeed very useful and they add to the value of the camcorder.

Performance:

This is the most important area of any camcorder. The Panasonic SDR is a decent performer and the extra features and options on offer only enhance the same. With the stereo audio recording and zoom microphone features, it contributes to a much better audio performance than most of the cameras that you would get in this price category. And with the aid of the very effective electronic image stabiliser, you will be able to achieve reasonably steady shots all the way through its 10x optical range; about which we have discussed below. The latter is a yet another very grown-up feature they you do not get to see in cameras that are this cheap.

Zoom:
The camera is a pretty good one. The Panasonic lens is good and has up to 10x zoom. Also, there is an option for digital zoom, with which you can zoom up to 25x and then the Super Digital Zoom option zooms the pictures up to 700x. But this also effectively reduces the image quality significantly.

Lens:
The camera‘s focal length lies between 2.3 and 23.0 mm. The F value of the lens is about 1.8 for WIDE and 2.4 for TELE. With this camera, you can also capture 35mm films. There is a 35mm film camera equivalent with the specifications as 44.4-444 mm for motion images and about 43.4-434 mm for still images. It has an automatic focus option but you can always change it manually. The iris can also be set to automatic or it can be adjusted manually. The Electric Image Stabiliser can give you better pictures by stabilising the objects seen through the lens. The camera has a shutter, whose speed is about 1/25.

Lighting:
The camera has a standard illumination of 1440 lx. But the minimum illumination is about 6 lx for low light conditions and 2 lx for colour night view mode. White balance option is also available. With this you can change the colour balance of the images. This option is, by default, set as automatic but it can always be altered manually, if needed. There is also Backlight compensation facility that compensates the poor light conditions, and hence ensuring that the quality of the image is not damaged.

Imaging and Recording:
The camera is designed to capture images in JPEG format. The size of the image is about 0.30 megapixels (640 x 480). About 999 images can be stored in it. As discussed above, the PictBridge helps in printing these images easily. Talking about the recording section, motion pictures are recorded in MPEG2 format. The audio is recorded in MPEG1 AudioLayer 2 format. The recording modes are XP (10 Mbps), SP (5 Mbps), LP (2.5 Mbps). There are two types of microphones, the Stereo mic and the Zoom mic and the speakers are dynamic in type. There is an indication for the Media remaining in the memory.

Video Quality:
Dipping into the Panasonic SDR-S15’s basic on-screen menu options reveals five pre-optimised scene modes covering common subjects including sports and portraiture. However, it is very disappointing that the video quality of the camcorder is sadly lacking. While the camcorder shoots at 704 x 576 pixels resolution at 50 fields per second, which turns out to be 25fps once you see it onscreen, it is hardly surprising to find that the details captured lags behind 720p cameras, such as the Flip Mino HD and also the 1080p cameras like the Toshiba Camileo S10.

We had our test done with the Panasonic SDR S15 Camcorder with MPEG2 Recording both indoors and outdoors. We did our tests outside on a cloudy day and the indoor lighting were 100% artificial. The end result was dull and bereft of life. The focus seemed to be extremely soft and though the colour noise was not much of an issue in low light, there was noticeable distortion where straight edges looked bent and the chromatic aberrations in the form of purple fringing were rife.

Power Consumption:

The battery is Lithium-polymer type. The Panasonic SDR-S15 Mini HD Camcorder needs a supply of 5.0 V (for AC) and 3.6 V (for DC). On an average it consumes about 2.9 W of power for full charging.

Warranty:

Panasonic offers a warranty period of one year from the date of purchase.

Verdict:

The Panasonic SDR-S15 is a good camcorder to have. It is better than many when it comes to the design. It really is small and extremely portable. It has a lot of advanced features, which were discussed earlier. The performance is good, but not as good as the camcorders from the other brands. Particularly as the cost is a bit low, it is common that not a mind blowing performance is expected from it. This is the only minus in the video quality. Features wise, it is excellent. So, due to its performance issues, it is not suitable for the professional shooters or photographers. It may serve as a good one for the novice users. Overall, it is a very handy camcorder, if you are not a professional.

Check other SD Camcorder Reviews, Models in this website.

Panasonic SDR-S15 Digital Video Camcorder – Specification Details

Toshiba announced the release of its new high definition Camcorder into the market, the Camileo S10, which is a pocket-sized and a swank Camcorder. It looks just like any modern mobile phone and finally, Toshiba has kept its promise of releasing a mini cam. To compete with its counterparts, Toshiba has slenderised its new cam to a great extent but at the same time, amplified its features, making it a camcorder worth-buying.|

A Renovated Design:

A lot of renovations have been taking place in the design and performance of camcorders, especially from Toshiba. When all the other companies have tried their best in releasing high-definition cams with a maximum of 720p, Toshiba has unleashed its whopping 1080p HD cam, menacing the other brands in the market. The new Camileo S10 Pocket Camcorder looks very stylish when compared to its precursors from Toshiba. It is just about 17.9 mm thick, with its full dimensions as (W x H x D) 57 x 100 x 17.9 mm and is implausibly light in weight, weighing just 87 grams. Its 2.5-inch LCD screen is another asset, and added to that, you can rotate the screen at any angle on its axis, making it very comfortable for filming purposes. The 2.5 inch LCD Screen in Camileo S10 Camcorder is also a comfortable enough one to look at, before filming.

This particular design is very useful when you wish to film yourself. Many companies, at present, do not have this feature and this already resulted in the dissatisfaction of the customers. So, this time, in this area, Toshiba took a lot of care in producing such a design. The overall design is not as alluring as expected, since it is not garnished with shiny and vibrant metallic colours, but its dimensions make it look so smart. As it is easy to handle and simple to use; the novice users will not have any trouble using it.

The Camileo S10 HD Camcorder comes with a Wrist Strap that helps the cam to cling on to your wrist, while capturing a picture or a video. So the chances of the cam slipping from your hand are slim and it adds good value for the money paid.

Features:

Lens:
The Camileo S10 features a 5MP CMOS camera which gives a crystal clear image with no blurs. The camera’s auto focus is also very quick and it detects the faces of people better than any other cam. The Camileo boasts a very detailed HD pictures with superior quality. The CMOS sensor also gives a picture that is so vivid in appearance.

Focus and Resolution:
Toshiba Camileo S10 1080p HD SD Camcorder has a fixed focus lens that helps you fix the object and hence, increases the quality of the image. The Focus ranges from 20 cm to infinity, giving you such a wide range of focus. The still picture resolution of 3200 x 2400 gives a fantastic image quality. The variable focus range of the cam enhances its capturing power a lot, making the lens work more naturally. Just as a human eye, the lens can focus itself on objects at different distances and can give you very sharp and distinct images. Also, the combination 1080p and 30 fps of movie resolution can produce high-definition videos, giving an impression of HD movies.

Zoom:
The 4x digital zoom is also another feature that helps you a lot, even though it gives a bit low quality output for videos.

Memory:
With the help of a SDHC card of 32GB capacity, one can get high quality video recording for more than an hour. It also allows you to store all the pictures and videos into a memory card. The built-in 128 MB NAND Flash Memory, which has a usable memory of around 96 MB, is an extra feature which allows you to store more pictures and videos than normal.

Capacity:
With the Camileo S10 Compact Video Camcorder, you can store up to 327 photos of 8MP, 446 photos of 5MP, and 817 photos of 3MP with a 1 GB SD card. You can as well store up to 15 min of video of 1080 p, 30 min of video of 720 p, 1 hr of VGA and 4 hrs of QVGA types of video. If you wish to have more picture storage, you can always integrate your SD card further.

Picture options:
The NightShot option can be used at nights or during dim light conditions, for better picture quality. It is supported by a Backlight, which has an LED that emits light to give better effects. But, this is not considered as the best of Backlights available, especially during bad light conditions. The pictures or the videos can be captured either in the classic colour format, in black and white format or in the negative format. The cam has a Self-Timer for approximately 10 seconds. The ‘+/- 1 EV’ exposure is also an additional feature. Hence, with the Camileo S10, there are always multiple options for you to choose.

Enhancement Features:
Video stabilisation also minimises the blur effects caused due to moving objects. The scene support helps you choose the right scenario in which the pictures are taken and then make the photos or videos apposite to the scene. The skin tone option allows you to set the skin tone of the persons in the photo. You can also set it to Auto mode and the cam sets itself up for the right skin tone. To store in your personal computer the pictures or videos you have taken, you need to install the software that supports this function, using the CD that is given inside the box.

Software Bundle:
The most important and attractive feature in Toshiba Camileo S10 4x digital zoom Camcorder is the Easy YouTube upload feature, which can be done with the help of ‘arcsoftware’, which is an unforeseen addition. With this software, you can immediately upload and share your pictures and videos onto YouTube easily. Here, the Camileo S10 scores over its competitors. You can also upload them to YouTube from your computer as there is a USB cable which helps you to connect to any computer easily.

HDMI Connectivity:
The HDMI cable connects to a HD TV, and a video cable to any video player, for playing your pictures and videos on the screen.

Performance:

Coming to the performance, the Camileo S10 is a very user friendly cam and it does not trouble the users often. The performance is excellent in the daylight. But at night, the quality of the picture or video decreases considerably and even if there is a backlight, the camera is not that effective in dim light scenarios. Many people have already commented on this stating that the results are not as good as expected, when it comes to indoor shooting. The zoom function degrades the quality of the image or video, particularly at night.

System requirements:

The system requirements are, your computer must have an operating system of Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista. The CPU must be of Intel Pentium III or above, with at least 256 MB of RAM and 700 MB of hard disk space. The synchronisation can be done only by using the USB port.

Package contents:

The box contains the Camileo S10 High Definition Camcorder itself, USB Cable, Video Cable, HDMI Cable, Power Adapter, Warranty Leaflet, Quick Start Guide, CD, Wrist Strap, Pouch, Tripod and a Cleaning Cloth.

Battery:

The NP60 Lithium ion rechargeable battery can support uninterrupted video capture for about 100-120 minutes, which is very much considerable. The cam also has a power saving mode for about 3 minutes. A Power Adapter is given along with the cam and it gets fully charged in just a few minutes.
Also, the battery is irremovable, which makes it very difficult for people who constantly travel and if the existing battery is over, they need to wait till it gets recharged again and if the circumstances do not allow the charging of the battery, then they are in trouble. So, the absence of a removable battery is certainly a big minus.

Warranty:

The Company offers the customers a warranty for a period of 2 years. One can extend the warranty online by visiting the Toshiba website. It also offers a complete money back offer within 7 days from the date of purchase, if the customer is not satisfied with the product.

Verdict:

The Camileo S10 PX1506K-1CAM camcorder gives you a good value for your money. The new style, improved picture quality and a good collection of features are the highlights of the device. It has a high picture resolution and its rotatable screen also make it very pertinent to its cost. The screen is big enough and the 5MP camera is a very common feature nowadays. Its battery life is good. Though there are a few concerns over the performance of the camcorder, the device has a quality that is good enough for casual shooting. The battery being irremovable which is certainly not a good news, especially when you are taking it out for a holiday.

Regarding warranty, it is appreciable to have a warranty period of 2 years and many companies do not dare to challenge the customers for a complete money back offer. So, it shows that the cam is durable. Also, the Toshiba Camileo S10 is certified with FCC, CE, RoHS, GOST, SABS and SASO. But above all, the price is reasonable when compared to the other cams. Overall, the Toshiba Camileo S10 Camcorder is a good tool to have, both to the novice users particularly for outdoor shooting. But for the professional photographers, Sony Handycam will be the brand to look for.

Check other Toshiba Camcorder Reviews, Specifications in this website.

Toshiba Camileo S10 Pocket Size Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

The 2009 Line of Panasonic Camcorders includes the standard definition lineup with three new solid state memory camcorders: the Panasonic SDR-S15, the Panasonic SDR-S26, and the Panasonic SDR-SW21. The key features of the range include cheap prices and compact colourful designs and use flash storage cards. The SDR-S26 is Panasonic’s top of the line standard definition flash memory camcorder. It features the improved iA Technology, the Advanced Optical Image Stabilization and the 70x Optical Zoom, which is branded as the USP of this camcorder.

Design:

The Exteriors:
The first thing that you notice about the Panasonic SDR-S26 is its compact design. Being small, you can get a steady footage most of the time with ease. The Camcorder is available in 4 attractive colours: Red, Black, Chrome and Blue. However, its sibling the Panasonic SDR-SW20 is visually more appealing due to its dual tone colour scheme. The textured LCD exterior is no more available.  From the aesthetic point of view, Panasonic seemed to have placed the older camcorders’ soul in a newer body. External design happens to be the most drastic change in the camcorder, without tinkering much with the inner working.

The battery of the SDR-S26 SD camcorder is tucked inside the camcorder’s body, giving it a much classier appearance than many of its “booty” battery siblings (Panasonic SDR H80K, Panasonic HDC SD20 K and Panasonic HDC SX5).

Dimensions and Display:
The (H x W x D) 107 x 56 x 65 mm camcorder is not as compact as its predecessor the Panasonic SDR S7, but it still would slip comfortably into a bag or pocket.  It weighs about 235 grams, so it would not weigh you down.

The 2.7 inch touch display with a 180 degree swing makes following all the action a lot easier. The cam is solid and sturdy, so you can let your kids play around without any worries.

Buttons and Navigation in SDR-S26:
The SDR-S26 uses the traditional joystick interface, located outside the LCD cavity. It is responsive and easy to use. However, one needs to use both hands to make menu adjustments. The buttons could have been slightly bigger as selecting controls is laborious. There is also a button provided for accessing various features through the menu. On the left of the LCD frame are the main menu button and the joystick. The joystick enables you to navigate and make menu selections.  A video light is present right under the lens, in front of the camera.

Connectivity-Interface:
A USB 2.0 Socket is provided for the handy-cam.  One disappointing fact about the S26 is the lack of HD.

Protection:
Regarding Shock protection, the SDR S26 resisted a couple of smashes on a concrete sidewalk. You will be able to shoot without any problem. However, any harm caused to your camcorder while testing its strength is not covered under warranty.

User Interface:
Under the menu, the focus option contains the Auto and the Manual sub-options. The Auto Focus option enables the cam to focus as per the need of the situation and provide optimal focus. The Manual option allows the user to set focus as per the need. The White Balance option has the Auto, Indoor, Outdoor and the White set sub-options.  The Indoor filing of most videos is grainy. To reduce graininess, put the balance on the indoor mode.  The Iris option has the Auto and Manual Sub-options.

Features:

The S26 is light weight and so compact that it can fit in your coat pocket. It has features like the Optical Image Stabilizer and the monstrous 70x Zoom. The SDHC format makes it very easy to transfer files. The Webmode helps you to upload your videos on YouTube-a popular video sharing site. We will discuss each of these features in detail below.

Memory:
The Panasonic SDR S26 Flash Memory Camcorder captures movies and stills to SD and SDHC in MPEG2 and JPEG Formats. The advantage of the SDHC format is the ease of which transfer of files can be done. It offers the “Mass Storage “support, which means that you can see all your files by connecting your camcorder with a USB to your PC. Though Storage capacity of the gadget depends on the card, about 50 minutes of video can be crammed into a 4GB SD card. By standards, that is of a reasonable value.  Use a 32 GB Card and in LP Mode, you could record up to 26 hours non-stop. The SDR-S26 allows you to use SD/SDHC format cards ranging from 128MB to 32GB. The usage of SD card is also a contributing factor for its compact size.

The Zoom and Image Stabilizer:
Perhaps, the USP of the camcorder is it’s 70x zoom. While most camcorders fumble reaching 10x magnification, the SDR-S26 Compact Video Camcorder manages to provide clear dynamic images of distant subjects in still images with the help of the Advanced Optical Image Stabilizer.It eliminates the slightest effect of handshakes to provide crystal quality stills and videos.  However, a tripod would be necessary to make the best use of it. The Focal Length of the lens can be adjusted from 1.5 to 105 mm.

Intelligent functions:
The iA function of the SDR-S26 detects shooting conditions and selects the most ideal shooting mode automatically. The Advanced Optical Image Stabilizer eliminates blurring due to weak hand grip.

The Intelligent Scene Selector determines the shooting conditions and selects a suitable “Scene” Mode that it assumes will provide optimal results. It also has Face Detection which adjusts exposure to capture all the faces perfectly.

Easy YouTube uploading:
One more attractive feature of the SDR-S26 is the “Easy YouTube Uploading” Function. It allows you to upload your videos to the YouTube website for sharing them with the world.

In order to do that, Install the VideoCam suite (included with the camcorder) and connect the camcorder to the PC using the USB. Follow the specified procedure mentioned in the window to upload your videos. To be able to upload those videos on the site, they should be recorded using webmode. The maximum length of a video that one can upload is 10 minutes.

Quick Start:
If you suddenly spot something and want to record it, just turn on the cam; recording can begin in just 0.8 seconds. This ensures that the sudden memorable and exciting shooting opportunities are not missed.
Easy video copying to DVD:

If you want to transfer your videos to a DVD, simply connect the camcorder to the VW-BN1 DVD burner using the USB Cable, your recordings can be copied to a DVD disc (DVD RAM/-RW/-R/-R DL). Playback should not be a worry as it can be played on the DVD Players.

Performance:

Resolution and Audio Quality:
Most movies on the S26 offer a decent detail and a fair accurate pallet of colours and the audio is clear. Its low resolution makes it handy for uploading videos to the internet. In the Web Mode file sizes are kept down. However, in the Top Quality mode, the footage is not great and you get mosaic effects while shooting moving objects. The VGA stills are murkier than a mobile phone.  It is a common feature amongst camcorders like the S26. The shoddy low light performance can annoy one especially if you are watching clips that keep going in and out of focus.  The Recording format of the Videos is .MPEG2 and for the images it is .JPEG format. The Maximum Images it would store is around 999 pictures. The Still pictures would be of 0.3 Megapixel category [(680x480) in case of 4:3 aspect ratio)] and 0.23 Megapixels [(640x480) in case of 16:9 aspect ratio)]. The Audio Recording system is Dolby Digital (2ch) and the speaker is Dynamic.

Great Video in Sunlight, Poor Otherwise:
All you need to do to use the still cam and the camcorder is to point and shoot.  In Bright conditions or outdoors, the clarity of the cam is excellent. However, darker are the surroundings, grainier the quality of the video. In Low light, the video quality is horribly poor. The stills taken are of very low resolution. Like camcorders of its size, it lacks HD quality. However, the saving grace is the 70x Optical zooming, which allows you to zoom on objects as far as 200m away with ease.

Very Simple Shifting Among the Modes:
On switching on the camcorder, the screen shows the recording mode and by pressing the menu button, you can alter the settings/scene/mode. You could choose the Webmode for uploading videos on the net. Unlike most of its competitors, it has a reasonably simple interface and it is easy to shift from one mode to another.

What about the rivals?

The Canon FS 100, another SD Cam, is in the same league as the Panasonic SD 26. The 37X Zoom of the FS 100 is dwarfed by the 70x Zoom of the FS26 and the latter’s Advanced Optical Image stabilizer makes it a winner. However, the FS100 has a resolution of 1.7 MP, much higher than the S26 which can only conjure 640X400 snaps.

The Sony Handycam DCR SR67, released around the same time as the S26, is another serious competitor. It has HDD and 80GB Internal Storage, which beats the S26 flat.  However, the zoom ratio is 1:60 and it uses more power and is more prone to physical damage. Also the Memory Stick PRO Duo is more expensive and less versatile compared to the popular SDHC option.
The features such as Face Detection, Colour Night View and the Pre-recording mode make it more productive.  The Pre-recording feature, when activated keeps a buffer of 3 seconds in video, so that you would not miss the vital frames.

Battery life:

The Panasonic SDR-S26 runs on a Lithium Ion Rechargeable battery (940 mAh). A full battery at optimal usage might last around 40 minutes. If you want to record something longer than that, connect the camcorder to a power source using the adapter.

Accessories:

Along with the camcorder, an AC Adaptor, an AC Cable, DC Cable, an AV Cable, a USB Cable and a set of Rechargeable batteries are provided. The Software Video Cam Suite 2.0 is also provided with it.

Warranty:

Panasonic offers its SDR-S26 a warranty period of up to 1 year for maintenance and service.

Verdict:

The Panasonic SDR-S26 is highly impressive in sunlight or well lit places. However, the video quality is not that great in dimmer conditions.  It is an entry level camcorder that lacks scene modes and other menu options. It does not have HD Recording facility either.  Panasonic has models which are more superior to the SDR-S26. However, considering the price tag and the features you get with such as the Advanced Optical Image Stabilisation, Intelligent Auto function and the 70x Zoom, this compact camcorder is well priced.  If you are looking for a mini movie maker without bothering about the quality of the video, then this is a great deal.

Check 2010 Best Camcorders, other Panasonic Camcorder Reviews, Specs in this website.

Panasonic SDR-S26 SD Camcorder – Technical Specifications, Features

The hard disk drive is a relatively new digital video recording media, but it is a one that is worth checking out. You can enjoy a lot of advantaged by opting for a camcorder with the media as HDD and this is because you can enjoy a lot of advantages. One of the major advantages of the camcorder is that, they have no extra costs that are associated with recording video and some of the other advantages include higher memory, easy viewing and simple editing. The following review is on one such camcorder using HDD media, the Sony DCRSR37ES Handycam.

Design:

Light and compact:
The Sony DCRSR37ES Handycam being an entry level model of the DCR SR series, still managed to pull up a very light, compact and stylish camcorder. It comes in quite attractive aluminium like silver and matte black finish, with the sliver part dominating the finishing. It has a 2.7″ hybrid LCD display which is touch-sensitive too. Being extremely compact, it is suitable for any kind of environment. The physical controls of the camcorder are of textbook design with the start and stop buttons being at the back and the zoom rocker up in the front of the shutter release for the snapshots in photo mode. The hand strap is comfortable, but we feel that it is a little low and since the HDD camcorders have become so light, there is barely a bump encasing it, making the camcorder’s body, mostly the lens.

Buttons and controls:
You will be able to find the battery jutting out from the back and just beneath it along with the Memory Stick Pro Duo card slot and the power input. In the front, just below the lens, there is the AV output that is hiding behind a small door. Once the touch screen display is flipped open, you will be able to find an array of buttons in the body cavity for power, on and off the display information, direct to DVD recording, changing over to the playback mode and an easy button that locks down the camcorder’s few advanced features. In addition to this, you will also find a button that automatically adjusts the exposure for the backlit subjects and an uncovered USB port.

Ease of use:
The ease of use is also very high in this Sony DCRSR37ES Hybrid Camcorder partly because of the touch screen based menu navigation and also partly because of its dearth of shooting options. This type of menu system will be very handy for consumers who do not like to make many changes to the standard settings. Though the system is very responsive, it can be very confusing for the novice users who are new to Sony handycam menu systems. Pressing over the menu gives you access to the context sensitive shooting options and to get into any other set of features, hit over the home button. One of the major issues that you would face with the menu system is that, you might not know which function rests where, however Sony has offered the manual with the menu tree, but for day to day shooting, looking at the menu each time will be not a pleasant task to do. With more practice, you will not have any of the above mentioned troubles with the menu system.

Features:

Not much option:
Since the camcorder had mainly designed for the sake of hassle free recording, the DCRSR37ES does not have a lot of shooting options. You are offered with some more scene options if you want to be specific and the same applies for white balance. Total control of the focus and exposure can be got by touching the spot on the screen you would like the camcorder to get its information from.

Incredible zoom and lens:
Sony has equipped DCRSR37ES with an incredible 60X zoom range. This extraordinary zoom range would get even the most distant objects fill in the frame. We were honestly dumbstruck to see such clear and amazing set of details and packed up close up shots. This is also aided by the handycam’s high quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens. This lens is specially recommended by professional photographers for offering precise colour, excellent contrast and an unbelievably low distortion at any focal length.

Picture Motion Browser:
Managing all your clips can be very easy with the Picture Motion Browser that is included for free with your camcorder. With the help of this software, you will be sorting, searching and editing the clips just in seconds.

Mammoth Hard Disk Drive Capacity:
The selling point feature of the DCRSR37ES tape-less camcorder is that, it comes with a massive 60GB hard disk drive that can record upto 45 hours of high quality standard definition video. You also get to use the HYBRID recording on an optional memory stick.

Other common features:
Some of the other common features included in DCRSR37ES handycam too include SteadyShot Image Stabilisation, Face Index and Film roll index that allows you to make very quick and easy searches and also the One Touch Disc burn and easy backup via the USB2.0 high speed connection.

Performance:

Ready in an instant:
Being a low end camcorder, the DCRSR37ES puts up a great performance. The instant on feature gets the camcorder instantly ready and up for getting those special moments by just opening the LCD display. Though this is a very common feature, it is good to have it though. Though the autofocus is quite responsive, when the camcorder is zoomed out, the autofocus is left hunting for focus especially in the low light areas and conditions.

Video quality:
The overall video quality is soft. You will be able to get the ultimate sharp pictures in TeleMacro mode. You will be able to notice a lot of noise and digital artifacts until they are scaled down to smaller dimensions. The colours look bright and white balance is good too. Shooting in the low light areas, you will find that the video is of decent quality but then, there will be quite a lot of noise. Unfortunately, Sony’s  DCRSR37ES handycam did not manage to maintain its decent performance in the still shots shooting also, we recommend to use your camera phone for this handycam.

Clear audio:
The audio is quite clear with Sony’s super smart microphone. It eliminates the background noise and all the other off camera noises to the maximum when you are focussed on your subject.

Warranty:

Sony DCRSR37ES Handycam Camcorder with Built-In 60GB HDD comes with one year limited warranty for parts and labour.

Battery:

A fully charged battery of DCRSR37ES will give you about 11.5 hours of life. But if you are switching on and off continuously, this rate will reduce considerably. Since the stand-by battery drain is very low, you can always be ready to catch that special moment.

Verdict:

It is very true that you will be able to get a camcorder with better performance for a few more pounds, but the Sony DCRSR37ES HDD camcorder justifies its cost. The standard definition videos are also very less demanding to play and edit on an average system and they are very inexpensive ones too. In fact, with DCRSR37ES you are just trading off the quality of video for the sake of higher storage and 60x zoom. And on the positive side, it is light weight and easy to use. All that we are trying to say is that, when you are paying for Standard definition, you can expect only SD and not HD.

Some other popular handycam from sony are Sony Handycam DCR-SR290E,
Sony HDR-SR11E and Sony HDR-TG7VE.  You can read reviews and find specification details in this website.

Sony DCRSR37ES Digital Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Extremely pocket friendly but feels cheap:

The Veho VCC-002 Kuzo High Definition Camcorder is one of the most compact camcorders in the market. We are very certain that there will be some room in your pockets with its miniature dimensions of (H x W x D) 57 x 17.9 x 100 mm, complementing its manufacturer’s name “Veho”, which is a Latin word meaning “to carry” or “Portable”. Having a great deal of portability, the Kuzo HD camcorder comes in matte black finishing with polished steel linings and font which is actually quite plastiky. The camcorder gives you a great feel with its unique tacton soft rubber grip body and again, though the rubber gripe body gives you a better feel while shooting, it makes the device look a bit cheap.

The display and controls:

The display is a High Resolution 3 inch touch screen that is very responsive and gives tactile feedback. This screen is actually a large one for a camera of this size. The pictures and videos are clear, but cannot be said as perfect. All the menu buttons are available in the side of the camcorder that includes power, Zoom control, record button etc. The surprise here is that you also have a really nice and handy headphone port, which means the Veho Kuzo can also be used to listen to the MP3s. Though all the controls are quite easy to use, the zoom in and out control is very flimsy and so, it can get you really frustrated while shooting few precious moments. The lens shield is built-in.

Connectivity:

For connectivity, the Kuzo VCC-002 Compact Video Camcorder has the USB and HDMI port. Now featuring a HDMI output, the Camcorder is the perfect companion to a High Definition LCD TV. With HDMI you will be able to output all your High Definition footage directly to a TV and witness it in all its glory. When connected to a 1080p LCD TV set your footage will be displayed in unsurpassed quality. You can even record whilst the Camera is connected to your TV, in case you want to know what the video will look like once produced.

Features:

Veho have pedigree in the area of compact camcorders and Kuzo is simply a fabulous addition. With the true high definition and video stabilization feature, the Veho VCC-002 Kuzo HD Camcorder is certainly ahead of its major rival, the Flip HD.

Resolution:

With its True super HD, the camcorder has a resolution of 1920 x 1080p. This is really handy since widescreen HD is the new standard nowadays. Videos are recorded at 30 frames per second and uses H.264 compression technology to get smaller file sizes without sacrificing video quality.

Zoom:

It also has an amazing 20x Optical or Digital Zoom, that offer you with stable close up shots from a long distance. With this kind of zooming power, you will never have to worry about the images getting pixilated during the process. For the sake of still digital images, the camcorder has a 5 mega pixel Cmos Optics and is capable of capturing 4000 x 3000 pixel still images in the High Quality mode.

CMOS Sensor:

The sensor used by the digital camcorder is a CMOS sensor. In a CMOS sensor, each pixel has its own charge-to-voltage conversion, and the sensor often also includes amplifiers, noise-correction, and digitization circuits, so that the chip outputs digital bits. These other functions increase the design complexity and reduce the area available for light capture. With each pixel doing its own conversion, uniformity is lower.

Low internal memory:

Although the Veho Kuzo VCC-002 camcorder has a better image quality and quality optical zoom, it’s very low internal memory puts it down. The camcorder has a very low internal memory of mere 128MB. However, it also has a SD slot of up to 32GB maximum capacity, so you can cope up by using memory cards. It would have been nicer if Veho had included a memory card of at least 1GB capacity in the package. The video captured is saved in file format is AVI (H.264) and the still images are stored in the JPEG format.

Technologies Employed:

The other technologies employed in the VCC-002 Kuzo to get the best performance out of the camcorders are, motion detection, video stabilization and digital light or night model. The exposure modes include Program and Automatic. The video stabilisation feature stabilizes the recorded video by varying the optical path to the sensor. This technology is implemented in the lens itself, rather than in the camera itself.

Motion Detection:

Life does not stand still for still picture taking or foe that matter, capturing the videos. That is why the advanced Motion Detection Technology is included in the Veho VCC-002 True HD 1080p Camcorder. This is a very sophisticated feature that works in the background to instantly evaluate how fast the subject is moving, and then it automatically selects and sets the optimal exposure and ISO settings to keep everything looking sharp and clear. When you need higher ISOs for action stopping shutter speeds, Motion Detection Technology provides it. But when no movement is detected, it allows lower ISOs for excellent color and detail. So whether you are shooting a bride walking down the aisle, a ballet recital or even a child’s soccer game, you can relax and shoot with confidence knowing you have got the picture you intended.

Audio:

The built in microphone is average in capturing the voices; so if you are looking to get good audio input, you might as well opt for an external mike. The audio play back of the MP3s from the headphone is very good.

Compatible OS:

Since the Veho Kuzo camcorder is compatible with both Windows and Mac Operating Systems, you will have no issues while transferring images to any of these OSs.

Software Bundle:

The software bundle that comes with the camcorder has the YouTube Direct Software and the usual drivers. With the YouTube Direct software, you will be able to capture the video in YouTube mode and upload into YouTube directly with just a few button clicks. This feature will seem to be very attractive to the YouTube Freaks like us.

Package:

The package includes the Veho VCC-002 Kuzo HD camcorder itself, USB cable, A/V cable, HDMI cable, power adaptor and a very attractive carrying pouch.

Power:

Veho has employed the NP60 Lithium ion battery which lasts for a couple of hours before the battery gets completely drained out.

Warranty:

Veho VCC-002 Kuzo HD camcorder comes with one year manufacturer’s warranty.

Verdict:

The Veho VCC-002 Kuzo HD is one of the very few HD camcorders in the market that are available for less than 100 pounds. With this device, you certainly get what you play for. But if you are not happy with the image quality, you can even opt for the Flip HD Mino, which is available for around 150 pounds. But, with the Flip model, you will not get a display that is as big as the one in this, you also do not get the headphone port, but you do get a slightly better image and picture quality. So, you can opt for the Flip HD Mino for a better picture, or if you are looking for something cheap, to just fit in your pocket and film quickly on, then the Veho VCC-002 Kuzo HD is probably the right choice.

Check Aiptek Camcorder Reviews, HDD Camcorder Reviews in this website.

Veho VCC-002 Kuzo Camcorder – Technical Specification Table

Design:

Miniature Design:
To start with the design, Kodak ameliorated the design of previous years Zi6 Pocket Video Camcorder and present years Zx1 a lot, in which both of the designs were meant to be subtle but were not very great. The Kodak Zi8 seems to be sleeker than Zi6 and also is very far from the other smallest or lightest pocket camcorders you found prior to it. Kodak Zi8 is reasonably compact, and measures 2.4 inch height, 4.5 inch long and 0.9 inch thick and weighs 4.8 ounces.

Scratchy and Smudgy:
The Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera comes up in three different attractive colours which were nicknamed by Kodak as black, aqua and raspberry. It comprises of 2.4 inch liberally sized and acute LCD on the back of the device. The solely notable pull back is that, the three models are finger print attractors, and in result one should be always busy wiping down the device to keep it clear from prints. The plastic finish of the device is also very hyper sensitive to scratches and so, you should likely protect the device in a separate cover, especially when you carry keys in your pocket. Regrettably, even though Kodak sells covers and remote controls for the device, it is not providing any kind of cases or remote controls in the package.

Features:

True HD Camcorder with 720p and 1080p Recording:
Most of the camcorders of this type are noted as HD while we purchase them, and in real would not be capable of performing like true HD camcorders that are highly expensive and comprises of high ranked lens and sensors. But we must admit, Zi8’s image quality is improved a lot. And it is the first pocket camcorder in the market which is sporting 1080 pixel 30 frames per second video capture and still image capture of 5 mega pixel. Finally we should surely thank Kodak’s incorporation for the 1/ 2.5 inch five mega pixel CMOS sensor. Similar to Zi6, the new model Zi8 also records a video in 720 pixel resolution at up to 60 frames per second, which is said to be best for sports and action. At the same time, 720p at 30 frames per second which is best suited for sharing them on Youtube and Facebook and WVGA which is best to preserve storage space on the memory card.

Memory:
As in the case of the earlier models Zi6 and Zx1, the new model also comes out with superficial quantity of internal memory and at the same time Kodak did not add even a memory card in the package. One will definitely wish that Kodak have added a 1GB SD card in the package, but the borders on the price of the product is already taut, so that we can interpret that the manufacturer requires to cut off some corners to bang an eye grabbing price level. Anyhow, at this point it is clear that you should render you own up SD card. The Zi8 admits SDHC cards of up to 32 GB, so that it can store heaps of videos and still photos.

It was calculated in the tests that when you try to shoot a high level 1080 pixel video, you will able to shoot up to 110 to 150 MB per minute, which depends upon the video content, or around 14 to 18 minutes of video footage on a distinctive 2GB card. The manufacturer has quoted it to be 20 minutes per giga byte but it is a video of resolution 720 pixel. In Kodak’s Zi8 videos are converted as universally compatible QuickTime MPEG-4 MOV files using H.264 compression, similar to most of the rivals.

User friendly:
As in the case of all the mini camcorders, the Zi8’s design is made so that it is very easy to use. Kodak has attained some betterment to the interface and navigation through the device’s menus by including a four way rocker control. That very clearly states that, referring the manual to check out incisively what the icons represents in the settings menu and make certain you have everything arranged aright is an excellent thought.

Fast Forwarding And Rewinding:
You will definitely like its four speeds of rewinding and fast forwarding, and also if you wish you can advance or rewind the video footage frame by frame.

Acoustics:
The 2.4 inch LCD display seems to be sharp and the play back sound is adequately loud which is produced through the device’s small speakers once you churl the volume up. The mic appears to be very sensitive as long as the object is away by a few feet. But in case if you want to improve the quality of your recordings, you should choose an external stereo mic, which will perform a best task at catching the sound, external mics are little expensive though. For the time being, however, one of the significant distinguishing characteristics of the Kodak Zi8 High Definition Camcorder is the external mic choice, which will suit to everyone, from journalists to unskilled documentarians.

Performance:

Excellent Video Quality:
You will be decidedly struck by the video quality of the new Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Camcorder. Similar to all the pocket camcorders out in the market, this model also provides excellent quality of video if the unit stands still while shooting, mounting it on a tripod will give you very best results. At the same time you will also encounter that this is the very first model ever to have included electronic image stabilisation. We cannot say that it makes an immense difference, however it helps in cutting down the small hand jim-jams while shooting. One of the drawbacks of using the feature is that, it eats up the battery very fast, if the device is already fixed on a tripod it is best to turn electronic image stabilisation off.

Sharp videos with vibrant colours:
Few tests were conducted on the device by shooting videos primarily in 1080p mode, which resulted in sharp clippings, vibrant and comparatively accurate colours. This is great news for a pocket camcorder. Although the Kodak Zi8 4x Digital Zoom camcorder is not very fast, the device very quickly adjusts to its exposure when it is panned from dark scenes to brilliantly lit scenes, and it also redresses suitably for the subjects in backlit. Utilising the face detection feature provided (which can be turned on or off as required) you can seal in on a subject and the device adjusts its exposure, for instance, say if the face you locked away is too shady. All the same it deserves noting that in doing the modification, the device is given to soften that part of image as it hikes the benefits from the device.

Outstanding Low Light Performance by Zi8:
Even though the still photos captured by the device are not so great, they are better ones when compared to those taken by distinctive camera phone and in overall they reasonably use able. It seems that Kodak has tried a lot to make good amendments in the low light performance of the device, as it is producing excellent results under low light also. Although the earlier model Zi6 did a good job under low light, the new model Kodak Zi8’s image quality is even better than earlier, with very minute see-able noise. Regrettably when you try to press the joystick which is double in size of the shutter button, it tugs the camcorder, drawing it very difficult to capture good shots.

Occupying Feature Macro Mode Focus:
Another worthy indicating fact about the Zi8 camcorder from Kodak is that it is equipped with macro mode, which permits you to concentrate on subjects that are at very close range. One amongst the main issues of the pocket camcorders, which includes camcorders built by Flip Video, is that their unfit to concentrate on subjects that are at a distance of a foot or two away from the device. But if just click on the macro mode switch which is located on the top of Zi8, you will be capable to enter into tight and very close focus on objects.

ArcSoft MedialImpression Software for Windows:
By default, the Zi8 is set to 720p recording, preponderantly since most of the computers would not be capable of smoothly playing the 1080p video, which is also converted to a comparatively very high bit rate of approximately more or less 20mbps. When videos were played on the Samsung 50 inch LCD HDTV through HDMI, the video looked quite as a decent embellished one. The other included software named MediaImpression was optimised by Kodak and ArcSoft, which is in the memory of the camcorder and it mechanically installs on machines with Windows when you connect the USB connector of Zi8 into the desktop or PC- for the playback of high bit rate. There will not be any issues with it. The limitation over the software may raise few issues for some others, especially for the unsupported operating system X users. However, you will be still capable of editing the 1080p video in some third party software.

Imovie Software:
The ArcSoft MedialImpression software comprises of the common short cut upload into YouTube, along with some editing out characteristics that permit you to clean cut your clips, correct the contrast, colour and brightness, and also ties your video clips into a united “movie” and complete it with custom-made back drop music and titles. As it was said earlier this software is compatible with Windows only. If you own a Mac PC, still you can copy your videos and still images into your computer by hauling and dropping down the files similar to the way you would do when you use a USB storage device and edit the videos by utilising iMovie.

Slenderised Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery:
In order to cut down the size of the device, Kodak has taken an opportunity of utilising slenderised rechargeable battery of lithium ion alternative to the AA NiMH rechargeable batteries that were packed along with Zi6 device. Though it is a good move, you would not be provided with the privilege of switching in a pair of standard alkaline batteries when you run out of power in your way. As in the case of most of its predecessors, you can charge the battery by connecting it directly to the computer through a flip out cable, at the same you are also provided with a AC adapter which can be connected to a wall outlet also.

Package Particulars:

The package of Kodak Zi8 1080p HD Video Camcorder comprises of the Camera itself, KODAK Li-Ion Rechargeable Digital Camera Battery KLIC-7004,  Adapter and cable for battery charging, HDMI and AV cables , Wrist strap,User Guide and ARCSOFT MEDIA IMPRESSION Software for Kodak (PC only).

Warranty:

The manufacturer Kodak has provided a limited warranty of 1 year for Zi8 pocket camcorder.

Verdict:

Even though the Kodak Zi8 holds few drawbacks, on overall we can confidently state that this is the best pocket camcorder out in the market, with its high ranking image quality and the best features. Though we are not sure of what future may hold, at present we can suggest Kodak Zi8 over Flip Video models. Whilst other competitors are also coming into the market with their pocket camcorders sporting new and modern features along with 1080p video capture, Kodak is the best as it is well known for its brand. Its advanced features like electronic image stabilisation, MedialImpression software are adding a lot to the device. Its performance highlights like excellent low light performance, video capture of 1080p resolution are occupying a lot. Its macro mode focus, 5 mega pixel still capture, SD card slot, obliterable and rechargeable battery, clustered composite and HDMI cables and image quality for such a small pocket camcorder are making the device more attractive for the device.

For a consumer who is looking for a small pocket camcorder with all advanced features and excellent performance at a really reasonably affordable price, then the Kodak Zi8 camcorder is the best suits for them.

Check other Kodak Camcorder Reviews in our website.

Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera – Technical Specification Table

Design

First Impressions for “The Best camcorder”:
Taking it straight out of the box, the first thing you discover is that Aiptek AHD200 is very light and compact. You will feel thankful when you encounter the Aiptek AHD200’s battery came fully charged and thus is ready to use. The memory cards in ADH200 format is such as the ones in digital camcorders that record MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 to memory cards, and their encoding schemes need the power to write to the card more quickly than most standard cards that can be handled. The Aiptek AHD200 camcorder records and playbacks movie clips and still pictures by using high capacity SD cards. The SD cards are very well designed to deal with the Aiptek camcorders without any trouble.

Well Laid Out On-Screen Menu System:
The Aiptek AHD200 PocketDV HD camcorder holds graphic icons on to the on-screen menu system which is well laid out, to make operation quick and easy. There are only few buttons provided, but are sufficient to work out and record a video clip which will also allow you to playback immediately. Under the main body the card is slotted which is moulded to render reasonable comfort to the palm, and bears it as it does in a pistol-grip body form.

Digital Still Picture Button:
Simple playback controls are situated on the left of the LCD frame, with a main control dial situated on the upper rear of the body. This has main Mode and Menu buttons, in addition to a Digital Still Picture button. In the centre of this dial is a mini joystick with which is used to navigate and make menu selections. To the front of the camera, a video light is in built and is directly under the lens.

2.4 inch LCD Display:
The two sided 2.4″ TFT LCD display has a form factor of rotating type and is of size 61mm. The display is formatted as AVI which is again, a digital video format. Doubtlessly, the screen display is very efficient and a quality built-in camcorder is presented from Aiptek for its customers.

Pistol Shaped Aiptek Camcorder:
The Aiptek AHD200’s design is very simple, and it looks like a pistol. The Power On button is placed on the left side of the LCD frame, and once you press it you are up to start the camcorder in a second. It can also be turned on just by riffling out the screen and at the same time can be turned off just by simply closing the screen or pressing the off button next to the screen. The LCD of 2.4 inches has the playback buttons positioned alongside. The mode and menu buttons, a still shutter release and a small joystick are present on the rear of the camcorder and can be operated by the right thumb. A switch on the lens barrel which can be used to shift between portrait/landscapes and macro modes, and the record button is positioned in such a way that it can be sparked with the index finger and they are only other controls present on the camcorder.

Buttons on the Camcorder’s Rear:
Aiptek AHD200 Digital Video camcorder starts and stops recording just by placing finger on the trigger. The buttons placed on the rear end provides you with an advantage of operating them easily and also avoids you from covering the flash with your finger and prevents this problem which is a common one with the pistol form factor.

Aiptek AHD200’s Construction is Tough:
The overall construction of Aiptek AHD200 CCD camcorder is tough, without much of deforming and squeaking, though the rear placed buttons feel like plastic. Whilst thumb level joystick zooming is zippy and demands lot of rehearse for sensible movements, it is also pliable enough and is a play to use it. The joystick is placed in a lighted well that flashes during recording. Even though it is disturbing we can also happy that it is at least providing a visual sign that the camera is in action.

Features

Principal Advantages of Aiptek ADH200 Camcorder:
Some of the main advantages that Aiptek AHD200 sports are: a very compact camcorder, makes search easy and allows random access to video segments, selectable image-quality levels, including high quality variable-bit-rate recording, instead of recording on a cassette it allows recording both video and still images on a disc and a memory card.

Video and Photo Capabilities:
The AVC (Advanced Video Codec) .MOV H.264 codec is used by High definition recording for its 1280 x 720p compressed HD video. Even though at first glimpse it appears to be AVCHD (as mostly used by other mainstream HDD, SDHC and DVD HD camcorders), it is not rather the same codec; alternatively, the camera saves its video files to SD media as .MOV files. Between 8 MP (3200 x 2400), 5 MP (2592 x 1944) and 3 MP (2048 x 1536) at 4:3 picture aspect ratios, the JPEG format stills resolutions are selectable. On the other hand it is providing an advantage of being easily moveable and playable in any Quick time-equipped PC, which conforms to the minimal operating specifications. In addition to this, they can be very easily managed in any of the late-models like Apple MAC, since Quick time is intact with Mac OSX.

Memory card format and Capacity:
Aiptek AHD200 Pocket Size camcorder supports the memory capacity of 256MB to 32GB SDHC cards.

A voice recorder too:
Another occupying information about the camera is that it can also be employed as a voice recorder, taping voice to WAV format, the unit is made very simple so that it is very easy to strike the record button and it uses the camera’s own microphone to record voice directly into the SD card for later exporting via USB.

CMOS Sensor type:
To bring forth movies and still images and save them to an SD or SDHC card, the AHD200 camcorder uses a 5 mega pixel, 2592 x 1944, CMOS image sensor. A video recording that adapts to the secondary HD specification of 1280×720 pixels, both horizontal or vertical and also proffers Progressive “p” recording to build complete frames instead of two-field interlaced frames. This will prove to be an excellent aid for the technical heeded customers. Though it is not up to the full HD specifications, which is of resolution 1920×1080 pixels, it is even coherent with the AHD200 being utilised by numerous digital TV broadcasters who swash “HD” output – much as mainstream European TV networks, and the reality is that its 720p is a bonus. In accession to CIF specification movies at 352 x 288 pixels, it is also potential to record in the traditional 4:3 ratio standard definition format  of NTSC spec in 720 x 480 pixels. The listed rates such as: 1280 x 720 (720p): up to 30fps, 16:9, 720 x 480 (D1): up to 30fps, 4:3 and 352 x 240 (CIF): up to 30fps, 4:3 are the frame rates of the new device. The resolutions of Aiptek AHD200 camcorders are 8M (3200×2400) – 4:3, 5M (2592×1944) – 4:3 and 3M (2048×1536) – 4:3 respectively.

Ample Options and Exposure Settings:
The white balance preset options are ample enough to deal with most usual lighting positions, following Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent and Tungsten, and however the manual governability is minimal. It offers Normal, Black & White and Classic built-in digital video effects. It is made possible to alter the exposure setting and the audio level setting when making WAV voice recordings by utilising on-screen guides, and by controlling the mini-joystick.

Connectivity-Interface:
An AV/Headphone output socket, which is the cable supplied for connection to analogue TV or recorder, USB 2.0 socket and HD out socket (cables for both also supplied) are located beneath a flap at the bottom rear. A three-pole 3.5mm jack guides to a set of Red, Green and Blue YUV-Component output plugs, in the front of second one. On this model there is no planning for HDMI output. One disappointing fact about HD is the deficiency of HDMI. You will only acquire USB and component outputs. The ultra slim Li-ion rechargeable battery is very easily accessible and simply slides into its room after sliding down through the right side body panel. An AC unit charges the battery by using USB socket– A very useful information about the USB socket is that the camera can be charged using the USB connections of a laptop computer or other device in almost the similar manner as it can be attained through iPods and MP3 players.

Exposure Compensation and White Balance:
The Aiptek AHD200 Mini Camcorder does not sport too many features, except the 2x zoom and fixed focus. It takes stills in video mode but not during shooting, it records video clips and plays MP3s. Even though exposure compensation and white balance options are available on the device, they cannot be used while shooting and they can be utilised by entering the menus.

Lengthy Method to Reach Footages:
Aiptek AHD200 Flash Memory Camcorder provided a grouchy way of reaching to your videos and photos. You cannot directly access to your recorded video. To do so you should press a mode button which takes you to main menu, where you should go to my works which contains stills, videos and voice recordings. There you can access to your footage by pressing another button. The new device also lacks a committed delete switch which also adds to the more button pressing.

Performance

Decent Video and Audio in Default Settings:
It is very simple to use the still camera and camcorder, the only thing you need to perform is to point and shoot. It is possible to shoot exceedingly good video and audio just by setting all the options to default. But it is very significant to remember that due to the compression of CMOS sensor (Aiptek has not promulgated this data) you will notice that the quality of images with less movement are better than those of faster movements.

Very Simple Shifting Among the Modes:
By straight away switching the camcorder on it directly takes you into recording mode, and by simply pressing mode button you will be shifted into Settings menu. In the Settings menu you can select amongst Setting, Camcorder, My Works and Voice Recorder modes. It was also proven that it is useful to be capable of selecting between PAL or NTSC, 50Hz or 60Hz TV-out modes respectively. These options show that Aiptek AHD200 is a flexible and compatible camcorder in terms of operation. The button options are added on to the camcorder with a plan of providing easy operation. A MOV clip’s playback in Quick time on an Apple Mac’s screen from a clip recorded with the AHD200 can be reduced from 1280 to 680 horizontal pixels and it can also be converted into a JPG file format.

Clear Water Splashing Captured:
The heavy blocky pixilation is outstanding for its clarity in picture; even water splashing can be captured very clearly. It can also be said that the camcorder’s picture electronics fairly deal very well in all the common situations both in outdoors under optimal light and indoors under sensible light levels. As you may expect for this type of camcorders in market, the picture quality falls off importantly in darker situations.

Aiptek AHD200 Camcorder’s Voice Recorder:
Though the on-board microphone endures from the effects of moderate wind bumping it, audio recording is fair for this type of device. If you were thinking of using the recorded voice to be released, you can trust the Aiptek AHD 200’s Voice Recorder. An 11.025 KHz sampling rate at 4 bit stereo obtains the default 88 kbps WAV file as a result. A test conducted for 23 seconds ensued in a 254.1kb test file. The quality was good enough for a convenient audio memo device the quality is fairly adequate, but it is no more than that.

Simplicity in High Definition Filming:
It is not very simple to get high definition filming. But it is made simple on Aiptek AHD200 just by plugging the card, opening the screen and you will find them in your footage. With properly functioning card footage and starting almost in a flash, AHD200 is absolutely executable to start and stop recording in order to save memory.

Capacity OF SD and SDHC Cards:
The video filmed is recorded into SD or SDHC card, as we had mentioned earlier in the features section. The utilisation of obliterable memory is a matter of fear for HD shooters as it may bind the quantity of footage recorded. A Kingston 2GB Ultimate SD Card shoots for an hour, but by using PNY 4GB SDHC card you can handle to double the earlier time. For a wedding, you will require at least one SDHC card and for holidays you need multiple numbers of them.

Image Quality:
Deplorably the image quality is in contrast with the simplicity of use of the camcorder.  The video recorded bears a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixel H.264 video at 30 frames per second. Instead of being described as a spectacular the video, it is fair that we say that it is in middling. Certain amount of motion blur is contributed by panning and there is more amount of compression artefacts than anyone would like. Colour is reproducible and the fixed focus deals well with movement.

During the low light performance you will be able to notice a lot of noise and less detailed picture in dark areas, with high lights drifted out by high contrast light sources.

System Requirements:

MS Win 2000/XP or above, P4 1.5 GHz or above (P4 3GHz or Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz processor recommended), 512 MB RAM (1GB RAM recommended), Video card with 128MB RAM (NVIDIA GFORCE 7600 / ATI X1600 – 256MB RAM recommended), CD-ROM speed: 4x or above, one free USB 2.0 connector, Windows Media Player or QuickTime 7.0 or above are the system specifications to connect the Aiptek AHD200 camcorder. The Peripheral Devices necessitated for Aiptek AHD200 camcorder are USB port, CD-ROM drive, and SVGA monitor consequently.

Editing and Sharing:

A special software on a bundled CD called HD-DV Decoder has also been included in the pack, to alleviate import and editing of clips on Windows/Vista PCs. Using Quick time as the media player, this software will enable desktop playback of the .MOV files at their full 1280 x 720p resolution. The Apple Mac users need not worry about the camcorder, it is very a simple way, just connect the camcorder via its USB cable or insert the SD card into a suitable card reader and two folders will be popped up on the Mac desktop automatically – one for Digital Stills, and the other for Movie files. For a full-screen playback .MOV can be opened in Quick time or it can also be imported into I-movie HD for further work outs and then export to any PC as you desire. The ability of opening the files in other video applications depends upon their compatibility to work with AVC H.264 clips. It is worth noting down that Youtube will accept such clips without any problem, so browsing and watching your movies can be done directly and the whole process is made much easier.

Battery:

The battery of Aiptek AHD200 High Definition Camcorder is selected to compliment its impressive storage capacity. The AHD200 uses the new-generation H-Series Info LITHIUM ION battery having incredible stamina delivering up to 10 hours continuous shooting from a single charge. The power supply of AHD200 is NP-60 1000 mAH Li-Ion battery (3,7V).

Warranty:

Aiptek AHD200 High Definition Camcorder is provided with one year limited warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

Barely Aiptek Pocket DV AHD200 Camcorder is a high definition camcorder. Just sticking a HD sticker on every gadget became today’s latest fashion even though it will not satisfy it. The particular new device does not even vie with entry level camcorders of various manufacturers like Sony or Canon in image quality and other features that are not even featured on it. The design of device and way of using the buttons is very simple and affordable. But image quality cannot be said as excellent. However one may worry that image quality is prior to simplicity and affordability. But it can be called as budget high definition camcorder. At the price this camcorder is available; you will find many camcorders from its competitors with a better set of features and picture quality too. If you are on a strict budget and need an affordable camcorder then Aiptek AHD200 is a decent shooter for a casual holiday trip or for a video newcomer.

And on the positive side, the AHD200 provides very decent HD video shots. It is very good in doing animations, motion graphics stuff and also in editing offline jobs. It is better to use the camcorder in DVD mode rather than HD mode because it saves the battery and also the SD card memory. It is a nice, light, handy and portable camcorder which is very easy to carry over belt and also you will be fond of the camcorder turning on just by flipping the screen and you are in recording mode in seconds. Finally, for the question that we had raised in the introduction of the review, the answer is that, though it does not offer you with more than what you pay for, the camcorder justifies its price tag.

Check other Sanyo Camcorder Reviews, Toshiba Camcorder Reviews in our website.

Aiptek AHD200 Compact Size Camcorder – Specification Details

Samsung does not feel diffident when it comes to the design of the product, their new product R10 camcorder bears the most unusual look ever seen. It is creating a splash amongst gizmo lovers through its unique sloppy lens and curvilinear design. It is flat on one side with opulent brushed aluminium finish, concave on the other side and is rounded on each end and the lens is raked at an angle of 25 degrees. On all it may look ugly but in the performance it is extremely beguiling. Let us have a look at its impressive performance and unusual looks in the following review.

Design of R10:

Brushed Aluminium Pattern On The Top Of The Plastic:
The new Samsung R10 Full HD Flash Camcorder has taken a slightly different colour path compared to its earlier models. It comes in two colours one in complete glossy black and the other in silver colour. A brushed aluminium pattern will be found on top of the plastic, when you have a close look at the side where the screen folds out. All the writings over the camcorder are incised in plastic except that the Samsung and HD logos that are found glued on. If you try to make a look long ways down the camera you will find that it is actually quite thin. It can also be undoubtedly said that it is thinner than all the other previous 1080 handheld camcorders we had seen earlier.

Simple Looking Camcorder with Less Physical Buttons:
A closer look at the R10 camcorder’s body discloses that in terms of buttons cam can be said as a simple looking part of the camcorder. The only three physical buttons found on the exterior part of the body are photo, mode and record. Along side of the record button you will find the first of the two zoom toggle switches. You will find a power button, display/iCheck button and EasyQ button, inside when you open the screen. You will also encounter a Qmenu button, a second zoom toggle switch and a second record button on the frame of the screen. As the R10’s primary features are functioned and programmed through touch screen, there is not much need of more number of physical buttons.

Switches Its HDMI Port On to The Back Edge:
On the back edge of Samsung R10 Full HD Camcorder you will bump over a small cover, which on opening unveils the DC charging plug, an AV jack and a built-in HDMI port. It is very good to see the HDMI port on back, Samsung had the port on back in HMX10A model but they removed this feature from the HMX20C model, but now it is back again in R10’s design.

On The Right Side of Samsung R10:
The right side of the new device is more notable for its missing and additional feature. You will find a concave surface and a wrist strap lead, but it is lacking hand strap. However the new wrist strap is providing necessary grip which would not remind you of the hand strap. But we should worry a lot about the video graphers who got used to hand strap all these years, using R10 with wrist strap.

Top and Bottom parts of the R10 Camcorder:
An outstanding shutter button for still photography is provided on the top of the Samsung R10. The bottom of the R10 is the place where the enclosure of the battery and SD/SDHC card slot, a tripod mount, and stereo microphone are located.

Lack Of Hand Strip Makes You Feel Awkward:
You may find it bungle some when you first wear it on, as the new Samsung R10 lacks the traditional hand strip to slide your hand in and have a tight grip. Even though there is no hand-strip, it is not even causing any feeling of hand-strip, at least which gives you the confidence of not dropping the device on ground, when you should accidentally open you fist during the shooting.

Features:

Camera Lens Tilted At 25 Degrees Upward:
When you have a first look at the new Samsung HMX-R10BN/XAA camcorder you may probably think that “something makes it really look weird at the front of the camera”. Well, this is true in some point of view. The camera’s lens is mounted at a 25 degree upward angle. You may be eager to know the reason. You normally hold your camera at some level when you shoot some videos or take some photos, which is not a perfect level to hold. As we know, generally most of the users hold the video camera about a foot or so away from their breast bone, which provides the hand itself has roughly 25 degrees downward tilt. Now you have understood that to compensate this Samsung R10 was given a 25 degrees upward tilt. It may seem uncanny in the beginning but when you start with it, on the go you will find it to be natural. An unusual look is added to camera by the glass cover which covers the lens in front. One may not agree with Samsung’s idea of fixing glass cover instead of a lens cap, although the glass cover is scratch proof and designed to protect the lens itself. Many users like the lens cap even though it will not protect from scratches to get rid of keeping the glass clean and free from finger prints.

SD And SDHC Memory Cards:
The Samsung R10 Digtal Camcorder does not have any internal memory, unlike the earlier Samsung flash camcorders. Memory should be provided by the user itself in the form of SD and SDHC memory cards. However downloading video footages from R10 into the computer is made very easier similar to the USB flash drive would when connected to the computer.

QMenu User Programmable Button:
The QMenu button encountered on the frame of the screen is fundamentally a user programmable set of four hot keys that turn up on the touch screen when you press the button. This button gives you access to any of the camera’s vital features and settings with not more than two button presses. For instance, my QMenu is comprised of a resolution button, exposure control button, back light button and focus control button. It is of great interest to point out few changes made to R10’s QMenu compared to its earlier models, the new model consists of only four buttons which is cut down from six of the older models and also it is now user editable (you may have never experienced the ability to change options in the menu). The users will definitely love this facility of modifying the options and setting according to their wishes. But the cut down of buttons from six to four really means that you should undergo a lot of menu navigations for most of the common features. But, of course you can reduce these many navigations by just pressing the menu button which is located on the lower corner of the screen at any time and display whole list of options at a time.

Face Detection is Included in both Video and Picture Modes:
In Samsung R10 high Definition Camcorder,  both video and picture modes are facilitated with face detection. That means it detects the face automatically in the picture and video and also works hard to make sure whether they all are in focus or not.

Surprising Specifications of the Device:
The most surprising specifications of Samsung R10 are as follows: it blusters an 5x zoom, electronic picture stabilisation, shoots a full HD 1080/50i for an effectual 25fps at 17 MB/sec, or 720 at 50 fps and also a bit rate of 12 MB/sec. It also takes stills of nine mega pixels. In addition to all these, it is incorporated with a couple of fun slow motion modes to play with videos and also a merged stereo microphone.

Samsung R10, A Pocketable Device:
The Samsung R10 Camcorder is a very appealing camcorder: it appears and senses wonderful, it is extremely a pocketable device, and in addition to this, it shoots high quality footage at high resolutions. Even though it is not up into the “A list” selections, like Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000, Samsung R10 is comparatively of low price which makes it a good substitute.

Installation of Software Into R10:
One of the newfangled features we can watch on the R10’s design is IntelliStudio. IntelliStudio is an editing software and is implanted on the flash memory inside the Samsung R10 Camcorder along with video/photo playback. This software is made more easy to use as it executes and runs directly from the camcorder on any Windows XP or newer system, mostly similar to U3 on USB, but we regret for the Mac users for this feature.

Performance:

Electronic Image Stabilisation:
Samsung R10 does not have any optical image stabilisation. But even at prolonged zoom, the electronic stabilisation works excellently well, locking after approximately a second to provide steady hand held images. Even the quality is fairly good. Few tests were conducted in low light which demonstrated some obtrusive grains and little RGB noise, whilst the colour accuracy is bang on. The detail capture outside the small lens does not seem to be sharper; however, again the colours were very good.

Able To Record both High and Standard Definition Videos:
You will be capable of recording both high definition and standard definition movies ranging from VGA (640 x 480) up to 1080i/p by using Samsung’s R10. In the new model audio is recorded by stereo AAC format at 48kHz. Following is a small list of all supported recording modes and their available qualities. HD: 1920 x 1080 at 60i (SF/N), 1920 x 1080 at 30p (SF), 1280 x 720 at 60p (SF), SD: 720 x 480P at 60p (SF), VGA at 30p (SF).

Photo Quality Settings and Resolutions:
Though the Samsung R10’s original capture quality is 9.0 mega pixels, image capture quality ranges from VGA up to 12 mega pixels interpolated. Only in the super fine quality setting, all the photos can be taken. The flash on the front of the camera can be set to off, auto, red eye reduction or fill modes, even though small bit of variety for a camera mainly designed for video. Adumbrate of all the photo quality settings and resolutions are noted below:

12M: 4000 x 3000/ interpolation, 9M: 4:3, 3456 x 1872, 6M: 16:9, 3328 x 1872, 5M: 4:3, 2592 x 1944, 3M: 4:3, 2048 x 1536, 2M: 16:9, 1920 x 1080, VGA: 640 x 480.

Quality of the Footage is Brilliant:
The quality of the video footage recorded was exceedingly brilliant and you would not encounter any ailments in the functionality. There is a significant point you should keep in your mind, when you shoot the video in high definition definitely you will need a moderately new computer to play back them because of their extremely eminent resolutions when compared to other old computer resolutions. But of course just with contrivance of flash memory alternatively to tapes, you can switch to standard definition mode which permits you to use it same as your earlier old video camcorders.

Captures Snap in Video Mode:
The photo button will simply capture the image of current frame when you are in video mode. Even though these images are not of high quality, you should switch to photo mode to achieve full image quality. You will acquire a completely new set of options in menu and QMenu when you shift to photo mode.

Snapshots with Flash On and Off:
A test has been conducted on Samsung R10 Video Camcorder by switching it into highest quality, 12 mega pixels, and taken an assortment of snapshots with flash on and flash off. The snapshots do not match with the photos from an original digital photo camera, though they have pretty good colour and are of high resolution. You can nearly discover the photos turning gritty very fast in the shots before zooming them. But all these quality depends on the design of the lens, as it is a video lens designed for 1080 p video; you would not find the high quality digital still photo lens in the same park.

Contents in the Box:

One Samsung R10 camcorder, Battery, wrist strap, carry pouch, AC charger adapter w/AC cable, USB cable, component cable, two ferrite cable wraps and one manual/ warranty package are the components included in the Package of Samsung R10 Full HD flash camcorder.

Warranty:

Samsung offers its R10 Full HD Flash Camcorder one year standard warranty.

Verdict:

The Samsung R10 Full HD Flash Camcorder is shown to be a satisfyingly solid 1080 high definition flash camcorder for a comparatively less price with its competitors. And together with its common features from the earlier models, Samsung R10 has jumped a little higher with its lens tilted at a 25 degree upward and in built PC editing/playback software. Even though you may be worried about the lack of hand strap and lens cover, these are not to be much bothered by everyone when you compare with its brilliant features, performance and price. The new device looks, feels and functions as an expensive camcorder, but its real price surprises you a lot.

Check other High Definition Camcorder Reviews in our website.


Samsung R10 HD Flash Memory Camcorder – Technical Specification Details

Normally, the utmost featured Camcorders are toughly simple matters that precede knottiness like LCD view finders in favour of compact and durable designs. Conserving its water proof and shock proof design, the Oregon Scientific ATC5000 Camcorder constricted a small, full-colour LCD screen into its small body. The only regrettable issue of ATC5000 is that one should compromise in one place, photo sensor of the device which should never be done. The device’s VGA resolution and poor low light performance holds it from producing great results though it can take photos and videos in extreme conditions.

Design:

Rubberised Ruggedness:
Oregon Scientific ATC5000 Waterproof Camcorder holds a tapered tube style look. It is a portable device with dimensions of 114mm long and 76mm at its thick end. It is also fairly furrowed because of rubberised bumpers on both ends and its solid construction too.

Small Recessed Lens:
Behind a raised rubber ridge and a plastic shield, a small recessed lens is tucked. An activity indicator light which changes to green when the camcorder is recording and to red when the device is busy writing, and an infrared receiver are placed just above the lens.

Rubber like Buttons:
ATC 5000 Digital Camcorder sports two rubberised buttons along the top edge: one for video and the other for still photography. The buttons must be held pressed for two seconds to start or stop video recording or snap a still shot, which avoids inadvertent presses.

Rear End of ATC5000:
A 38mm (1.5 inch), coloured LCD screen that acts as a digital view finder is located in the rear end, along with describing menus and playing back recently captured videos. A hinge is provided in the screen and is held in its place, which also has a locking closure along its top edge. The battery door for the two AA batteries that powers the device, the SD card slot, video out port and mini USB port could be found after unlocking and swinging down the screen.

Features:

Shock and Water Proof:
The Device can be submersed in depths up to 3m as the unit is designed to be handled pugnaciously and is also shock resistant and water proof.

Mounting Options:
A plastic mounting ring and base grip are included in the new ATC5000 using which you can connect the device to any other mounting options included. A handlebar grip, a webcam stand and a helmet grip included in the ATC5000 pack can be used with any one of the two Velcro straps or the silicon rubber head straps that the unit goes with.

1.5 inch LCD Screen:
The most significant amendment made in the camcorder is its Screen. The built-in LCD 1.5 inch screen is not monolithic, but is adequate to align the camera quickly and easily before filming and is also sufficient to view quickly any of the shot footage soon after it is done. It can be doubtlessly stated that any of the earlier camcorders do not have this capability and also can be said that the screen is missed out in previous models. It takes few hours to correctly align ATC2000, but with the new model you can attach it where ever you want and check how it looks.

Infrared Remote Control:
Another crucial feature of ATC 5000 Shock and waterproof Camcorder is that it comes with a remote control. The remote control permits you to stop and start video recording and take still photos. The remote is very small which makes it easy to store on you, when the ATC5000 camcorder in on your head shooting something. It is very easy to stop and start the recording with this remote control, preventing you from recording all the unnecessary scenes. This results in recording more worthy footage using the device. The buttons on the remote are easy to push even if you wear gloves or your fingers become numb because of cold.

Capabilities of Video and Photo:
Oregon Scientific ATC5000 Flash Memory Camcorder has the capability of recording video with a resolution of up to 640X480 pixels and 30 frames per second, which is at the top of the feature set. Just by using the video button at the top of the unit or with the included remote video, recording can be sparked. Two choices of resolutions such as VGA (640X480 pixel) or QVGA (320X240 pixel) are given to users in the menu. You can also record at 160X120 pixel resolution and 15 frames per second.

Using the still capture button ATC5000 can capture still photographs at 640X480 pixel resolution. Since the camcorder lacked the time-lapse feature which takes snaps photos at regular intervals, the user should manually spark the shutter every time you take the photo. And yet, photos cannot be captured whilst the video is being recorded.

Sideways Footage:
The Oregon Scientific ATC5000 Compact Camcorder has an ameliorated lens, which allows you to capture a bit more ’sideways’ footage, for instance, when you turn your head. The most significant advantage of ATC3000 over ATC2000 was that it had a greater field view and Oregon has improved ATC5000 a bit more by making it to a nice 53 degrees.

Memory capacity and corresponding features:
ATC5000 holds up to 47 seconds of VGA video, 1.5 minutes of QVGA video or 175 still photos of VGA with its 32MB internal memory, which serves you when you are in rush and forget SD card. As in the case of many other camcorders, the memory card is not included in its package too. You should choose a good SD card to get the best output of the device. By using a 4GB SD card, which is the largest readable card, ATC5000 can store up to 120 minutes of VGA video. It is fantastic, allowing you to record video up to 2 hours by using remote to stop during breaks or less exciting situations.

Performance:

Comparison With Panasonic:
A wide range of consumers prefer camcorders with many features just to show off either to the most important people or someone who wants to record their adventures in weekend and upload them to Youtube. Many camcorders like the Panasonic SDR-SW20 come in the same way to address these audiences, but they fail in providing some features. To name something, the waterproof, they are not really designed for attachment, such as helmet, or a set of handle bars which are featured by ATC5000.

Mounting Systems Performance:
The ATC5000 can be criticised with the attachment methods provided. A limiting test was performed on the attachments provided as a result they worked as they should, though the best way to get the cycling footage is fixing the camcorder to the handle bar mount. A really poor video footage was produced by the helmet mount due to the combination of constant movement and relatively low frame rate. If it is attached to something solid like dinghy’s mast may preferably give best results.

Menu Systems:
Users are permitted to adjust the capture resolution, preview captured video, erase unwanted files, enable and disenable audio button confirmation which comes in as a beep sound, adjust audio recording level to low or high or off, set the date and time for file-time stamps through ATC5000’s menu systems.

ATC5000 as Webcam:
The Oregon Scientific ATC5000 1.5″ LCD Screen camcorder can playback stored video or send a live video feed when it is connected to television or monitor through the provided RCA cables. When it is connected to computer via USB, it provides user with options like showing the files stored on the device or it even functions like a webcam. But there is a limitation on the webcam functionality, it only works successfully on machines running 32-bit versions of Windows, leaving behind 64-bit and Mac users unlucky.

ATC5000’s Bullet Shape:
ATC5000 remains most stable when it is used with the provided tube grip on, just like bicycle handle bars. You will find trouble in fastening the device in any other configurations provided without obtaining a beneficial deal of vibration and shaking. Because of the ATC5000’s bullet shape the centre of gravity is located at few inches in front of the mounting point when used with strap based attachments, which results in considerable shake of the lens.

Mixed Results:
The ATC5000’s building only dictates that the device is meant to use outdoors and its video capture reinforces this opinion. The video captured in sunlight is crisp and impregnated. The videos recorded indoors at twilight or on a clouded day using ATC5000 yields mixed results, ranking from muddy, are badly exposed to plain dark and are unwatchable.

For example when ATC5000 is transitioning from indoor to outdoor environment, it appears like the device takes some time to adjust to the changing light, which consequence 2 to 3 seconds of over exposed and snuffed out images. We can also observe the captured image changing from dark to light, when the camcorder is used as a webcam, because of the change in amounts of light caused by moving head about.

SD Card Reader:

It took 30 minutes to transfer 1GB videos from SD card using integrated USB port which is enormously slow, the device must be powered using its batteries for all these transferring time. As a result, the user should invest on SD card reader for fast file transfers and save on batteries. The files can be easily managed once they are transferred to the computer and it is highly recommended for a quick run of the files through Windows Movie Maker if you have an intention to share the files on Internet.

Video Quality:

The video quality of ATC5000 Mini Camcorder is comparable with other similar cameras, but it is not really great. The most worrying point is that the Youtube and Vimeo kill the quality of the video uploaded. If you do not have any interest to share footages on internet the device is also providing S-video and RCA audio output for showing off them on television.

Audio Quality:

During the video recording the audio recorded is really very slow and poor to hear, but if the camcorder is used as it is mentioned to be used like fixed to something moving, it quickly degenerates a mess of noise.

Few Downsides of the Camera:

Though the Camcorder is not prefect it is a Great piece. The main drawback is that it is very hard to change batteries. It is made difficult because of the little screw which holds them in place. There is also an advantage that, as it is waterproof you need not worry about it. And although it makes the changing of batteries harder but it is not really a massive deal to be worried of.
There is another problem included in the line of batteries. You have to use two AA batteries which makes it more expensive if using disposable ones. It is recommended to use rechargeable batteries which may not make it too worse.

ATC-5000 Package contents:

A CD with Windows drivers, an infrared remote control that resembles the video and photo buttons, a carry bag, an AV cable with RCS connections for video and mono audio, a USB cable and a pair of AA batteries are also included in the pack.

Warranty Information:

Oregon Scientific ATC5000 Camcorder is provided with two years of Warranty.

Verdict:

The Oregon Scientific ATC5000 Camcorder with its incorporated colour LCD display is very easy to pick and start using. The design of the device can be said as solidly built, with its easily navigable and well designed menus. The device is difficult to mount in an unchangeable manner and is more prone to be arrested on obstacles as it is not perfectly balanced. This device allows you to record all your extreme activities very easily.

The ATC5000 gains the “pros” because of its additional features like webcam and live monitor functions, inclusion of infrared remote control, but also gains some cons because of its poor image quality and low light functioning. Though this device a little expensive than the previous ones these additional features makes it worth. The model also has competing features like capturing better video, taking high resolution pictures and sports more mounting options. If the user requires LCD view finder for extreme photography, the Oregon Scientific ATC5000 Camcorder is currently the only option. If Oregon Scientific had just improved the video quality a bit and incorporated a decent microphone this would have been a great piece for hardcore and outdoor sort of things. As the device provides good amount of result for intended use you can say that it is providing good results for pretty reasonable price. Any user who wants to record his feats during mountain biking, sailing, sky diving or hand gliding though it is not an outstanding job, but then it will provide them with a reasonable one.

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Oregon Scientific ATC5000 – Technical Specifications, Features