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

5 Comments »

• William A. Ray says:

  February 28, 2010 at 14:32

  Product Pros; Easy to use, Compact,excellent focus
  
  Cons: No carrying case, Inadequate Memory Card, in some cases no memory card! screen difficult to see subject in bright sunlight …
  
  All in all , it’s to soon to rate the quality of this product, I will be using it for the first time 5/23/2009
  Rating: 3 / 5
• Martin Arrowsmith says:

  February 28, 2010 at 14:57

  I ordered this camera for a vacation to visit my family. When I received it, the LCD screen didn’t work the first time I tried it. Dealing with Samsung customer service has been a nightmare. I know others have had better results, but now I’ve “owned” this camera for 2 weeks, had it in my possession for 36 hours, and have never been able to use it. For me, this is unacceptable for a brand new camera. Not only would I not recommend this camera, I wouldn’t recommend Samsung.
  Rating: 1 / 5
• A. A. Nikolov says:

  February 28, 2010 at 15:24

  Well, perhaps you have read all the nice reviews about this camcorder. So had I. That is why there was no hesitation that this model was going to be my choice.

  However, reality played a nice trick. First thing out of the box, the smell of the plastic strap, that you use to hold the camcorder, is unbearable. Left in a room, it fills it up with foul chemical odor. With time, it will wear off. Perhaps.

  Then, the second shocker, was a spelling mistake on the box itself – hassel-free vs. hassle-free. Well, a good knock-off? From Amazon? I don’t want to believe it.

  The battery was charged very fast – 2 hours.

  The next day, an excellent, sunny New England Saturday, I went out to test it. The operation is very easy and the learning curve is small. The camcorder feels a bit big in my hand, there is a bit of tension while zooming – I feel I am going to drop it.

  The screen is so-so quality. I can only compare to my Sony p92 camera and Canon Digital Rebel.

  If you zoom more than 10X or so, the shake is unbearable. There is no stabilization. If you use tri-pod, you should be fine.

  Then, in the afternoon, I downloaded the files. The pictures are unusable – huge file size, unclear, fuzzy, smeared faces. Horrid.

  Then, I saw the video quality. This samsung uses new compression, and you can record around 600 mins or so at fine quality. There are HUGE jaggies in the videos, at the moment the camera moves, or your hand shakes. I had not seen such problem with sample videos on YouTube. I am using excellent IBM laptop with the latest video drivers, latest vido software – in short, you cannot get any better than this. So I tried to convert the videos – m4p format if I recall, to .avi or mpg. Then, there is obvious improvement. But size is twice or trice and it takes time.

  The the unthinkable happened. The camera failed me, when I needed it most. It seems, I had accidentally left it on, while testing before a very important day. 10 dollar calculators have authomatic power off after 10 mins, but not my samsung. So, the next day, I power the camcorder on and the battery is dead. It was a betrayal of the most vicious kind. So, samsung would still have to earn my trust – for now, they remain gimmicky brand. (I know full well, that the Samsung brand has gained on Sony)

  Verdict – use on your own risk.
  
  Rating: 1 / 5
• Teresa says:

  February 28, 2010 at 16:32

  I want to love this camcorder, I really do. It is small, lightweight and easy to operate…features I searched for to take a camcorder on a motorcycle trip. But I have recieved 2 now that the lens cap does not function. Samsung tech support could find no solution. Now I guess I have to send the 2nd one back and hope I get my proper credit. And as my trip is coming up shortly, I cannot take the chance of ordering a third one and hoping it works prior to the trip. I will have to go to a department store where I can test it out BEFORE I take it home. Is no one else having this issue? Is it maybe just the red one? Should I try another color??
  Rating: 3 / 5
• Roman Marte says:

  February 28, 2010 at 17:35

  GREAT CAMERA…BUT I DONT LIKE THE INTELIGENT ZOOM…WHEN IT FOCUS BLUR FOR A WHILE THE CAPTION ON VIDEO MODE…
  Rating: 3 / 5