Samsung has a foothold in many industries but ‘video camcorder’ is one market that they have not really gotten a grip on. But they are inching forward ever so slowly with a few models and are making some headway.
Their new Samsung HMX- QF30 is priced at $329.99 with street prices going for less than $300. It is for those looking for an affordable digital camcorder and who are willing to settle for less than cutting edge stuff. What you get is a compact, easy to use camcorder with useful features.
The HMX-QF30 has a 1/4in sensor and a 20x optical zoom. If you are fine with less optical quality, you can go all the way to 40x with digital zoom. The 2.7in color touchscreen monitor is adequate but is smaller than those offered by competitors.
Wi-Fi is built-in. With that you can easily upload your videos to YouTube and Facebook. The HMX-QF30 also lets you transfer videos to your mobile and broadcast live on the internet with the Ustream web service. You can download the free Samsung MobileLink app from the App Store and Google Play to transfer videos to your smartphone or tablet.
Ergonomically, the compactness and the thin short strap may be uncomfortable for those with large hands to control the record and zoom buttons on the back of the camcorder. To keep file sizes low, it records videos in the MP4 format which introduces compression artefacts. So don’t expect pristine quality videos. So if you keep your expectations low, the Samsung HMX-QF30 delivers an affordable solution for the younger set who wants to easily share videos with friends.
More info and specs from Samsung.
