Back in the IFA 2007, Samsung showcased a mini HD camcorder, the HMX1 OA. Now it's ready for retail and we got our hands on this recently released HD based camcorder. The lOx optical zoom of the camcorder provides good video details even when captured from a distance.The recording medium that the HMX1 OA uses is neithertape,disc, nor hard drive, infact it uses 4GB of flash memory that makes the access to the videos/pictures saved much faster. Also to add space,you can either insert a high capacity SD cardWe tested the camera by inserting a 4GB SDHC card and it easily accepted it.

Being an HD camcorder, the HMX1 OA records video at a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. On the ergonomics front the camcorder was easy to hold with a support strap that made is snugly fit in the palm.The buttons are also very well placed and thus provides easy one-hand access. The camcorder features automatic and manual mode focus.There are various presets such as tungsten, fluorescent, daylight, cloudy and custom. The 2.7in LCD is touch screen enabled that can be swivelled. Besides capturing video, the HMX1 OA can also capture photos.A special iCheck button on the camcorder displays battery status and storage space without the need to power up the camcorder.This helps in saving some battery. Samsung bundles the necessary HDMI cables and software like Power Director, Power Producer and Power DVD.The price of the camcorder is Rs.34,900 and comes with three years warranty.