Samsung HMX-U20 Ultra-Compact Full-HD Camcorder (Black)

I purchased this May 28th, on sale for $170. I did not purchase a memory card as I had a 2 gig SD card at home and wasn't sure that I would be keeping this camera. I charged the battery, put in my memory card and went out in the yard and shot some video and some still photos. It was a bright sunny day. I hooked up the camera to my 50 inch plasma TV with the included composite video cable and looked at the photos, which were really great quality and detail. I was pleasantly surprised that they were the equal of my Olympus 10 mega pixel digital still camera. Next I looked at the video that I shot at 1080P and heard this clicking noise throughout the video. My commentary was recorded just fine but the clicking was a deal breaker. The video quality was also not what I expected for the 1080 P setting. I loaded the CD into my PC and started to read the manual. As another reviewer noted you must us HC SD memory or data will be lost while the memory is trying to keep up with the high data rate of this camera. That night I bought a recommended SDHC card and put it in the camera. The next day I went to a WWII era air show and brought the camera. I shot about 40 minutes of video at 720P 60 frames per second and about 24 photos at the 10 mega pixel setting. There were lots of action videos as the old fighters streaked overhead as well as some newer jets. I hooked up the camera to the plasma TV and viewed the photos, which were really sharp and clear with great detail. You could read the serial number and min/max blade pitch on one of the props. This is using a low quality composite video cable between the camera and TV. The videos were terrific and no clicking noise. The use of the correct memory card improved all the quality levels of the photos and videos. My family was impressed that this small package could do so much. I next loaded the software on my PC and transferring the videos and photos was simple and the while not a high end package there is more than enough functionality to edit the videos, convert them to other formats and upload them to different online services. The only thing missing is the ability to burn them to a DVD, which I can do with Nero. On Memorial Day I went to the Daytona Prototype races at Lime Rock Park and shot a lot more video and photos. All came out terrific. I will purchase a monopod as it is difficult to hold this small camera steady for a long period of time. I will also be purchasing the optional HDMI cable to further improve the quality of the image when watching on my 50 inch plasma. This camera is a keeper and the quality is outstanding. I've shown the results to others with Flips or RCA and they rated the quality of the Samsung output to be superior.

I am surprised by the early negative reviews. I never owned a pocket HD cam before (like the Flip Mino, Creative Vado, or Kodak Zi6) though I've seen them compared online (Tekzilla), so when I pre-ordered this camera I had a good idea of what I would be getting. I've had it for 3 days now and it is exactly what I expected it to be for the price and size. It is not a replacement for larger, heavier higher-end digital SLRs or camcorders with better lenses and imaging chips. It's a convenient, cell phone sized FunCam. The smaller size and lighter weight means it's harder to keep steady, a reported problem with all the pocket HD cams. Another known problem is they don't do low light well. This camera is no exception.

Pros:

I found the 1080/30p video quite good outdoors in daylight, again considering the size of the chip and the quality of the lens you can expect at this price.

The Smart Auto feature does a surprisingly good job of detecting what you're shooting and adjusting accordingly. Hold the camera close to an object and it automatically goes into macro mode. Shoot a back-lit subject and it automatically goes into Backlight mode. It does have an Action mode for fast moving subjects but I haven't had it activated yet so I'm not sure how well it works to smooth out camera shake, if that's even what it's supposed to do. (There is no camera shake correction feature in the included software as another reviewed suggested.) I suspect Action mode may just increase shutter speed to minimize subject blur and not be an image stabilization feature. At any rate, this is a consumer point and shoot camera. These modes are not manually adjustable.

I've tried the time-lapse feature (the main reason I bought this camera) and it works very well, though I'd prefer more choices like 2 and 3 frames per second.

The 3x optical zoom works better than digital zooming though it does dim the image on the LCD screen when you zoom in.

It has a user replaceable rechargeable battery.

It uses SD cards you can swap out for more recording time.

The included video and picture editing software is basic but works and the fact it's included on the camera is very convenient. You can also install it onto your PC if you like. I have higher end programs so I won't be using it but it's always there if you need it away from home.

My cons would be:

1 The lens does not have a cover and I have already smudged it a couple of times. A sliding door or even lens cap seems like a no-brainer but there isn't one. To be clear, the actual lens is deep inside the camera and there is a protective piece of glass (or plastic) over it. I did clean the smudges off the glass with a photo lens cloth with no problem. The other pocket HD cams don't seem to have lens covers either.

2 The still photos are not great. Much better than what my 2 megapixel Razr phone can do but obviously far below what my 8 megapixel Canon Rebel XT can deliver. It's not just the pixels; it's the lens and chip that make a quality image. This cam is not good for important photos and, again, the pictures are much better with a lot of light. With moving video images the grain is not as apparent.

3 I'm not crazy about the USB dongle all these pocket cams have but I understand its convenience. An additional USB port would have been nice.

Other than that I am pleased with the purchase. My camera does not exhibit any of the mechanical noises during recording others mentioned. The only noise is when you use the zoom, as with every camera. You can even set it to mute audio recording during zooming if you like.

Of note, this camera will not take a Compact Flash card and if you're buying an SDHC card for this camera Samsung recommends only three brands: Panasonic, SanDisc, and Toshiba. Other cards are not guaranteed to work. They also recommend a card with a transfer speed of at least 5MB/sec for video recording. It can take up to a 32GB capacity card. That's approximately 225 minutes of 1080/30P recording.

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I suffered from the flip's limited storage (8GB) and short battery life.. So, I switched to the Samsung HMX-20 for the following reasons:

1) SDHC support: I have a couple of 16GB cards that I take with me when traveling; a computer is not needed.

2) Full HD.

3) Can be charged with bundled electric charger or when plugged to USB.

Cons:

1) Poor low-light performance

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I would say.. not bad...Here is the pictures I took under different kind of condition-. All are shut in SMART/AUTO mode and there is not much night view cause it doesn't work well without enough lighting. I don't expect 170USD could have a professional sharp quality. But this one is compact and light, easy to carry on.

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Yes, you need a steady hand for all video recording. Just because you stink at taking video doesn't mean it's the camera's fault. Videographers all over spend lots of money on stabilizing equipment for the already skilled hands and already top of the line cameras. This camcorder takes great video, especially in proper lighting. Outside video has amazing rich detail and the TIME LAPSE feature is incredible. A+ product.

Olympus W-10 Digital Voice Recorder with Built-in Digital Camera

I just received my new Olympus W-10 Digital Voice Recorder and I'm completely happy with it. It's light weight, including batteries. The size is ok, the quality of the recordings is good as long as you use HQ (High Quality). Like almost any other voice recorder, LP (Long Playback) is useless because of the poor quality, unless you use it for recording your own voice in front of the microphone.

Using the Recorder is so simple that I only use the manual for reference.

The software included is amazing. It was so easy to install and to download wave and image files from the voice recorder to the computer, that I couldn't belive it. I downloaded 4 pictures in less than five seconds!! You can also upload voice files from your computer to the Recorder.

The pictures are not as good as any digital camera, however taking pictures is not it's main function so I think the quality of the pictures is good enough. It doesn't have a flash so you can't take pictures without enough light, however it has an indicator that warns you if the Recorder can take the picture or not.

It also has an alarm associated with any voice record (maximum 5 records) so you can set the alarm to remember a special event and the recording associated can be played after the alarm. The only problem with this alarm is that it is not loud enough.

The best of all is that this product includes everything; batteries, carrying case, strap, USB cable, earphones and software so you don't need to buy anything else.

Pros: stylish, tiny, lightweight, good audio capacity, voice activated recording

Cons: no Mac support and low res image capture

The blister pack includes...

W-10 unit

soft sleeve

windows software cd

earphone

usb cable

I'd hoped that this device would connect as a USB hard drive but it requires pc-based software to download the images. The software is pretty good...I especially like the auto-download-and-delete feature which make connectivity amazingly quick as plugging in the cable switches the w-10 into PC connectivity mode, launch the w-10 software, download the images/audio clips, and delete the images off the w-10.

The camera doesn't have a flash so indoor shots are grainy (outdoor shots are a little better but not quite as good as my first olympus digital camera, which also took 640x480 images). One nice thing is that the unit doesn't have any distinct modes to get into the way...you can switch between audio and image capture seamlessly. One caveat here is that when taking a picture, you need to depress the shutter to the first detent and wait for about a second...once it verifies there's adequate space it gives you a green light, then you can press to the 2nd detent to take the shot.

Summary:

A stylish little audio recorder with quick PC connectivity and limited video snapshot support. Don't buy this unit if you want a true digital camera as the results are not very sharp.

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I must admit this was the first voice recoder I had ever purchased and with the features and price I thought I could not have found a better bargain. What I got was a tiny well designed pseudofunctional device. I read a few reviews but figured when the people had said the camera wasn't too bad was an understatement, but then again I had high expectations (don't make this mistake). The pictures even at a short distance showed up relatively fuzzy. In high quality mode the W-10 reproduced recordings exceptionally well, however unless you don't leave your computer or a pc to continually download the files you only get about 47 minutes worth, the reason I got the thing in the first place was so I could record my professors whose lectures were consecutive, making it impossible to use that mode. The Standard mode gives fair sound reproduction with a slight hiss, overall its bearable, howeveryou only are allowed 68 minutes not enough time to complete one lecture for my T,R classes (75 minutes for non college readers). Low quality mode, I'll just say I used it once and that was enough of that setting. Also the recoder saves files from modes lesser than high in a different wave level so you can't put them on cds unless you change the format which i dont have time to figure out. In conclusion, if you don't require a lengthy recording then this is a pretty good buy, I have to also admit that just because I complain of the quality of the pictures the camera option would be nice on rare occasions, also the pc interface is a no-brainer. Hope this helps someone looking for a something better not to be unhappy with their purchase!

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This is an incredible value for a Digital Voice Recorder. It has 1hr. of recording capacity at the highest resolution setting. Over 10 hours of battery life. Voice Activated. All software, cables, earphone piece, and case are included. It's incredibly slim. Easy to manage. And it'll take pictures (not the highest quality but definately am added bonus). What more could you really want?? I am a very satisfied customer.

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I purchased this unit because almost every investigator with my local research team were using this particular model ... boy I couldn't be happier. This wonderful unit is so incredibly simple to use and to transfer your sound files from the recorder to the PC using your USB connection. I have recorded several EVP's (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) on mine and every team member has had great success with theirs. Don't buy this if you are looking for a camera! This is a voice recorder. It is nice to have the camera for emergencys but don't expect great quality. If you want a camera ... buy a camera! If you are looking for a voice recorder to investigate the paranormal this is your recorder.

Panasonic VDR-M53 DVD Camcorder w/24x Optical Zoom

I just bought this camcorder and am not a good reader of manuals. I had it recording in a matter of minutes. You do have to format the mini dvds, but that is easy to find in the manual. The quality of the recording looked great on my computer screen. I bought office depot mini dvds and they worked fine, for the great price. This Panasonic is great and recording straight to mini dvds is a wonderful idea. I would have given it a 5 star rating, but the finalizing of the mini dvd took a while and you have to plug it in, you can't do this using the battery. Also I was warned, that if you use the dvd-ram instead of the dvd-r, they will not work on all players and they prefer to work on Panasonic equipment. This is why I opted for the non re-writable mini dvd-r from office depot. I also bought the PNY SD card from them and the card reader, all very affordable and easy to use.

It does not have any USB connectivity. There is no way to hook this up to your computer except through the TV type of hookups. Other than that it works great.

You need a software to convert the DVD to something els to be able to edit it on your computer though (to edit movie and make copies)

I like that it write direct to DVD so if you don't want to edit it, there is no need to bother with the computer.

Be aware it only works with certain types of DVD's. Won't work with DVD-RW. Has to be DVD-r and only a certain typre of RAM disk.

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If you buy this camera, remember to buy also additional DVD copy software (IntelVideo Copy around $70), plus only Panasonic DVD-Ram mini DVD disks (also expensive). Also, after my experience, if you erase one DVD-ram disc at least twice, on the third use the movie will have many video or audio problems. Not knowing this problem, I ruined my friend's baby shower video. Panasonic customer service is not helpful at all. A representative was even surprised that my camera does not have USB cable!!! Other then that let's say, once you cannot return this camera to the store, because I opened it and used it, you can still enjoy lightness of the camera. One more thing: you need to purchase the light also; this camera does not have built-in light you will need it. ... So, how much does the camera cost after all???

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Has good features, but the biggest downsides are it does not have a USB port and it uses DVD-RAM discs (re-writable) which do not work on most of the DVD players.

Note that it does not use DVD-RW discs that come with most notebooks and desktop computers and allow re-writing.

So there seems to be virtually no way to transfer your videos to your computer, other than buying a DVD Multi drive that can read DVD-RAM discs.

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I bought this camera because of consumer reports great reviews. But I'm bound and determined to get my images onto my PC. I purchased a DVD-RAM compatible drive for my PC and still can't get it to recongnize either DVD-RAM or DVD-R disks. Do I need special software? And if so what? Roxio DVD builder is not doing the trick.

Other than that, the camera works great, images and sound are clear, and camera is easy to opperate. If you figure out a new cell phone, you can figure out this.

JVC GR-D350 MiniDV Camcorder w/32x Optical Zoom

A friend purchased the camera for his wife, and we used it to record the progress we made in renovating a duplex. Knowing nothing about mini dv's at the time, I was able to pick up this fun little toy and get to recording right away.

I enjoyed it so much that I bought the same model for my wife, who is adverse to technology, and she loves it too.

I've played with other models and brands of recorder, and I still like the JVC 350 because it has fairly high quality coupled with intuitive controls and camera functions that do all the work. I also got it for a great price compared to other brands with similar features.

I like this camcorder because it is small, lightweight and travels easily. Neat little featureyou can take snapshots while recording video. I'm very happy with the optical zoom. The only downfallno separate charger for the battery so the camera has to be plugged in to charge it, which is very limiting. On the upsideit charges quickly.

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Being a camcorder novice I liked this item. Fit my needs for recording family memories. Just recently got it for trip to WDW. So nice and compact, a delight to carry around since it fit in one of my purse pockets. At the end of a day @ Disney World you appreciate compact & lightweight. Video looks great. Oh and I got it cheaper here @ Amazon.com than @ local Wal-mart.

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Excellent so far; however, it did not include USB cable for computer. That is my only complaint so far.........

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been using now for some time I really like the 32 optical zoom man its good. I play lots of golf and I was able to zoom in on the group in front of me over 200 yards away. Too bad camera did'nt come with a stabilizer.. cause it really flutters when you zoom in so far away..Hey JVC make next camera with some stabilizing for this price....

JVC GR-SXM520U Palm Size Compact Super VHS Camcorder With LCD Monitor

I really like this machine. The owner's manual is good and the features are useful. For VHS-C format, one has the option of standard-play for 30 minutes of recording or extended-play for 90 minutes of recording. The night vision feature is good I recorded shots in almost total darkness and the camera made it look like the lights were normal in the room. The LCD screen is really good so that the user can use it for shooting or for playback viewing. The zoom freaked me out at how sharp the picture could be at about 50 or so yards. The price seems okay and this camera is a pretty good deal for my purposes anyway.

it is very difficult to tell but i think it good

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Electronic Digital Magnifier Visual/Reading Aide for TV

I got this reading device a few weeks ago. It is easy to set up and use and has good quality of image. After connecting to a TV, the fine print can be viewed clearly. Especially the high contrast mode is very helpful.

Item purchased for macular degeneration sufferer. The magnified image on the Amazon page is misleading. The printed words would have to be no bigger than 2 inches wide from side to side and top to bottom.

Cons:

1. Hard to master

2. Narrow field of view makes reading more than one line of text difficult. Field view size is about 2 inches (typical paperback book is about 4.5 inches of text), so user must constantly move magnifier and it is very easy to lose the line being read. Moving from end of one line of text to next is challenging.

3. User had multiple headaches in learning to use narrow magnified area and reported "seasickness."

4. Wire comes out of "wrong end" of device. Unlike a mouse, the wire to the monitor must be positioned under the user's wrist. Using the device like a mouse, with the wire pointing away, results in an upside down image.

Pros:

1. Easy to use

2. Very clear optics

3. Can be turned off and on from surge suppressor. That means users can turn on monitor and magnifier with one button on surge suppressor. Since suppressor on switch is illuminated, very easy for users to find "on" switch.

Summary this would be very good if the optics were wide angle and the wire went out the front end.

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Going on a couple of months and it seems to be working well for my mom.It's significantly cheaper than competing products from Bierley and appears to be constructed as well or better. It would make sense to include large type instructions, but since I helped set it up, that wasn't an issue.

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Lorex LNZ4001i Wireless Pan Tilt Easy Connect Network Camera (White)

Lorex advertises these as "Easy Connect" WiFi Cameras that any halfway computer literate person could setup on their WiFi in their home. That is "NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING TRUE". I am an Electronic Technician with 25 years of experience and I bought $600.00 worth of them trusting the Lorex brand name. I've got about 50 hours now into setting these up and still many key functions are not working. I bought (3) cameras and went through setup step by step.. all went well for awhile.. but they would not connect wirelessly to the WiFi.. I called technical support, held for 45 minutes only to get somebody in India telling me I needed to do a 30 minute product registration on-line before they could talk to me.. hung up.. did that.. held for another 45 minutes to an hour.. finally got an Indian gentleman that didn't speak good enough English to understand much.. after he went through the same exact steps that I had done 50 times before said " that's all there is.. it must be your wireless router" "I can do no more.. get a new router"... I knew that wasn't the problem since every other wireless device works fine with my WiFi.. but bought a new router.. 2 hours setting it all up.. went though the camera setup again and it failed exactly the same as before.. Worked on it myself for 30-40 hours.. got parts of it to work.. called back technical support in India at 7:00PM to get help.. held another 45 minutes only to get someone to take my name and phone number that would call me back later..They called back around 10:00 after I'd went to bed.. Bottom line.. Camera Sounds Cool..Does Have Cool Features If You Can Get Them To Work.. Setup and Most Features are much to complex for the average person to setup (and actually get to work).. Customer Support is Non Existant.. Lorex if you are listening and have any shred of concern about your reputation.. my cameras are still not working.. give me a call (but please not from India..) Phone 620-235-4829..

I have 4 of these cameras and two of the less expensive 3003i cameras. All of them suffer from software quality problems. They are decent cameras when they work, unfortunately they need frequent reboots since they stop serving out video periodically. Roughly once per week, I have a camera that just stops working.

Another gripe when you reboot the camera, it does not return to the position you want. It returns to its default position, which is not usually where you want to point the thing.

Low-light/night performance of this camera is quite good.

The yoics remote access service is also sketchy. Registering the cameras with the service requires persistance, but once they are registered, they seem to work that is, until they need to be rebooted.

Forget about support hardly any is offered, and there are no software updates (for these cameras) published on Lorex's site. This is not a good sign for the longevity of these cameras. The iPhone app for accessing these cameras is broken in iOS 5. It did work well in iOS4.

Bad software all-around ruins what could have been a decent product.

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The design of this camera is very simple. It looks cool and it turns and swivels to almost any angle, however it is not the most accurate. It will not stop on a dime, so to speak. The worse part of the camera is the tech support which you will need. They have out sourced this task to india and you know how that goes. Huge language barrier and some person behind a computer saying that they don't see a problem and the problem is on your end. They keep blaming problems on the user end networking, which they do not touch. Another huge problem is that you have to open your ports on your router. Which leaves you computers and your home network exposed. Which is horrible from a security stand point. They wanted me to set up my router under the DMZ which is like a fire wall and my entire network was exposed on the internet. Now I would like to use and operate the cameras but I do not want my home network exposed and get hacked. There are too many ID thefts happening and I do not want to be a victim.

Not a plug and play. Exposes your home network security to use. Look for something better and easier to set up and use.

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If you have cable internet such as Comcast, you only have maybe 2 ports open for port forwarding.

Port 80, and maybe 85. This Lorex needs 4 ports if you want the Iphone to work using the Lors2 app for Iphone from Itunes apps. Also you will not be able to use port 80 with Comcast home internet

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I bought my new Lorex LNZ 4001i IP camera and tried to follow the quick start guide to get it installed. I wasn't having much luck, and after a couple of hours trying, I registered it to activate the warranty then called tech support. I went through support levels 1, 2 and 3 before the 3rd guy, an American, got it to work on my iphone. After I hung up, I noticed I could no longer access the camera on my desktop computer. Also,now my existing Lorex eco dvr system could not be assessed from my iphone or the computer. The problem is, the dvr and the ip camera are set up to use the same router port 80, so the tech had to change settings on my dvr. By that night the ip camera couldn't be accessed from the iphone anymore. I didn't panic though, I just called tech support again the next morning. The first tech sent me on to a level 2 tech because she was not a router port expert. The level 2 tech, an Indian guy, was a real expert. He straightened everything out in a couple of minutes. I wish I wrote down his name or number so I could give him credit. He explained what he was doing, but I probably won't remember well enough to do it myself next time. Anyway, It's working great now. The only problem is the iphone app. For one thing, it does not let you use the digital zoom and the picture keeps freezing and dissappearing untill you tap on the camera you want to view again. I think its a great camera and it works great on Internet explorer, but the problem is with the iMobile2 app. I'm sure that can be improved.