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Tiny Samsung Q10 Camcorder Is a Sharp Shooter: "

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Product: Samsung Q10 Camcorder

Price: $300 (but you can find it for less than $230 online)

What It’s Good For: Shooting clean, crisp video on a budget

Who It’s Good For: Parents who want to document their kids’ activities with a camcorder small enough to fit in a purse or coat pocket; video enthusiasts who like to travel light but want higher-quality video than a smartphone camcorder can provide

Limitations: Optical image stabilization still leaves you with shaky footage.

Bottom Line: You get a lot of camcorder for your $230 — the Samsung Q10 camcorder is small enough to fit in a purse or coat pocket, yet records better quality video than any smartphone.

A Close-Up Look At the Samsung Q10 Camcorder

The camcorder market is in a difficult position these days, because almost every smartphone has video recording capability. Why carry an extra gadget when you have a perfectly good camcorder right there on your smartphone? If you’re recording something important, such as your baby’s first steps, you might start thinking that smartphone camcorder is not perfectly good enough. However, you don’t want to carry around anything that’s too bulky. That niche is where the Samsung Q10 SwitchGrip Full HD Camcorder shines.

Samsung’s official name for this product is the Q10 SwitchGrip Full HD Camcorder, and I have a bone to pick with that nomenclature. The term “full HD” is misleading, because this is not the fullest resolution of the HDTV format, 1080p. The Q10′s highest resolution is 1080i, which is good enough quality — about the same as 720p — but it’s not the fullest of HD capability.

Now that we have that out of the way, the other part of the camera’s name is SwitchGrip. That clever feature will be a welcome sight for left-handed videographers, or those who find themselves in awkward positions and need to change hands while recording. It works by using a built-in sensor, similar to those on smartphones, that knows which way you’re holding the Q10, and then correctly orients the viewfinder and the video accordingly. It’s also smart enough to sense when you’ve turned the viewfinder around to face you when taking videos of yourself. Good idea, Samsung.

Open up the camera’s touchscreen, and that automatically turns on its power, playing a satisfying little musical phrase while it reminds you to open the lens cap. That’s too bad, because I’d like to see the lens cap opening automatically, but that might’ve been a cost consideration for a camcorder in this price range.

Once the camera has booted up, you’re presented with an easy-to-use menu system Samsung calls Smart Touch 3.0, all spread out on an exceptionally responsive touchscreen. Its capacitive touch is the best I’ve seen on a camcorder.

This tiny unit is small enough that you’ll be tempted to take it with you wherever you go. But there’s such a thing as too small, and even in a medium-size hand, this camcorder feels like there’s not enough to hold onto. It also took me a while to get used to its zoom control, which is not a lever, but a ring that surrounds the record start/stop button.

The Q10′s most delightful aspect is its exceptional video quality. In bright light outdoors, its resolution was sharp and clear, and its colors were satisfyingly saturated. Even in low light, the camera performed admirably, kicking up a slight amount of graininess but nothing objectionable (see my test video below, demonstrating the camera’s performance in both types of light). In short, the camcorder passed our shooting test with aplomb, beating out any smartphone camcorder I’ve ever seen.

One small gripe I have is with the camcorder’s optical image stabilization. I’m not expecting a professional-level SteadiCam at these prices, but it was hard for me to tell there was any image stabilization at work. With a camcorder this small, it’s difficult enough to hold it still, and a bit of smoothing out would have been a welcome feature.

But that minor shortcoming doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm for this tiny bundle of joy. I’m astonished at how far camcorders have progressed in the past few years, and the Samsung Q10 is a prime example. It was already a good deal at its retail price of $300, and you can find it for much less than that, which I consider a tremendous bargain.