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Samsung SMX-F50 standard-def camcorder announced

If HD isn't for you, Samsung's got a tiny camcorder it'd like to sell you.

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

LAS VEGAS--The Samsung SMX-F50 is the company's entry-level ultracompact standard-definition camcorder for 2011. As such, it doesn't do a whole lot beyond capturing 720x480-pixel-resolution video to SD memory cards.

Key features include a 52x optical zoom lens; the capability to pause while recording, so there's less of a need to join individual clips; and something called Smart Background Music. If you choose to add background music to a movie, the Smart BGM feature automatically lowers the music volume when speech is detected so it doesn't drown out what's being said.

If you want or need to record to internal memory, Samsung will also have the 8GB F53 and 16GB F54 in its lineup.

Available in February in black, silver, red, and blue versions, the F50, F53, and F54 will sell for $199, $249, and $299, respectively.

Editors' take: Standard-definition camcorders continue to sell because of low prices and long zoom lenses. The video quality from them tends to be horrible, though, as manufacturers aren't doing anything to improve it. In fact, I'm going to take it as a bad sign that Samsung's announcement for this camcorder makes almost no mention of video quality.