Samsung used a product showcase in New York to announce new additions to its flash-memory-based Sports camcorder line that use wireless auxiliary lenses to capture creative action angles.
Models SC-X205WL ($579 street price) and SC-X210WL ($679), offer similar feature sets to the previously announced SC-X205L ($479) and SC-X210L ($579), but add new wireless auxiliary lenses instead of the wired versions used in the other units.
The auxiliary lenses give videographers added shooting flexibility, enabling a lens to be worn on a helmet or head band, for example, to permit hands-free shots.
Aaron Novak, Samsung camcorders and digital video systems marketing manager, said the wireless auxiliary lenses connect to camcorders via RF, and offer a 15-foot range. Wired lens versions are connected to the main camcorder by 4-foot cables.
All models feature internal flash-memory storage instead of optical discs, hard drives or tape to record video clips or still images. The wireless X205WL model offers up to 512MBs of memory, while the X210WL version features up to 1GB of built-in recording capacity. In addition, models accept SD and MMC removable flash memory for added capacity.
The new models offer enhanced movie quality, approximately 25 percent improvement in recording time, close to a 30 percent improvement in battery life and an enhanced 10x optical zoom, Samsung said. Video is recorded in MPEG-4 format, and the CCD carries 680K pixels.
All models also add a 2-inch LCD view screen, and image stabilization.
Also, the Sports camcorders can be used as multipurpose six-in-one devices, affording use as a Web cam, MP3 player, voice recorder and data storage device, in addition to digital still camera and camcorder.
