Customer Reviews

Samsung F40 Ultra Zoom Camcorder (Red)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I want to preface this review with a comment. If you are expecting that this camera is going to put out High Definition quality videos and be amazing in low light situations, then you're looking at the wrong camera. In fact, MOST cameras will have difficulties in low light situations. The camera was not designed for HD, obviously, so that expectation should go out the window.

Overall, the camera is great. Purchased for $165 from Amazon's website at the end of March 2010. The camera has excellent zoom and picks up sound very well. The reason that the camera was purchased was to capture golf shots between friends. It's very lightweight and easily fits within the compartments of our golf carts/bags. It's still a bit big to fit into my pants to the point where I feel comfortable taking a golf shot. Don't get me wrong, it is still small and CAN fit into your pant pockets. I just don't like the feel of it when I take golf shots.

I had considered purchasing the Flip HD and Kodak zi8 (which I do have) and must say that though the form factors on the handheld camcorders is better from a size standpoint, you simply can't beat the benefits of this camera.

For those of you who are concerned about the battery life, let me assure you that the 4.5 hrs of battery life is definitely real. I tested it today since I was skeptical about it as well. This 'concern' came about because the battery indicator light is not designed well and appears to drain faster than it really does. At one point, there were zero bars on the indicator but the camera continued taking video for an additional 45 minutes.

Length:: 1:21 Mins

Here's a compilation video of different clips taken under various conditions. We bought this camcorder when it went on sale at a nearby store. To summarize & confirm a couple of complaints:
~ it does have poor quality shots in low light shooting
~ photos are taken in 2M so they're not the best quality either

Things I liked about the camcorder:
* pretty good battery life
* awesome zoom capability
* microphone picks up sound very well
* lightweight, small, comfortable & easy to use
* love the "plug & play" into either a laptop or TV

Overall, for the price, this is a good basic starter camcorder.

I am very disappointed in the SAMSUNG F40 ULTRA ZOOM CAMCORDER. The A#1 killer is the picture quality. The SAMSUNG F40 ULTRA ZOOM CAMCORDER has 5 quality settings: TV Super Fine, TV Fine, TV Normal, Web Fine, and Web Normal. All of the TV settings give you an image with obviously interleaved scan lines. That results in a very ugly image with jagged lines when you move the camera. When I first saw this, I was incredulous. Maybe I'm just spoiled by my Sanyo camcorder that cost twice as much. When I selected the Web resolutions, the scan lines seemed to disappear or at least were minimized, but the image size and resolution diminished. I tried other settings but nothing helped. On this point alone, I have absolutely no use for the camera.

Some reviewers have suggested that the SAMSUNG F40 ULTRA ZOOM CAMCORDER would be ideal for a teenager's first camcorder. Even on this, I'm torn. On the one hand, it's inexpensive, lightweight, and quite easy to use (even my five year old figured out how to take movies). On the other hand, the image quality is awful. But it IS cheap. Well, a quick scan of competitors reveals that there are even less expensive camcorders (half the price!) that get good reviews AND do full HD.

I really wanted to like this little guy. It has a nice form facter, is very simple to use, and is incredibly light. It might be just right for a kid or someone with a very specific budget. But, at this point I can't even justify keeping it in my glove box in case I see Sasquatch being abducted by Jimmy Hoffa and flying away in a UFO. The picture quality from the SAMSUNG F40 ULTRA ZOOM CAMCORDER is just that bad.

Samsung F40 Camcorder

Camcorders have evolved a great deal since their initial popularity in the 1980s. I recall when VHS camcorders were the hottest thing and weighed about 10-15 lb, had a lousy NiCd battery, and had horrible standard definition quality. As the camcorder segment evolved, digital cameras and smartphones have adapted with better optics, longer battery lifespans, and larger storage capacities. Even webcams have achieved 2.1 MP resolution, while cellphones/smartphones can have as much as 5 MP.

The Samsung F40 isn't one of the latest and greatest camcorders available. There's no night vision, active image stabilization, long battery life, or high definition resolution. It's only 1.9 MP, has a 4 hour battery life (which is pitiful compared to digital cameras with smaller batteries), clumsy viewfinder, awkward controls, very poor image quality (in video and photo modes), and uses RCA composite jacks to hook up to a television. About the only saving grace for this camcorder is its Schneider Kreuznach 52X optical zoom lens set. I've used cheap spotting scopes that were advertised as 60X and anything greater than 8x with those scopes was a blurry mess. The Samsung F40 at 52X will pick up flies and rust stains on a fence about 100-200m away.

The optical quality is so good that I've been thinking about using the F40 as a spotting scope at the range. It can take still photographs and record video without switching modes, making it perfect to record groupings or 3-gun matches. There is zero to minimal chromatic aberrations at 52X zoom.

The biggest drawback is the low resolution and poor battery life. Since there are no moving parts besides the lens, it seems unusual to have only 4 hours of battery life when digital cameras like the Casio EX-H10 are rated for 1000 photos in the CIPA standard using a small Li-Ion battery.

The Samsung F40 uses SD/SDHC cards, and it requires about 1 GB for every 23 minutes of film time. A 8GB SDHC can hold 191 minutes of recording time or 6025 photos. The F40 does not come with a SDHC card and must be purchased separately! The SDHC card must be formatted via the F40 or else it throws a hissy fit.

The lens motor is very quiet and is barely audible during the recordings. There is a standard tripod threaded insert on the bottom. There is no lens cap, instead there is an old-school shutter like the ones from old 35mm point and shoot cameras. The instruction manual/guide is useless and doesn't explain the backlight and LCD enhancer features or the smart/auto setting. The lack of night vision is a big bummer along with the Standard Definition quality. HD quality with better resolution and 3rd generation night vision would have made the F40 a really awesome camcorder.

Pros: Relatively compact, about the size of a thick digital camera. German optics at 52x is crystal clear, take photographs or videos without switching modes, quiet lens motor, takes SDHC cards

Cons: Short battery life for a modern solid state camcorder (4 hours and change), requires opening the viewfinder to charge the battery (via USB or AC adapter), does not come with SDHC card, no night vision, no HD quality, poor resolution

Overall: 4/5 stars

UPDATE: Here's why I feel the 4 hour battery life is kind of low. This is a 1.9 MP standard definition camcorder. Most cellphones have cameras that would put the F40 to shame in terms of photo/video quality. The webcam on my netbook has about the same quality, and has a 10+ hour battery life. My Casio EX-H10 camera is rated for 1000+ photos on one charge, and has 12.1 MP with HD quality video capability (16:9 aspect ratio as well), and has 10x optical zoom with the ability to fit into my shirt pocket. The only real saving grace for the F40 and other similar camcorders is the optical zoom capability and quality. Unfortunately, the videos and photographs come out very grainy. Had they been able to mate the 52x optics with decent capture quality, it would have been much better. I can't wholeheartedly recommend the F40 especially when there are better digital cameras as the same price.

To begin at the beginning, as Dylan Thomas would say, the FX40 is an (approximately) $200 camcorder, not a $3,$4,$500, etc. one. So, everything that follows is based on that. AND for an inexpensive camcorder it IS very impressive indeed. The picture/sound quality is excellent in an every-day use sort of way (which is to say, if you're planning on making that epic drama that's gonna make us all for "There Will Be Blood", get a more expensive piece of equipment) and the zoom (variously rated at 62x or 65x) is impressive for someone who lives on the Space Coast and is taking pix of the last few shuttle flights. That having been said, there are a few nits to pick that, frankly, are just annoying and unnecessary. Yes, it's true that the box says it's a flash memory camcorder. What it doesn't say is that it's ONLY a flash memory camcorder and has NO built-in memory, AND Samsung doesn't include a memory card! So, you can't use the thing without a trip to (at least) the drugstore. Considering how inexpensive memory cards have gotten, it wouldn't hurt for Samsung to include, at least, a basic one, but they don't, so you might want to include one in your order. Second, and really nit-picky but annoying, there is no information in the printed "Quick-start" guide on the simple fact of HOW LONG YOU CHARGE THE BATTERY before first use! (It may/may not be on the instructional CD. I haven't gotten there yet... but, really, that's kinda basic!) (oh... by the way.. a call to Samsung customer service provided the info. 1hr/58 mins. Why not just 2 hrs? Quien sabe... that's Kemo's brother). Anyway... To sum up: It's not the top of the line, but for a mid-line camcorder, it's pretty darn impressive.

I used my new Samsung SD camcorder for the first time the other day. I was simply amazed at the video quality on such a small camcorder. I also have a pocket camcorder which is about the size of a Blackberry device and it's video and picture quality are not that great. I was very disappointed in that quality because it was not much better than the quality of cell phone video or picture. I was expecting about the same out of my Samsung SD camcorder because of it's small size but boy was I wrong.

I charged the camcorder, inserted a SD card, reviewed the simple instructions included on the quick set-up guide (a CD is included that includes full directions) and was ready to start recording.

I took the camcorder to a field trip on Friday and then to a festival on Saturday, it stayed charged and worked wonderfully both days. It is quite easy to use, light, small, and very convenient.

The real test is the picture and audio quality. When we reviewed the video that we took, I was so impressed. The color, sound, clarity, brightness; everything was just perfect.

It comes with cables to hook up to the tv, one for the computer, and of course, the charger.

Love the camcorder and highly recommend.

First off - If you are looking for top notch quality video and sound for your camcorder: do not buy this product.

This camera has very basic functions, but enough to tweak the settings to your liking.

I tried out "TV Superfine" and it looks great and all on a PC monitor, but since I was recording a volleyball game, taking place at least 50 feet away from the camera, I eventually set it to "TV Fine" which is lower quality but more recording time. It isn't horrible quality. I can definitely tell the difference in quality in the different "fine" settings, but the average person (i.e. the people who SHOULD buy this product) won't notice/care.

The sound isn't horrible, it's actually pretty good. You can hear exactly what people are saying. If there is a lot going on then (e.g. music + Yelling + basketball game) of course the sound will be a bit low quality, but again, this is a cheap - basic camera.

What sold me was the time elapsed recording. It's awesome! You can set the timer for different time intervals depending on what it is you want to take videos of. I can't wait to try it out on my cats. I go to work and come home just knowing that one of them is reading my diary. I'm gonna catch 'em on video!

Another cool thing is the different filters you can apply to the video. You can have black and white, inverted, foggy and others that I can't think of right now.

The still picture ability isn't good (same goes for most camcorders), but compared to others that I have tried, this one has the least grainiest picture, but it's still grainy.

The camera itself is comfortable and light. the Lens "cap" is a manual switch next to the lens (which I prefer over automated lens caps).

The battery does last as long as advertised but I'll probably get a 2nd one anyways.

I haven't bothered with the software yet because I just plug my SD card into a PC card reader and move/backup my videos manually.

I highly recommend this 8GB Class 6 SDHC card: http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Class-Flash-Memory-TS8GSDHC6/dp/B000P9ZBFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277755713&sr=1-1

8GB gives you about 2 hours of "superfine" video, but remember, lower quality = more record time.

All in all, this is a VERY GOOD Camera. I got it because it was on sale for $100 and I wanted to a basic functional camera. I don't have the time or care for the HD ones just yet and neither should most people - do you really need to see the hairs on your uncle's arms?

Again, this isn't a GREAT camera or the BEST. NO, it's a VERY GOOD camera that serves all the basic needs of the average person who wants to take videos.

Ease of operation, but read the manual first(available on line)My biggest disappointment is that right after I purchased this unit(last week in a bundle option)) the price for the camcorder alone dropped like a brick(more like a concrete block!)from about $200 to about $160 at some Amazon stores.So far I took some short movies indoor and outdoor .Indoor the video quality isn't so good, probably a two**.Outdoor the quality improve greatly,in a overcast day as well as in clear weather,let,s make this a 4***I also took some pictures,well you should use a digital camera for that!The battery life is great ,however not the 4 hours they advertise,but certainly at least 2,1/2 hours .They only quality issue is the power button being flush or below the outer shell,so think about growing long fingernails,you'll need them at least when powering "off",which require a longer push down(I'm not growing long nails myself,I resolved by crazy gluing a small spacer on top of the button for extra height.There you have it !A good camera with dozens of menus and sub menus, really great zoom and auto focus features ,I'm giving it 4 star for $160,for having paid too much it's only a 3and half star.

I purchased this camcorder because of its trim size and low weight. While it was quick to set up and use, transferring recordings from the camera to a DVD is complex and frustrating. Because of the MP4 format, it is not compatible with many software editing products, including Microsoft Movie Maker. When I called the Samsung tech support folks, they basically told me that I needed to purchase third-party software and that burning DVDs from the camcorder without extra software was not possible.

Writing this review did not come easy to me. I am not a guru with camcorders yet, and this review had to be written from the perspective that I actually wanted or liked an inexpensive 2-megapixel standard definition camcorder that lacked any external Mic inputs. Usually I don't read the other reviews for a product that I am reviewing. However, for this product I have read them all, and I have scoured the 100+ product manual, too.

Personally I am not interested in using my time to record video that is "less than." If something is worth recording, then it should be recorded well. I say this not only because the end product of the video project will be better, but more importantly because I have to spend even more time organizing and editing and tinkering with audio regarding the video I have shot. Time is money. And I just cannot see wasting time shooting video with a 2-megapixel camcorder and then wasting more time editing the shots. So if your time is worth a lot to you, then I cannot recommend you get this camcorder.

This product comes with its own video editing software. So if you are happy with the "less than" video you shoot, then you will no doubt be happy to have some "free" video editing software at your disposal to edit your shots.

With regard to the camcorder I must say that it is trim, lightweight and well built. Its controls are nice and placed well. It is easy to use and looks great (at least I think so). It is priced well for what you get, and it really has an awesome powerful and smooth zoom feature. Shots can be taken in auto mode or set to manual. If you are not a wizard with camcorders, then you may have trouble getting good shots in varying lighting conditions. Likewise you may have different results for your shots taken indoors as compared to those taken outside. Basically I did not find the auto controls to be super intuitive.

I purchased a 4 gig memory card for my camcorder to record data to. It is my understanding that I could put larger memory cards in the camcorder, but I have not tried to do so. Some of the reviews indicated that larger memory cards don't work. But then there were some reviews that said larger memory cards do work. I would recommend you not use a memory card larger than 4 gigs. If you record a lot, then you can use multiple 4 gig cards to save your data.

I found the battery easy to recharge, and it lasted a pretty long time (4+ hours) for me. I found this to be one of the camcorder's stronger points along with the zoom capability. All recordings had to be saved in MP4 file format. I had no problem with this since I like using high-end video editing software. As for resolution of the recordings there were five options: TV Super Fine, TV Fine, TV Normal, Web Fine, and Web Normal. The three TV levels were 720x480 (60i), and the two Web levels were 640x480 (30p). I stands for interlaced scanning, and P stands for progressive scanning. If you take shots with a not-so-steady hand, then the three TV level shots might turn out worse than acceptable.

I'm told that most low-end consumer camcorders (ones that sell for under $1,000) usually use a single CMOS sensor to collect the 2 megapixel images, and that higher-end camcorders usually use CCD sensors in combinations of three to collect their large megapixel images. The instant camcorder doesn't seem to fit this mold. It uses a single CCD sensor. I'm not sure why this is. In any event, I liked this low-end inexpensive camcorder when considering what it offers for the price it costs. 4 stars!