Customer Reviews

Samsung SMX-F50BN SD Camcorder with 65x Zoom (Black)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I had owned an earlier model of a Samsung SD card camcorder and it did a fine job. I sold it to a friend and later regretted it, so recently decided to update and get the newest incarnation of this series. I'm sorry to be the bad guy, but I have to say I'm not pleased with this particular model. I'm simply going to make a "list" of the reasons I'm going to return this camcorder to the store:

1) A past model had a "swivel" strap area so you could pivot the camera body up or down for odd angle shooting - and this feature has been removed from this model.

2) The F50 does not save all of your menu settings. For instance, if you set the digital image stabilization feature and power the camcorder off, the feature will reset to "off" and you must go into the menu each time you power the camcorder on in order to use it. Some of your custom settings will be saved - others will not. VERY inconsistent and VERY inconvenient when you're trying to quickly capture a moment. That aside, the digital I.S. feature just barely works - once you're more than midway past the full zoom area, everything shakes very bad.

3) The F50 takes still shots and says they are 1.9 megapixels. They are far worse than even today's cheapest cell phone photos. My guess is that the F50 is really taking 640x480 stills and "interpolating" (blowing up) the photos to a larger size. Regardless, they are horrible in quality.

4) The top-mounted microphone catches even the tiniest puff of wind noise. Going into the menu and setting the wind feature only helps a small amount. The microphone should have been front-mounted.

5) The video format is still "interlaced" - meaning you see ragged edges on everything in the video until you run it through video editing software to fix this. Other modern camcorders now avoid this - there is no reason the F50 can't as well.

So again, I'm sorry to be the bad guy, but I just cannot recommend this camcorder to anyone, even at it's low price. Far too many design glitches were allowed to slip out, and the frustrations of using the device far outweigh any fun in using it. I'm not a newbie to tech or using camcorders - I know what to expect for the price, and while the F50 isn't expensive, some of the design/use flaws in it are inexcusable at any price point. Shop around.

I absolutely love this camcorder! I searched for weeks and watched the price on several camcorders. This year we will be celebrating many important milestones in my family and I don't want the opportunity to watch them over and over again. The only "problems" that I've experienced stem from my inability to keep the camera pointed at the action, instead of the ground/floor. The microphone (sadly) picks up all of my commentary as I tape my sons' baseball games. Makes for a good laugh when we watch the playback. The picture quality is crystal clear. Buttons are good size so I don't accidentally hit anything that I'm not intending to. Couldn't be any easier to hook up the camcorder to my tv and watch the videos on a big screen. Now I just need to find a tripod.

DVD quality for home users, don't expect anything wow.

Pros:

Good for youtube home video
Not internal battery (you can change the battery)
Memory (Portable memory)
Excellent for home memories (use tripod)

Cons:
Need a tripod to produce good videos, otherwise it can be a little shaky :p
No use for the maximum quality of video. (use the one before maximum quality)

Neutral:
Microphone is Ok

Given the purchase price, I certainly wasn't looking for a professional quality video/digital camcorder, but I did want one that I could use under most conditions, with results that I could consider good to very good and that is exactly what I got! I've not used it a great deal yet, but the more I do use it and learn about it, the more I like it. I felt that I had read enough positive reviews that the purchase was much more than a good gamble. I did get the free carry bag and a good price on a fair size SD Card, all at the same time. My overall feelings to date is this; SO FAR, SO GOOD, and again, for the price! Should anything strange or ugly pop up, I will certainly come back here and post that as well. Good luck and have fun with yours!

What a great camera! So easy to use, takes awesome still pictures, and great video. And the software that comes with it to download your videos and pics is so user-friendly. I love this camera

Great product for the price. Easy to use and in the automatic mode one can go from shooting video to taking still shots with the press of a button. Have not put the battery to a real test yet but I'm going to Washington, DC this week to a rally so it will be tested many ways. At the sale price of $139 and $10.70 for 8 GB-10 flash card x 2 Total price was about $162 with free shipping.

This video camera is a great camera for a kid. If you want super fancy camera this not the camera for you. The editing software works pretty well after you have had a little experience. I still have not figured out how to use the smart back round music. Over all a decent camera.

After using this camera during several family outings, we have been pleased with it's performance. Simple to use. Low cost. Good quality recording.

Never had a camcorder before. Worked fine right out of the box. Very easy to use. Bought it to try time lapse and I'm just getting started with that.

It's a good reliable camera. It has long battery life and the quality of the picture is really good for a standard definition camera. It has a little trouble picking up some sounds but it's a good camera especially for beginners.