Samsung's new camcorders: SC-D165, SC-HDX15, SC-X210L and SC-X205L

Samsung has added some new offerings to the growing market for tape-free digicams with the DVD-based SC-D165 and SD-equipped SC-HDX15. The DVD model can record to dual-layer media, has a 33x optical zoom (and a whopping 1200x digital zoom, which we're pretty sure is a typo on 120x) along with a 2.7-inch LCD and the ability to capture low-res (800x600) stills. The more interesting offering, the SC-HDX15, is being billed by Samsung as the first HD flash camcorder. The $1,499 unit, due out this summer, includes 4GB of internal memory, and, according to Samsung, can record full 720p footage. No word on how much compression Samsung uses in order to squeeze more than about five minutes of 720p video onto that 4GB, or on what kind of CCD this has. Until we get more info, we'll probably stick with (or at least continue to covet) the 3CCD Everio GZ-MC500, which uses microdrives for unlimited (albeit expensive) storage. Samsung has also added two new Miniket sports camcorders with head-mountable "lipstick" lenses, the SC-X210L (pictured) and SC-X205L. Both include SD card slots, 10x optical zoom, MP3 playback and internal memory (512MB on the X205L and 1GB on the X210L).

[N. Pereira @ Feb 24th 2006 3:00PM]

When and where is the SC-X205L going to be available from? It's now Feb 24th and cant seem to find any anywhere or the dealers dont even know about this product .... !

[H. Sugimoto @ Mar 13th 2006 8:07PM]

It says the 205 and 210 is capable of 10x optical zoom, but the truth is it only zooms if you use the main camera body. The lipstick cam doesn't zoom, which is the only reason why you would buy this instead of other solidstate or non-solidstate camera.

I have the 105 and it's a bit of dissapointment, it always 1x, no zoom, so everything seems tiny.

[Eric @ Apr 1st 2006 8:48PM]

Does any know how to convert the video avi files to something quicktime and imovie can use?

[N. Pereira @ Apr 6th 2006 12:27PM]

I've just ordered my 205L from eCost.com for 409$US plus a Sandisk 2Gb SD card... Should gert it in about 1-2 weeks as im in canada.

I seen in the manual that the camcorder will accept up to a 2gb sd card. Also states that it should be 1.25Mb/sec or faster for write speed.

Cant wait to get my hands on it... Trying to find user reviews on the net, but can seem to find any.

Hope this will be better then the 105L as ive read the reviews on that one and it was'nt worth it...

[N. Pereira @ Apr 6th 2006 12:28PM]

I've just ordered my 205L from eCost.com for 409$US plus a Sandisk 2Gb SD card... Should gert it in about 1-2 weeks as im in canada.

I seen in the manual that the camcorder will accept up to a 2gb sd card. Also states that it should be 1.25Mb/sec or faster for write speed.

Cant wait to get my hands on it... Trying to find user reviews on the net, but can seem to find any.

Hope this will be better then the 105L as ive read the reviews on that one and it was'nt worth it...

[PAT @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:41AM]

HAS ANYONE HAD A PROBLEM GETTING A 2GB SD CARD TO FORMAT ON THE SC-X205L

[L Harper @ Apr 23rd 2006 7:08AM]

I have Samsung's earlier SCX105 and found the "honest review" mentioned above very accurate. It was extremely disappointing. The X205L is a considerable improvement. The battery life is improved and the usability reasonably good. This is the only helmet cam that I've used so far that gets remote operation right... when you power the remote cam by remote control, the whole camera turns on. There is no need to go in and out of the menu-ing sysem on the main camera to switch modes or control the remote camera. The video quality is still sorely lacking, but in a generation or two, I expect it will become passable. A good alternative to this system would be the Archos AV500 (DVR) with a VioSport external camera. Skullcamz sells an integrated system and is comparable. This combo runs about $800. The battery life on the Archos for recording is 4 hours and the AV500 has a 40 GB capacity. (Cam battery life is 15-20 hours.) These cameras create good quality video and perform very well in low light and changing light conditions. If you want a "turn it on and leave it on system", this system is the better choice. If you want the ability to start and stop recording easily and frequently, go with the Samsung.

[Sportscam_guru @ May 14th 2006 12:29AM]

In response to the question from Eric above with using iMovie, please see our official website. We have a fix coming for Macintosh soon.

Samsung Sportscam Moderator (sportscam_guru)

[Roger Barrow @ Apr 10th 2007 9:09AM]

How do I get the drivers to connect my new Samsung Sports camcorder to talk to my apple mac?

[Joe @ Jun 10th 2006 8:04PM]

I have an SC-X205L samsung camcorder. Its really great... except I cant watch my movies on my mac. Samsung's site says it is compatible with mac OSX. They're clearly lying or misinformed. I've called their support line multiple times and gotten nowhere. Samsung Guru says above that there's some kind of fix available, but I can't seem to find it. Please someone help me! I'm so sick of this compatibility game!

[rena @ Jun 27th 2006 10:08PM]

here's what i just emailed to joe:

i called samsung... the first guy i talked to not only said that he had no reports of a similar problem in their system, he said that he didn't see any mention of mac compatability at all! finally he transferred me to "tier 2 support" ... but i had to wait *over an hour* for somebody. when i finally reached the tier 2 support guy, i discovered that "tier 2" just means people who get paid more because they know how to search the system... he said that the problem had been reported, that the problem had recently been escalated, and that samsung has been working with another company to develop a codec update that will work with osx...

apparently this new codec should be available at the end of this month. i work at a software company, so i told the guy i was well aware that releases aren't always on time, and to please be frank about whether this would actually be delivered by the end of june. he said that it wasn't likely to be late because of the priority escalation, and that they would notify me by email when it was available, or if something happened.

so... call them (1800samsung) and give the first person you talk to all of this information:

--model number (for us it was SC-X205L... don't remember if you had the X105L)
--serial number
--mac os release (version) number
--imovie release number
--quicktime release number

and *do not* let them transfer you to tier 2... you'll be on all night! if they don't find the issue in their system, tell them to try different keywords because you know it's there. tell them to email you when the new codec is available, and to email you if for some reason it won't be.

good luck!!

[lance @ Jun 28th 2006 12:07AM]

can someone please e-mail me with a way to play this stuff on an apple!!I get sound but a blank white screen.

marketassistantaol.com

[ches @ Oct 6th 2006 3:32AM]

I read the old posts. Has anyone found a way to import the AVI files into iMovie? I would love to know.

[Josh @ Oct 8th 2006 8:57AM]

Try this to be able to import it to your mac and the you can use it in iMovie:

http://www.flock.com/node/6870

-J

[stuart @ Oct 15th 2006 9:20PM]

Josh,

You are my saviour!!!! I just bought this little beauty and my wife was about to berate me for buying something that is incompatible with my mac!!! I downloaded your app just in time!

I can't believe that Samsung state that the camera works on a mac, and then can't provide any software to actually make it work. That's gross negligence in my book. Come on Samsung, pull your act together.

Thanks again Josh.

stuart

[Roger Barrow @ Apr 10th 2007 9:14AM]

Yes I have, with no luck? Have you found out how yet?

[PAT @ Apr 10th 2007 11:08AM]

after 2hrs on the phone with samsungs incredibly bad cust serv dept. iwas told that it was a known prob but only w/sandisk and they were close to a solution via update. they recomended buying another brand sd card.... that was last month. glad you reminded me, my vacation has come and gone the cameras never been used. i feel the urge to call samsung & thank them for the great cust service and the follow up they were going to give me. ill let you nkow what they say this time

[raygundan @ Jan 12th 2006 12:57PM]

The ATSC HD streams I record with my PC are about 8GB/hour, so 4GB doesn't seem too far off. Even at 19MBps MPEG-2 this would hold ~30 minutes of video, and I suspect the bitrate and the codec are both better than this.

[mark @ Jan 12th 2006 1:22PM]

does anyone know when the SC-X210L will be released for sale? and price?

[Shogmaster @ Jan 12th 2006 1:42PM]

I checked out this unit extensively at CES, and I can guarentee you that the "720p" is NOT 1280x'720'p, but actually '720'x480p. Quite deceptive marketing, but the unit it self is top notch and fixes my main complaint with the previous unit (DS card slot instead of MS Pro).



Also, the DivX codec for video recording has been upgraded to H.264 based one. They both still come up as just a "DivX" files according to my PC. The progressive high quality video mode is recorded @ 594kbps just for video (24 bit, 30fps). The audio codec comes up as 4 bit "IMA ADPCM" @177kbps.



BTW, I also suspect that the other small tapeless video recorder from Sharp or Fisher or whatever that was also touting "720p" was also not really 720p as well. Doing so precludes most flash memory card from being used due to their relatively slow write speeds.

[raaaaaa @ Jan 12th 2006 2:25PM]

I thought the 720p camera was to be sold for 899.00 not 1499.00?

[raaaaaa @ Jan 12th 2006 2:28PM]

I thought the 720p camera was to be sold for 899.00 not 1499.00?

[Philip @ Jan 12th 2006 2:44PM]

Don't forget about the Sanyo HD1 that was announced at CES...



http://www.popphoto.com/article.asp?section_id=5&article_id=1658



If you use MPEG4 instead of MPEG2 compression you can fit more 720p vid into smaller file size, so it's not apples-to-apples to compare it to the stream you record on your PC right now. Also, I've heard that the official HD standard is switching to MPEG4 pretty soon too.

[chilko @ Jan 13th 2006 5:25AM]

"The SC-X210L will be available in February 2006 at $599.99 MAP. The SC-X205L will be available in February 2006 at $499.99 MAP."



http://www.hwhpr.com/pr/samsung/CES06/#camcorder

[Chad Lancour @ Feb 2nd 2006 1:50AM]

Lets hope they improved on some of the basics too!

I wrote an honest review of the SC-X105L this fall - read it and hope for the perfect helmet camera system. Perhaps the X210L knocked a few off of the list! Sounds like they added some nice features.

There is a good usability review over of the SCX105L at http://helmetcameracentral.com - look under the reviews section. The videos also represent a good slice of the conditions under which people use helmet camera systems.