Samsung HMX-R10

Samsung HMX-R10 versus Sanyo VPC-HD2000
• Very good performance all around on the Sanyo VPC-HD2000—much better in low light than the R10. • Offers similar slow-motion modes to the R10 • Sanyo has external mic and headphone jack • Records video at 1080/60p, 1080/60i, 1080/30p, as well as a number of lower-quality resolutions..
	JVC GZ-X900 Comparison	(Page 13 of 17)	Panasonic HDC-HS20 Comparison

The Sanyo did a lot better than the Samsung in our video testing, but the R10 kept up quite well, solidly positioning itself as a bargain camcorder. Both camcorders record to SD/SDHC memory cards and contain no internal memory. They also have similar weight and dimensions, although the construction of the two camcorders is entirely different. The Sanyo has an upright, pistol-grip design, which is quite unusual for a camcorder of its class (this design is very popular with ultra-compact budget camcorders, however).

The VPC-HD2000 offers a few slow-motion options. The camcorder can record low-quality video at 240fps or 500fps, which both produce similar results to JVC's high-speed shooting options. Something that may interest people who have concerns about video editing is the fact that the Sanyo HD2000 doesn't record using AVCHD compression. Its MPEG-4 codec is similar to AVCHD, except files can be dragged and dropped from the camcorder and the clips aren't as taxing for a computer to handle. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 also records using a natively progressive 1080/60p frame rate, which offers smoother motion than the standard 50i.

The main weakness of the Sanyo HD2000 is its unfriendly user experience. The camcorder feels cheap, has poor button implementation, and its menu structure is unintuitive. If you're used to a traditional camcorder, the VPC-HD2000 can be frustrating to use and difficult to learn. Its performance, however, is very good.s The camcorder also takes decent still images, but it doesn't have quite the pixel count of the Samsung HMX-R10.

These are two rather different camcorders. The HMX-R10 is a good deal for what it offers, while the VPC-HD2000 is a bit pricier. We think the R10 has better still photo capabilities, but the Sanyo gets the edge in our video performance testing (particularly in low light).

	Comparison Specs
	Samsung HMX-R10	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Price	£ 350	£ 450
Primary Recording Media	SD/SDHC memory card	SD/SDHC memory card
Secondary Recording Media	None	None
Image Sensor	1/2.33-inch CMOS	1/2.33-inch CMOS
Effective Pixel Count	5.3 megapixels (video) 9 megapixels (still)	5.31 megapixels (video) 8 megapixels (still)
Mic Input	None	None
LCD	2.7-inch with 230,000 pixels	2.8-inch with 230,000 pixels
Viewfinder	None	None
Weight	229g (without battery)	300g (without battery)
Dimensions	38.3 x 56.8 x 128.2mm	90 x 112.6 x 54.4 mm
HD	Yes	Yes
Frame Rates	1080/50i, 1080/25p, 720/50p	HD: 1080/60p, 1080/60i, 1080/25p, 720/30p SD: 240fps (448 x 336), 600fps (192 x 108) (nativ progressiv)
Compression	H.264 (MPEG-4.AVC)	MPEG-4
Maximum Bitrate	Unknown	24Mbps
Optical Zoom	5x	10x
Stabilisation	Digital	Digital

 

 

	Scores
	Samsung HMX-R10	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Colour	7.22	10.06
Noise	7.15	9.53
Video Sharpness	10.59	10.59
Low Light Sensitivity	0.00	7.7
Low Light Colour	7.98	9.79
Low Light Noise	5.57	9.83
Still Sharpness	8.17	11.05
Still Colour	11.63	8.45
Still Noise	6.35	5.42

 

 

Close-up at 60 lux Auto (low light)
Samsung HMX-R10 100% Crop	Sanyo VPC-HD2000 100% Crop

 

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance