We have a quick look at Samsung's VP-X110L, a ruggedized version of the VP-M110 tapeless camcorder featuring a tethered lens that'll go in the oddest of places.
Many of us have been there at some point: you're on the slopes, trekking, kayaking or simply playing outside with the kids - or performing any sorts of outdoors sports activity that's just a little too hazardous for your fragile digital camera or camcorder. With more features than you can shake a stick at plus a tough outer hide, Samsung's new Miniket VP-X110L tapeless camcorder comes along and saves the day.
Apparently taking up much of the interior of the VP-X110L is its 10x optical zoom lens, coupled with an 800K pixel CCD recording video in MPEG4 format at 720 x 576 pixels and 25 FPS. A quick poke at the camera was enough to find a mostly intuitive set of controls, and zoom control proved smooth and agile - although a slight apparent lag when jumping to digital zoom was a tad annoying. Still, if digital zoom is your thing, you'll have an utterly useless 100x of it at your disposal.
 | | Samsung Miniket VP-X110L |
Despite its small size, the VP-X110L - like non-rugged version of this camcorder, the
VP-M110 - offers a spacious 2" LCD viewfinder with 211K colours. It's not among the brigthest I've seen in a Samsung product, but does its job well. What's more, it also offers an interface for the additional functionality of the VP-X110L, which, like its less-rugged sibling, isn't only a camcorder.
Also including the ability to take still pictures at a paltry resolution of 800 x 600 pixels, the VP-X110L records voice in either MP3 or WAV format; plays MP3s; and connects to a PC via USB 2.0 to either work as a web camera or as a removable mass storage unit. Speaking of storage, the 1 GB of built-in Flash memory should according to Samsung allow for between 22 and 130 minutes of recorded video, and can also be extended courtesy of a Memory Stick PRO expansion slot - a disappointing choice for a product where cheap storage really does count.
 | | Samsung Miniket VP-X110L |
What sets the VP-X110L aside from the VP-M110 is mainly its rugged exterior, as well as the inclusion of a tethered 'Extreme Sports Cam' - a lens that is meant to be worn around the arm or on top of a helmet, letting for instance snowboarders focus on the piste and their moves rather than the actual recording part. The VP-X110L seems to be able to take a bit of a whacking, so this part appears kosher, but I'm less sure of the usefulness of the tethered lens; actually recording something of interest is certain to prove highly unlikely, so having a friend do the shooting would probably be best. Still, props to Samsung for thinking outside the box.
The 147 g Miniket VP-X110L also supports USB 2.0 and PictBridge, plus a handy LED Flash with a range best described as so-so - but then again, it being present at all in a camcorder of this size is a pleasant surprise. Scheduled for availability in April, it will sell for close to $1,000 USD - not ideally priced for your average ski bum, in other words.
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