Shooting a Little HD with the Samsung H200 Memory Camera

I have a confession to make.

I’ve never used a camcorder. Ever.

I’m really into optics and I’m a hobbyist photog, but I never  bothered with video until it started showing up in still cameras like my old Powershot S2 IS and now my Canon 7D.

When Samsung offered to send us one of their HD Memory Cameras, I figured it was time to see how the other side lived…

I opted for their base model H200, which features a BSI CMOS Sensor with optical image stabilization, 20x zoom, 1080/60i video recording, and the ability to shoot 4.7 MP stills all for a street price of about $250.

The camera’s design is a pretty straightforward cylindrical affair, with a zoom rocker switch up top next to its still shutter button. A flip out LCD, with full tilt and swivel action, frames your shot, and the button with the big red dot starts and stops recording. All in all it’s a pretty simple affair, though I was shocked by its small size (smaller than your average soda can), as the last camcorder I had ever held (but wasn’t allowed to use) was my parents camera from the early 90’s…

All in all it’s a pretty simple affair, so simple in fact that after shooting on a 7D I was sure I was missing something, and I probably wasted about a day digging through manuals before I learned how to stop worrying and just love the camera.

See, every camera I’ve owned has settings and dial and modes and options to chew through before you press that record button, and the whole micro video camera revolution (championed by cameras like the Flip) kinda passed me by. I’ve only just started using the camera in my phone for video…

The H200 sides more on the ethic of the micro video cameras. You’re not going to shoot a webseries or an indie flick on it. If you want a small video camera that’s easy to keep on hand for impromptu memory making, then it’ll be your best friend.

You do have the ability to change resolutions (but why would you want to), and there are some scene modes to help customize your video output, but truthfully most of the time you’re just going to hit that red dot and go.

Image quality is pretty decent. To my eye it does look better than micro cameras (certainly better than my 720p cell phone cam), and the resolution bump to 1920×1080 will put it above many point and shoot cameras that shoot video.

The 20x zoom is really fun to play with. It has a very smooth action throughout most of the range, but the very last bit of the telephoto end feels a little slow.

Autofocus is silent and fairly accurate, but like all autofocus systems it can have trouble hunting in low light, especially on a low contrast scene (where most of the frame is dominated by a single color). Zooming out a little usually helped it get enough of a lock that I could keep focus while zooming back in.

The image stabilization system used is noticeably effective. CMOS sensors are known for being a little “jello-y” when hand held. The OIS in the H200 helped considerably in reducing the shake and wiggle, especially since this is a one handed camera (and I don’t have surgeon hands).

Stills are just OK. I’m pretty spoiled, so I can’t say the 4.7MP images coming out of the camera impressed me that much, but the fact that this image sensor is attached to a 20x zoom means that I would probably use the H200 more than the 5MP shooter in my phone if I HAD to pick between the two.

Battery life is pretty great. I was able to get several days of casual use out of a single charge as long as I wasn’t doing a lot of playback from the camera.

The wrap up?

The camera market is extremely competitive, and often only small differences in feature set and price will differentiate the different gadgets in this space. The H200 is a great bridge camera for those who like shooting on a Flip, but are looking to move to a camera with more features and resolution. Considering the impressive zoom and resolution bump over many micro cameras, you don’t pay much of a premium. It’s also a pretty fun little shooter for those who want to take a mental break from the recent explosion of semi-pro cameras…

Tags: 1080 camcorder camera hd Samsung video video camera