Customer Reviews

Samsung HMX-H300 Full HD Camcorder with 30x Zoom (Black)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Just got this little thing of beauty tonight and I'm very very pleased. It completely blows my old-school camcorders away and is effectively 1/4 the cost in today's terms. Easy to use and full 1080p HD. Picture and sound quality look great on playback on my 51" plasma. File format works perfectly for playback on my PS3.

What a great little device! Oh - and you can't hear the zoom as claimed by another reviewer - there must be something wrong with his unit.

30X zoom is nice, and video quality is quite acceptable, as long as there is enough light, and you are not zooming full range; not as good in low light. There are 2 things about this product, though, that made me return it, and give it 2 stars.
It records the sound of it's own zoom, and, to the lesser degree, the auto focus. If outside sounds are not laud, this sound is quite annoying, and spoils the video.
The image stabilization is not nearly sufficient when zooming beyond about 20X; it's clearly inferior in this respect to other camcorders with similar features, like my wife's Panasonic.
I wouldn't recommend this product. Samsung has to do a lot of work to refine it.

This is a fine little camcorder for the money. It would be nice if there was a 'video in' jack, but then it would probably be two hundred dollars more...very easy to use with my Mac.

Arived on time and in good shape. 30X zoom is good. I like that you can select 1080i, 720p, or even 480p. 720p looks fine on our 37 inch Samsung 720p LCD HDTV and the files are a lot smaller. I also like that you can drag and drop files directly from the SD card to your PC - no conversion required. Screen on camcorder is very difficult to see in bright sunlight.

Look, if you're not into video editing or professional photography and just want a VERY simple and easy to use HD camera that works well, this is the camera you should get. I use this mainly for family outings and it works amazingly well. For the price, this is a very good camcorder and for just a regular camcorder user like myself it works better than I expected. The 30x zoom is awesome and the touch screen is very simple to use.

completely agree with alex. this camcorder is amazing, the price is amazing. even works with windows movie maker, which is a must for my household. glad to know i can play the vids on the ps3. filming the kids' football games is about to go HD!

Prior to buying this camcorder, I purchased a Toshiba Camileo HD for very little, and it was a complete pile of junk. For just $100 more, I picked up the Samsung after returning the Toshiba. This camcorder is compact and designed very nicely. The touch screen works perfect. The buttons are all within easy access and ergonomically placed. The battery lasts a long time, and supposedly is ranked at the longest life for cameras in this price range. The camera does not come with an HD cable for direct-connect to your TV, which to me was no big deal. Takes OUTSTANDING pictures for a camcorder-very good quality, and the 30x OPTICAL zoom is awesome. The fact this video saves video in MP4 format is awesome. I use a Mac, so editing is effortless-no converting necessary. Camcorder has a time-lapse feature which is fun as heck to use. Low light shooting has a tendency to be grainy. HD video comes out very nice, colors are very sharp, and there are TONS of settings on the camera to get the image to your liking. Image stabilization works very well, but tends to cause some interference on playback...not sure if this is because I am using VLC to view the movie. Once I edit it in IMovie, it seems this disappears. Cons? not many. The integrated lens cover is handy, but the switch is kind of awkward to get to, wish they had made it easier and designed it better for quick one-handed opening. The LCD flip-out is a bit flimsy-if you shift it a bit while carrying it closed, it sometimes causes the camera to turn on..but it automatically turns off immediately, so no big deal, really. All in all, you cannot beat what you get for the cost. If you are looking for a sub-$300 full HD camcorder with some higher-end features, this is the one. If you want a professional camcorder that takes incredible video to be featured on the Discovery Channel HD, then look elsewhere. This is a great all-around family vacation and kids-growing-up camcorder that won't break the bank. It isn't perfect, but it's under $300, and that's a good thing.

The HMX-H300 is an incredibly well-kept secret. This is, as far as I know, the least expensive, full-fledged camcorder that records 60 frames per second in 720p HD. This means buttery smooth slow motion in FCP 7 via Cinema Tools or retiming in the new Final Cut Pro X. This camera is so tiny and light that I park it atop the hot shoe of my Nikon D3s for ready accessibility or even grabbing video while I'm shooting high res stills. (The shows I create use both.) Prior to this camera, the Canon 7d was the only reasonably priced option. At the $250 via Amazon, the Samsung is a phenomenal bargain. Video quality doesn't rival Panasonic's new AF100 but nonetheless is acceptable, given the opportunity to shoot 720p 60fps. Try it, you'll like it.

Great camera! I bought this to video my son's ballgames and a wedding and have been thrilled with it. The picture is great, controls are easy, although it took a little time to get uses to the touchscreen controls. The automatic settings are good, but the manual settings make it even better. I know there are more expensive cameras with more features but this is a great camera for the price! The only con I have is the lack of an external mic jack. Sound was still good with the internal mic, but would love to have the separation that an external gives you. I would highly recommend this camera!

Length:: 0:45 Mins

Unfortunately two days later, the camera just stopped working. The warranty is not international. Luckily here in Argentina, service assurance officer recognized me. I had to wait a month to repair. They changed the main board of the camera...¿?
The camera is very good, the duration of the battery is appropriate, but you will need the extra duration one, for long time lapse function. The internal 16gb is enough.
The optical zoom is fantastic and the image stabilizer is very good.
The image quality in outdoors is perfect but is greatly reduced in low light. Indoors without natural light or very good lighting, the quality is poor and it shows in the grainy image.
The camcorder functions are adequate. Finally the photo camera has good resolution, but you need very good light to get good quality images.