Customer Reviews

Samsung SMX-F34 Flash Memory Camcorder w/16GB Memory & 42x Intelli-Zoom (Red)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I just purchased this camera a few days back from Target and couldn't be happier. I did almost a straight month of research on deciding what camcorder to buy. Reviews after reviews make me unsure what to buy. I started with a decision to purchase the Canon FS100. Well a week later the new model FS200 came out and was $70 more. No thanks.

Then I found information on this camcorder. It actually won an award for best entry level camcorder. Got to be good I thought. I researched Samsung camcorders from my ultimate source of camcorderinfo.com. They rated the standard definition SC-MX20 very well in comparison to camcorders much more expensive. Therefore I took the plunge.

I have used the camera for a few days now and ran through a battery of tests. First off in regular daylight or inside light the picture is phenomenal for this camcorder. Shots are crisp and clear and the autofocus is quick. Zoom is great as well; great pace to keep focus and the intelli-zoom works well too.

As for the anti-shake function, this works pretty well until you hit 8x or more zoom, then it's tough to keep it really steady. Overall the F34 was pretty good for a digital (non-optical) anti-shake.

Now on to the low light, the dreaded measure of most camcorders. I can tell you that of all the reviews I have read there is no camcorder under $600 that performs really well in low light. This is the nature of low end camcorders. Who is gonna spend most of their time recording at night anyways!!! For this the low light was ok. I went out side at night with just the motion light on and I could see what was illuminated. I turned up the exposure manually and it was even better. Not too bad for a $250 camcorder.

Overall I am very impressed with this camcorder. How can you pass up a Samsung brand item that performs well with 16GB built in and a 3 hour battery for $250? It's a steal compared to JVC and Canon. I would highly recommend.

Length:: 1:05 Mins

Well, I had a video review ready but it simply won't upload so I had to shorten it substantially. Also, I'm new to video reviews so be kind. To be perfectly fair, I wanted to mention the following (and somewhat obvious)...
1. Took out of box, charged and recorded - hand held while walking in neighborhood park with mowing taking place in background. Unfortunately, the video goes fuzzy and there is a lag time when moving about quickly. In fact, it becomes downright blurry although it's not as obvious when you are actually holding the camera. Upon playback the fuzziness becomes more obvious.

2. Handled sound very well. The park was actually pretty loud but this buffered the background noise and picked up only the sound of our voices. Surprisingly decent.

3. Color saturation - fair but not stellar. Again, I made zero adjustments only the straight out of the box settings. Accurate but not great.

4. Ergonomic and convenient size. Buttons easy enough to locate. Light weight, easy to hold. Strap is non-slip.

5. Software installation simple enough but had to change format 3 times before would upload to website. Is a lot slower than anticipated - took 6 minutes to do 'save as' for a 2 min clip. I'm fairly underwhelmed by the included software. It has some cute little navigation etc but the Adobe and even the Microsoft "movie-maker" were a lot faster.

6. I would have uploaded a second video clip where I was standing still but Amazon only allows one so I deliberately selected the WORSt one to show the deficiencies. When I buy an item I want to know the limits of what I can do with it...when standing still, this item does much better. When moving/walking the lag time and shake (especially on zoom) becomes very obvious and exaggerated. Standing still, the picture is still a bit grainy and color saturation (out of the box settings) isn't great but quite sufficient for a general all-purpose inexpensive camcorder.

7. Comes packed with everything needed to get started - takes an optional card but not required.

Bottom line - this is a fun, entry level camcorder with suprisingly good sound. Not great for those planning a lot of movement as the lag time and blur gets pretty bad. Much better when standing still to record the action. Color saturation on factory settings is okay/acceptable but wont knock your socks off. Easy to use albeit a bit slow on the coversion with the supplied software. Everything you need to get started is in the box, battery recharge is fast. At this price, a solid buy.

Please note that this camera does not shoot in HIGH DEFINITION.

The idea of migrating the storage of camcorder shots to an internal memory was very appealing with this camera. It stores up 16GB and there is a slot to add an SD card. Hence, there is no extra cost in buying an SD card, which is not the case for all camcorders in the same price range.

What we liked about the camcorder
- very light, very easy to hold and shoot.
- has a built in lense cap, which is terrific and mades the whole design have a much cleaner finish. Also, when you switch the camcorder on, it will tell you when you have not opened the lense cap!
- built in 16GB of ram and a slot to add an SD card
- a visible botton on the outside that allows you to choose between using the a) camcorder b) camera c) watch the movies stored
- the menu is very user friendly and some of the options we liked include:
i) grids to help you frame your shot
ii) focus that allows for auto focusing, face recognition or manual focusing
iii) simpe scence shot options: sports or portraits
IV) has anti shake option, which comes in handy if you are using the zoom (also see below for the not so great bits about the zoom).
vi) up load to utube is very easy
v) cuts on wind noise (it works and reduces the muffle sound)
vii) the program for editing your shot is very simple, as the intention is to allow you to edit (if any) before loading to utube or send it for friends/family to see. If you are looking for a more sophicated finish then you need to buy a separate program.

Maybe it is the price bracket this camcorder falls within, but we would have liked to see improvements in the following:

- the zoom feature is great to a point, but if you plan to use it to its full capacity then I would recommend that you use a tripod. Otherwise, the whole shot comes out very 'shakened'.
- we noticed that the zoom button was more sensitive compared with other camcorders in the same price range, which made it very difficult to zoom in and out without you feeling that you were travelling through the stargate!
- the camcorder and camera options are best used in good lighting. Not advisable for low lighting events.
- no flash light.

I wanted to record my children in a format that I could easily work with and save on my computer. But my biggest concern was video quality. When I looked at it on TV I didn't want to regret not getting a hard drive or HD camera. I have been recording on one setting below the best quality and I would say that the quality is as good or better than my old 8 mm tape recordings. The camera is a breeze to use and it is very convenient and easy to carry with you. The 16 gb built memory is great with room to spare. I would defiantly buy this camera again.

Last year, Samsung introduced the consumers to the first generation SC-MX20 Flash Memory Camcorder. This year, there are a few updates that make a solid value for budget minded consumers. This camera includes the capability for still photos (at 800x600 resolution), 16 GB of internal memory, 42x Intelli-zoom, and Time Lapse Photography. This is an excellent point and shoot camera/camcorder.

The camera features a 2.7" 112k pixel LCD screen, 34x optical/42x Intelli-zoom/1200x digital zoom, a swivel handle and a rotating LCD screen. This particular model operates utilizing a SDHC (high capacity HD card) or MMC (multimedia card) plus.

WHAT IS IN THE BOX?

AC power adaptor
Audio/video cable
USB cable
Software CD (Cyberlink Media Show, Windows Only)
User manual CD, quick start guide (hard copy)
No carrying case this year

DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION:

An important feature for any electronic device is a battery life indicator. This camera states the amount of battery life in minutes. It is useful to carry a spare when traveling. In addition, the camera displays the amount of time left based upon its internal memory and flash memory card.

The housing is hard plastic in a cobalt blue color with matte silver accents. A switch operates the built-in lens cover. The built in cover really helps when traveling since it is one less loose part to have to keep track of. The camera has a handle that swivels 180 degrees to allow versatility for positioning. The LCD screen flips out 180 degrees, also, and can be closed with the screen facing out, if desired.

The unit has a bullet shape with a flat bottom surface to keep from rolling off of the table. The back of the unit has a flip off cover exposing the USB port, AV port and DC power in port. The underside of the unit has a battery door with an adjacent slot for the SDHC Card.

This camera features a simple design. The top of the unit includes the zoom/wide angle control, the photo shutter button, and mode button. There is also a record button in the back for one handed operation; however, to turn the unit on, you need to slide the power button down which requires 2 hands.

To the left of the LCD screen, a menu button, 4-way directional control button and central enter button, and record button, are unchanged from last year's model. The microphone is in the front of the unit and is quite sensitve. There is a solitary speaker along the left side of the internal housing.

A volume control toggle, fast forward, reverse, play and pause button are utilized with the 4 button directional keys, during playback.

OPERATION:

The biggest improvement to last year, is the whopping 16 GB of internal memory. Startup time from the off position is about 6 seconds. The user can toggle between photography and video recording by either pushing the camera shutter or pushing the "Mode" button.

At near maximum zoom levels, the camera shake from pushing the shutter button is too excessive to get optimal focus. This is also the case for the camcorder operation. You really need a tripod for zoom greater than 20x.

Playback uses the directional keys to highlight the clip of interest. The menu button allows the user to format the internal memory/memory card and protect a clip. The advantage of flash memory recording is the instantaneous review of images

The Easy Q button makes this camera a point and shoot camcorder that optimizes all of the various parameters for the best `foolproof' clips. Intermediate and advanced users can optimize their artistic talent with various digital effects (through iScene), 16:9 or Standard screens, white balance, exposure and shutter settings.

One of the newest additions this year is the time lapse photography, which is great for focusing on a flower bud opening and closing through the day, recording the setting sun or watching beach goers come and go over a long period of time.

PICTURE/SOUND QUALITY:

Picture quality has improved over last year's model with regards to lower light; which seems to be a perceptible improvement. However, very low light demonstrates a lot of noise, still.

You really need to use a tripod since the amount of compensation from "anti-shake" is minimal, at best.

Recording time with the built in memory is as follows:
Web/mobile @640x480 - 924 minutes
TV normal @720x480 (60i) - 640 minutes
TV fine @720x480 (60i) - 490 minutes
TV superfine @720x480 (60i) - 396 minutes

You can take about 31,000 still images at 800x600 resolution.

PROS:

Compact and light
34x optical zoom with 42x Intelli-zoom
Built in memory, 16 GB
Still photo capability
Time lapse capability

CONS:

Minimal Anti-shake
Limited in low light settings (but improved from last year's model)
Only up to 16 GB cards are supported
No integrated flash for still images

VERDICT:

Given the added improvements over the 1st generation Flash Memory Camcorder, this camera deserves 5 stars.

The Samsung SMX-F34 is a ridiculously easy video camera to use in a beautiful vibrant blue and compact size perfect for tossing in a bag and going. It can do still pictures, but not as well as a camera, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

~Pros~
1. Size - smaller than a DV camera but larger than a Flip (I posted pictures above)
2. Intuitive Controls - Easy to operate - my 5 year old figured it out just fine
3. On board memory - 16 GB is plenty for something like 7 hours of video - plenty for a vacation
4. SD expansion slot - nice option, not sure how necessary, but happy not to have to lug around extra tapes
5. Quiet zoom - this is a pet peeve of mine
6. No problems with recognition on the Mac by iPhoto or iMovie, no extra software needed
7. Video and sound quality excellent at this price point
8. Time lapse video - my kids have some science experiments planned for this. I am not sure what I would do with it otherwise, but still - it is unexpected

~Cons~
1.Blurring - Zooming causes several seconds of blurring as camera tries to be intuitive - using face recognition does not fully help, this seemed to be a bigger problem in low light with a lot of clutter in the backdrop - I am taking off a star for this because in 2009 this should be better
2. Slow transfer time, large file sizes - the files from this camera were pretty long to load, there doesn't seem to be a mass transport option/drive use like there is on the flip - this is where the SD cards would be very beneficial

Bottom line: This low cost camcorder has a lot of features in a small package. Sure you can do better if you want to pay more and lug around something 3 times the size. However, it would be perfect for average home video use. It will not replace your digital camera, nor should it. However, for video - it's great.

When I was doing the initial research for a new HD video camera I was overwhelmed with the possibilities and I didn't understand the significance of many feature options. Since I love my Samsung TV I looked closely at Samsung for the video model but I also looked at the Sony Webbie. You can look at the Amazon site for all the particulars and features since I still don't understand what most of this stuff means. I purchased the Samsung SMX-F34 in April for an excellent price (UNDER $300!) from Amazon. Amazon provided its usual excellent service. This smashing little guy does everything that Steven Spielberg would want with fades and special effects built in and zooms in several different shooting modes. It couldn't be easier to use with all the features neatly organized on the screen with graphic icons which makes clicking through your choices simple. It has a dozen different lighting condition selections which is genius. Or you can just click the quick link and start shooting no matter what the conditions automaticallySamsung SMX-F34 Flash Memory Camcorder w/16GB Memory & 42x Intelli-Zoom (Black).
Because it has a huge 16 gig built in flash drive to save your recordings internally there is no media to buy, keep replacing or lose. With the slot for a second removable 16 gig flash drive to be inserted there are unlimited possibilities. You can even copy from the built in flash to an optional insertable one and then use that with a USB plug in flash reader or send it off to grandma.
It feels tiny and lightweight in your hand if you're used to bigger DVD or tape models, but it is brilliantly designed. It only has six buttons/switches externally - manual lens cover switch (no electronics to break down), telephoto zoom, photo, mode (rec/photo/play), record and on/off. My last video camera had 20 switches, buttons and dials. Ugh. Open the screen which is a big, bright 3" screen and there is another red record button and a great menu button plus a toggle iPod-like button which allows you to scroll through and select all the shooting options. There are other "Quick" buttons which totally automate everything for simple shooting. I imagine most people will use this feature most often especially when starting the whole experience.
It has a big 42x zoom lens which is smooth and a stabilization feature to keep my personal jerky style of recording in check. Besides the big 16 gig internal flash drive probably two of the biggest features for techies are that it records in the new generation H.264 compression and it has the option to make recordings in 16x9 format or other smaller sizes. And the big news is that it can record directly for your iPods and for uploading to YouTube and for general internet use. I don't use these options now but I will probably grow into it in the near future.
The ease with which I can upload it to iMovie (I hear the included PC software is pretty crappy) on my iMac is amazing. Using Macs for all things photographic or videographic is totally the only way to go. iMovie makes movie making a breeze and you can literally go from rough footage to a slick movie with graphics, menus and titles and music in just minutes - the first time out of the box. Even though Samsung doesn't mention Apple, Mac addicts do not fear. It's plug and play. (And you don't have to follow page after page of arcane instructions before crashing on a PC.)
The SMX-F34 comes with cables to play directly onto your TV. I am probably missing a lot of features but that is a real strong point for this model from Samsung. I will be happy to use and grow with this jam packed little package for years to come. I am still astonished that it costs under $300. My first video camera cost $1200 and didn't do anything that this marvel does. It comes in red, blue, silver and black. Thumbs up, Samsung. I give you six stars.

After all the reviews I read here, most of them reveling in the video quality of this camcorder (hey Consumer Reports loved it too), I decided against going to the Sony HDR-CX100, which can Record and burn in both HD and SD, and costs only about $100 more than this hunk of junk.

LET ME CLARIFY EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED, BECAUSE IF YOU WANT A YOUTUBE CAMERA AND NEVER WANT TO BURN VIDEO TO DVD, THIS IS PROBABLY A 3-STAR CAMERA.

I wanted:

- A point a click camcorder that's easy to use
- to hook it up to my laptop and burn to HD or SD with about 5 minutes/clicks or less of effort
- Good quality video

Ok, setup was easy, and after the battery charged I started taking video. Easy to take, easy to hook up to TV and watch, quality of video seemed good. THEN I TRIED TO CONVERT TO A DVD, AND MY FRUSTRATIONS BEGAN. This cam records in mp4 (H.264) video. I don't care at all what that means. But, it means if you want to share vidoes on YouTube, you are set because that's the YouTube format. It means you are in for severe frustration if you want to burn a DVD to send to mom and dad.

I wanted to hook it up to my brand new lenovo dual core laptop with Vista 64 and 4GB ram and - click, click, done. NOPE. That's how it should work, right. I shouldn't have to spend hours converting, looking for software that works, banging my head on the table - right???

First Samsung software only allows you to view the pics and videos on your PC. NO SOFTWARE IS INCLUDED BY SAMSUNG TO BURN DVD'S. Microsoft movie maker, media player, etc. don't recognize the .mp4 files. I downloaded a software program to convert the .mp4 to an acceptable DVD format, so the software that comes standard on your PC can allow you to burn it to DVD. Any "easy to use" package costs you additional money, and most aren't that easy. It's frustrating try to decide what program to buy - takes almost as much time as deciding what cam to buy.

Anyway, finally got it to DVD and popped it in my player. AWFUL, AWFUL quality. About as good as taking a 2MP camera and using it's video mode. GARBAGE!

So, I picked up a Sony Sony HDR-CX100, for a little more than $100 more. It comes with software that requires about 3-clicks to burn to a dvd (it can't get easier, trust me). You can record in HD, burn to SD, and the quality is OUTSTANDING. Took me longer to write this memo than create my first video (in HD), and convert it to SD so I could send it out to the relatives.

Lesson learned? Be careful what Amazon reviews you read.

Outfitted with an old and trusted name in optics (Schneider of Kreuznach, Germany), Samsung goes the distance in the next generation of power zoom camcorder technology. The SMX-F34 brings it on with built in memory, a 42x power zoom, 2.7" LCD screen, H.264 file compression, and still photo technology. This camcorder operates with PCs powered by Windows Vista and XP only.

One of the few serious players in camcorder circles, Samsung's all new Intelli-Zoom takes users beyond the camcorder's 34x optical zoom without the usual sacrifice in image quality. Packed with a 680K pixel CCD sensor, this system will deliver a clean resolution of 720x480. The SMX-F34 features a memory card slot for both SD & SDHC. This system is also packed with 16GB of internal flash memory.

The new image processor brings it on with higher quality video, 3-D Noise Reduction, and Face Detection for up to five subjects. One of the sweetest features of the SMX-F34 is the dedicated Photo Mode that allows owners to operate the camcorder as a digital camera. Images are captured in 800x600 resolution. Outdoors and in well lit areas, the end product was outstanding. Obviously missing is onboard flash/lighting. With that said and like all similar cameras,this unit does have its limitations indoors. However, this system can be tweaked to deliver some outstanding indoor images. A viable light source and a good tripod will make all the difference.

Controls are similar to the earlier model. USB,A/V, & power ports can be found under the flip cover located on the back of the camera. Battery compartment and SD/SDHC card slot are located on the bottom of the camera. Shooting mode & zoom control is located on top of the SMX-F34. Power and record buttons are located on the back of the unit. The microphone is located on the front and the speaker can be found on the left side of the camera.

With H.264 compression, users can record up to eight hours of standard definition video directly to the camcorder's internal flash memory without having to rely on a SD/SDHC card. With the new onboard image processor, I noticed that power consumption is relatively lower then other systems that I have operated. On more then one occasion and on a single charge, I was able to record non stop video for over three hours. This great feature alone can be a life saver for those special occasions.

The SMX-F34 also allows added flexibility when it comes to zoom. A major improvement over earlier models is the Advanced Image Stabilization. With the help of a tripod even new camcorder owners can capture clear, stunning and colorful movies or photographs.

The Samsung SMX-F34 is packaged with an AC adapter/charger, hand grip strap, A/V cable, USB cable, 7.4V lithium ion battery, instruction CD and handy pocket guide. This unit is covered with a 12 months parts/3 months labor warranty, Toll Free phone support, and a detailed, consumer friendly website.

Without question, budget conscious video enthusiasts and YouTubers will enjoy all the bells and whistles of this outstanding camcorder. Once again, Samsung has stepped up to the plate and delivered. We have a winner.

Overall a pretty good camera... I was going to go for the HD one but instead settled for this. Not as complex as I would had wanted it to be as it doesn't provide a challenge (pretty simple). Quality is good and shows pretty nicely on my TV although it records widescreen format (Don't have widescreen tv, yet). My main gripe about it is that when recording you CANNOT just pause. It saves all video in clips so pausing to continue recording isn't an option. Eventually being that it is flash-drive you would have to edit the clips to make one long video. Battery life is actually good. So is the intelli-zoom option.