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Samsung goes rugged with W200 minicamcorder

The HMX-W200 keeps you shooting full HD movies in the rain, snow, and surf and doesn't mind getting knocked around a bit either.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
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Joshua Goldman
Samsung

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, a swim down to 10 feet, 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 (1,920x1,080/30p) in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 to a microSDHC card; has a fixed focal length f2.2 lens; and a 2.3-inch LCD. However, the W200's screen has an anti-water-drop coating so you're not wiping off water to see what you're shooting, while the lens has an anti-fog coating.

Look for it May for $159.