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With increasing numbers of people turning to their smartphones to record video, manufacturers of mini camcorders have had to lure consumers with unique features. Samsung’s W200 is dustproof and shockproof, and can shoot in 1080p at a depth of up to 3m underwater, with a special mode that reduces the blue tint you normally get from such footage.
We expected to find fiddly, rubberised controls, but the only signs of waterproofing are the heavy-duty covers for the two compartments that contain the USB and HDMI ports and the microSDHC slot, which lock into place when closed. The buttons are chunky and fairly intuitive: there’s a central button with a four-way navigation wheel surrounding it, which also acts as the zoom control, and five other buttons which perform various context-sensitive functions.
The W200 turns on in two seconds, so you can start shooting almost immediately. A single button switches between video and still modes, while another button switches to playback mode, where you’re presented with a grid of thumbnails that you can either play, delete or tag for sharing. As well as a choice of filters, such as fisheye and black and white, the W200 has anti-shake, face detection and backlit modes, and you can even take photos while recording video.
We were impressed by the W200’s picture quality, considering its price. You get a choice of 1080/25p or 720/25p modes, and the resulting video didn’t show much compression. There was a small amount of noise in outdoor footage and some detail was lost to noise reduction, but otherwise the W200 performed well. It was quick to react to changes in lighting – for example, switching focus from a dark building to the sky above it – although at startup it was slow to focus sometimes. The auto-scene selection was accurate, sensing changes from indoor to outdoor and from light and dark. The camcorder has digital image stabilisation built in, which kept things smooth even during panning shots, and colours were natural.
The W200 was even more impressive in the dark. Even without a video recording light, there was a manageable amount of noise and reasonable colour accuracy. We compared video quality to that from a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, which has good video quality for a smartphone, and the W200 blew it away in both well-lit and dimly-lit footage, with a much sharper image and far less visible compression.
The W200’s underwater mode boosts reds and turns down blues to counter the effects of being underwater, and in our tests it resulted in slightly more natural colours. It can be used up to three metres underwater, although we suspect that for many people, the W200’s dust and shock resistance, coupled with its waterproofing, simply add peace of mind when taking the W200 to the beach or on a walking trip.
With far better video quality than GE’s DV1 and more intuitive controls than the Kodak PlaySport, the W200 looks like a great buy. It may not have the great, natural image quality of the late lamented Flip Ultra HD 3rd gen, but at £100 it’s great value, and wins our Budget Buy award.
