Samsung VP-X105L Miniket (512MB)

Features
The Samsung SC-X105L's feature set is largely external to the camera; the VP-X105L lacks many of the typical bells and whistles, but it has several unique capabilities and includes accessories that enable you to shoot video in situations where having a larger, more conventional MiniDV camcorder would be impractical. Bad news first: You can't tweak the exposure controls when recording, so you're at the mercy of the camcorder's sometimes dicey autoexposure system. The VP-X105L also lacks a wide-screen mode and its still images max out at a camera phone-like resolution of 800 x 600.

Now, on to the good stuff: The 10x optical zoom lens is digitally stabilized, and in practice, it allows you to shoot quite steadily and take some pretty long shots as long as you have adequate lighting. The rudimentary MP3 player is not strictly necessary on a camcorder, but it's a nice bonus if you have a high-capacity Memory Stick Pro card and want to take advantage of the VP-X105L's generous 512MB of internal memory.

The VP-X105L's trump card, or at least the feature that none of its competitors can claim, is the weatherproof external camera included in the box. Because the VP-X105L is so small and fits so easily inside a pocket, you can use the head- or shoulder-mountable external video-capture feature to record any number of hands-free activities.

I don't know if my testing of this feature really lived up to its take-no-prisoners billing, since I mostly used it to tape my brother making funny faces and myself catching footballs. But for skydivers, fly fishermen, and helmet-cam enthusiasts of all stripes, this external lens is perfect for freeing up your hands so that you can play air guitar at 30,000 feet or in a river or whatnot. One caveat: You can't zoom in when using the external eye, so you'll have to settle for a fixed-focus view.

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