46 MA XIMUMPC JANUARY 2006
S
amsung’s SC-X105L should by no
means be your only digital camcorder.
But if you can swing the budget for a sec-
ond DV cam, this wee rubber-coated devil
can’t be beat for its sheer audaciousness.
That’s right. This tiny camera is
encased in weather-resistant, shock-
absorbing, easy-to-grip neoprene. What
could be cooler than that? How about
an external camera module that you can
strap to your helmet or any convenient
appendage before you rocket down that
black-diamond slope, launch yourself into
a skateboard half-pipe, or terrorize the
local links in a stolen golf cart.
Unlike the other cameras in this round-
up, the SC-X105L uses fl ash memory, so
the shocks and jolts that would hopelessly
scramble the video recorded to tape or
disc had absolutely no impact on this one.
And despite its Lilliputian dimensions—the
main camera weighs only 0.32 pounds
and measures just 3.65 inches tall, 2.32
inches wide, and 1.04 inches thick—
Samsung managed to integrate a lens with
10x optical zoom (with auto focus and
electronic image stabilization, natch) and a
2-inch swing-out LCD.
Once you get over the school-kid gid-
diness of recording video while tossing theSC-X105 around like a hackeysack, you
begin to notice some of its many limita-
tions. First and foremost, the 512MB of
fl ash memory is capable of recording a
total of 10 minutes, 55 seconds of MPEG-4
video (AVI format). You can double that by
inserting a 1GB Memory Stick Pro;
but even then, you’re still talking
about 20 minutes of relatively
low-res video. The lithium-poly-
mer battery, meanwhile, delivered
an unexpected 48 minutes of
mixed recording/playback time.
Image quality in both video
and still modes was very good,
considering this DV cam’s svelte
physique. The auto focus locked on
target quickly, but we noted quite a
bit of edge crawl and color bleed in
close-ups. The Samsung performed
poorly indoors. But let’s face it: No
one’s going to buy this camera in
the pursuit of becoming the next
Quentin Tarantino; no, this camera
has Jeff Tremaine written all over it.
Like the other DV-cams we looked
at, the Samsung can also function as
a digital still camera. The 1/6-inch CCD
has only 680,000 pixels, and the external
fi xed-focus camera module uses an even
smaller 1/4-inch CMOS sensor. PictBridge
support means you can print photos
directly from the camera to any printer
that supports that standard. But like Ron
Popeil’s famed Vegomatic, the SC-X105
can also function as an MP3 player,
a personal voice recorder, and a webcam—now how much would you pay?!
Unless you use Memory Stick media
(and have the appropriate card reader
for your PC), you’ll need to rely on the
USB 2.0 port in the camera’s docking
station to transfer video, images, and
other data to and from your host PC.
The absence of FireWire doesn’t faze us
because the fi les are so small anyway.
Samsung’s SC-X105L is a terrifi cally
unconventional DV cam; it’s just the
ticket for capturing rough-and-tumble
action sequences without destroying
your cam.Samsung
SC-X105L
Sports Cam
The perfect camcorder for capturing
your best Jackass momentsSPECS
$700, http://www.samsung.com3TEVE O.^8
SAMSUNG SC-X105LCaptures action while tak-
ing punishment that would
destroy any other cam.Aside from its gimmicky MP3
player/voice-recorder features,
this device is a one-trick pony.JO(..9 +.O8V),,ERECORDING 512MB of internal fl ash memory;
MEDIA Memory Stick Pro
LENS Internal: F1.8 – 2.4; 10x optical
zoom; electronic image stabiliza-
tion; external: F2.6; fi xed focus
IMAGE SENSOR Internal: 1/6-inch CCD with 680
thousand pixels; external: 1/4-inch
CMOS with 320,000 pixels
ASPECT RATIO 4:3
I/O PORTS On camera: Multipurpose 1/8-inch
jack (stereo headphone out, A/V out
for TV, A/V in for remote camera);
on cradle: USB 2.0, A/V out for TV
BATTERY LIFE 0:48 (hours:minutes)3amsung’s tiny 3C-805,
3ports Camcorder comes with
an even smaller secondary
camera that you can strap to
your body.3amsung’s ultra-tiny, rub-
ber-wrapped 3C-805, 3ports
Camcorder is fabulous for shooting
action videographyat least in short
bursts. Because the camera records
to flash memory, it can capture only
a little more than 0 minutes of
action at a time.THE
REVOLUTION
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