The minicamcorder market is all but dead save for a few niche models such as the Samsung HMX-W300. On the surface it's nothing more than a point-and-shoot HD pocket video camera, but its body is sealed up tight making it waterproof to 16.4 feet for up to an hour and it's shockproof to 6.5 feet and dustproof.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Aside from its rugged build, it features a backside-illuminated 5-megapixel CMOS sensor for better low-light recording; records in full HD (1,920x1,080/30p resolution) in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 to a microSDHC card; and has a fixed-focal-length f2.2 lens and a 2.3-inch LCD. You also get what I consider essentials for this category: a flip-out USB connector and embedded sharing and editing software. It has some other nice extras including the capability to stop and start shooting without creating a bunch of little clips. Not bad considering its suggested retail price is $159.
The thing is, its video and photos aren't any better than a higher-end smartphone, so you probably don't need this if you only capture the occasional movie clip for YouTube viewing. Buy this because you don't want to have to worry about getting it wet or dropping it, killing your phone's battery, or handing it off to your kids or others.