Samsung U10 Full HD 1080p Camcorder (Silver)

The Samsung HMX-U10 is a great example of good product design at a very reasonable price. One of the first miniature, memory card-based camcorders that can capture Full HD 1080p video, it also has a 10 megapixel CCD for taking still images and a stereo microphone for better recording of sound (some rivals only capture sound in mono). The body is angled at 7 degrees to aid ergonomics and it is mostly only 15.5mm in thickness.

An important point to note is that these U10s are Mac compatible! It is just the 'intelli-studio' software (both the embedded and the computer-based ones) that is PC-only. To allow it to work with Macs, the U10's embedded software should to turned off. In effect, this means the camcorder acts similar to a USB flash drive when connected to a Mac.

To turn off the camcorder's intelli-studio software: Press the Menu button (located on the rear of the camera - it's the button labelled with a logo that looks similar to a small ladder). Then follow this menu… more »

The Samsung HMX-U10 is a great example of good product design at a very reasonable price. One of the first miniature, memory card-based camcorders that can capture Full HD 1080p video, it also has a 10 megapixel CCD for taking still images and a stereo microphone for better recording of sound (some rivals only capture sound in mono). The body is angled at 7 degrees to aid ergonomics and it is mostly only 15.5mm in thickness.

An important point to note is that these U10s are Mac compatible! It is just the 'intelli-studio' software (both the embedded and the computer-based ones) that is PC-only. To allow it to work with Macs, the U10's embedded software should to turned off. In effect, this means the camcorder acts similar to a USB flash drive when connected to a Mac.

To turn off the camcorder's intelli-studio software: Press the Menu button (located on the rear of the camera - it's the button labelled with a logo that looks similar to a small ladder). Then follow this menu procedure: - Settings - PC Software - Off. Thus, Mac users can successfully get footage onto their computers - where it can be stored, organized and edited with other software - but they cannot benefit from the convenience of the Samsung-supplied software.

Windows PC users will instantly access the intelli-studio software, which is used to play, edit or upload a file to the PC. This software should spring into action as soon as the camcorder is connected to the PC. i.e. the software automatically loads onto the computer from the U10.

The quality of the video footage is very reasonable and probably better than that of rival products. Just remember that this (and most other miniature camcorders) are not good in low light conditions, as well as sometimes suffering from poor focusing on near-by objects. Video can also be very shaky if the person's hand is not steady!
If very high video quality is your goal, then a much larger (and more expensive) camcorder will be required.
The U10 really aims at providing a convenient, easy to use and relatively ergonomic tool, all wrapped in a stylish and compact form factor. In my opinion it is currently the best of its breed (in its price and product category).