Samsung SMX-F34 Camcorder -Blue – A Standard Definition Camcorder
Sum and Substance:
Thumbs Up:
16 GB internal memory and a slot to put in a card gives you plenty of storage memory, 34x zoom lens, comfortable to wear and shoot, sleek, compact design, inexpensive.
Thumbs Down:
No optical image stabilization, auto focus is slow.
Inside the Trunk:
Drivers and utilities, Cyberlink Medi@Show, drivers and utilities, accessory – hand grip, cables included USB cable, A/V cable.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Samsung SMX-F34 has a 1200x digital zoom, 1/6” optical sensor size, videos are stored in H.264 format, special effects include black and white, stepprinting, negative, cosmetic, pastel, mosaic, mirror, emboss, sepia, art.
Minimum shutter speed is 1/60 second, maximum shutter speed is 1/10000 second. Shooting programs include hi-speed shutter, portrait mode, flowing water, sports mode, spotlight, beach, snow, food. White balance presets include tungsten light, fluorescent, daylight, cloudy.
Effective still resolution is 0.48 megapixels, images are stored in JPEG format, video capture resolution options are H.264 – 640 x 480, H.264 – 720 x 480. Image storage resolution is JPEG 800X600.
The camcorder has 16 GB integrated flash memory. The camera has Zoom lens – 2.3 mm – 78.2 mm – F/1.6-4.3, which has lens aperture of F/1.6-4.3, 34 x optical zoom, minimum focal length of 2.3 mm, maximum focal length of 78.2 mm.
Additional features include digital image stabilization, display brightness control, digital noise reduction, backlight compensation, USB 2.0 compatibility, YouTube capture mode, built-in speaker, auto power save, face detection.
The camcorder has 2.7 inch TFT LCD display. Connectors include USB, DC power input, composite video/audio output. There is a card expansion slot for SD memory card.
The camcorder is powered by 850 mAh Samsung IA-BP85ST Li-ion rechargeable battery.
Razzle Dazzle:
F34 is shaped like a can of soda and has more of less the same dimensions. The camcorder is available in color options of red, blue, silver and black. This is one of the few devices which has a plastic exterior and still doesn’t feel cheap.
The camcorder is 2.4 inches wide, 4.9 inches deep, 2.4 inches high, 9.5 oz in weight.
Inside Dope:
The unique selling point of this camcorder from Samsung has to be the storage capacity. SMX-F34 has 16 GB of internal memory and you can further expand it through SDHC card. It has a host of manual shooting controls that you rarely find it such compact cameras and the lens is capable of 34x zoom. On the downside, this product from Samsung doesn’t give good quality of videos.
Speaking of controls, the F34 has a zoom rocker, mode button which has options of playback, photos and music and shutter release which is used for still capture (but not for recording movies). Connection ports include miniUSB port, DC power input and 3.5 mm AV jack. There is a big record button and spring based power button next to the cover of the jack. The SDHC card slot and the battery compartment of the device are located behind the sliding door which is placed at the bottom of the camcorder.
Open the LCD and three more buttons are revealed like LCD enhancer, Easy Q and iCheck. The latter shows you battery life of the camcorder and you can turn it off with the button provided. The LCD enhancer will improve the brightness and contrast of the display so that it will be more clear. Easy Q is the automatic mode which shuts off all the advanced settings and lets you shoot. However if you press the button for about three seconds you will get a scene modes list.
The resolution of the LCD is quite low but this will do since we don’t use is much unlike phones where it is a crime to have a small resolution. On the side of the screen there is a select button, four-way directional pad, record button and menu button. You can control the zoom with the pad, the record button can be used to access another set of controls. We thought the pad was tiny and we struggled to get along with it.
You won’t need much time to get used to the camcorder since the menu system has been kept user friendly. There are three levels for video resolution, TV Super Fine, TV Fine, 720X480: TV Normal. The TV Super Fine quality is the best that the camcorder can offer when it comes to quality. For video recording there is manual control for shutter speed, focus, white balance and exposure. If you are shooting in low light and want good quality then you can use the C.Nite mode which slows the shutter to 1/15 or 1/30. However, it also slows the motion. There are a few more manual controls but we think they are certainly not enough for expert users and this model is mainly for people who are new to video recording world. We also played with a few digital effects that the camcorder had built in.
We really missed the optical image stabilization even though the camcorder has electronic image stabilization built in, because it was not enough. If you really want good quality movies then mount this device on a tripod and then shut off the electronic image stabilization.
Video quality of the camcorder is as good as other products in this range. However the camcorder suffers when it comes to recording in low light conditions. We thought the AF is too slow even though in bright light conditions. Exposure and color is OK and the highlights look blown out. The camcorder doesn’t have high definition recording mode at all so you will be stuck to the inferior standard definition.
Photo prints is really bad and we blame the low resolution for this. As long as you don’t go beyond 2×3 inches in printing, the quality will be good.
Nitty Gritty:
Samsung SMX-F34 camcorder is recommended only because of the low price. We don’t know why you will buy a SD camcorder when you will get HD device after spending a little more.
