Samsung W200 Rugged Camcorder
The good: The Samsung HMX-W200 produces very good video, has solid sharing and editing software, and has a couple of handy features including a pause button.
The bad: Some of the W200′s shooting options and durability features aren’t very useful.
The bottom line: The Samsung HMX-W200 might be a little less impressive than its specs, but it’s still a very good rugged minicamcorder for the money.
You might think that pocket video cameras are doomed because of smartphones and the iPhone, but there are some things those devices just can’t do. The Samsung HMX-W200, for example, can survive a 6.5-foot drop, or a swim down to 10 feet for up to 30 minutes, and it’s dustproof. It joins competitors from Kodak and Panasonic, among others, that are rugged, not just waterproof.
The W200 is essentially the same as the company’s P100 pocket video camera, but rugged. It has a backside-illuminated 5-megapixel CMOS sensor for better low-light recording; records in full HD (1,920×1,080/30p) in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 to a microSDHC card; and has a fixed-focal-length f2.2 lens and a 2.3-inch LCD. You also get what I consider essentials for this category: a flip-out USB connector and embedded sharing and editing software.
That all sounds pretty great, but that’s the W200 on paper. In use, its value isn’t as clear. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice minicamcorder for the money, but there are some things about it that may turn you off.
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