After about two weeks of their ‘Tap and Take’ teaser campaign, Samsung finally took the wraps off three new touchscreen (as you might have guessed) cameras today. The main star of today is the new ST1000 AKA CL65, which features WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, a huge, super high-resolution 3.5 inch touchscreen and a ton of other bells and whistles
The new ST500 AKA TL220 and ST550 AKA TL225 cameras are unique in other ways. They lack the three connectivity options of the CL65 but instead, feature dual LCD displays – a huge touchscreen on the back, and a smaller non-touch LCD in front (I wonder how they’ll handle fingerprints). The front display can display things from ‘fun animations’ to attract the attention of children, live preview for self-portraits, a ‘hey I’m gonna snap a picture’ smiley face and a summary of the camera’s main settings.
All three cameras announced today also feature Samsung’s Smart Gesture user interface which allow input from both touchscreen and physical actions (which the camera detects using its accelerometer).
Samsung ST1000 AKA CL65
(Ultra-compact camera)
- 12 effective megapixels
- 35 – 175 mm (f3.6 – f4.8) 5X optical zoom lens
- Optical image stabilization
- 3.5 inch touchscreen with an insane 1,152k pixels
- Touchscreen user interface, the camera also supports gestures via its built-in orientation sensor
- Built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS connectivity allow for uploading, transfer/sharing and geotagging of photos
- Face, blink and smile detection with face recognition and beauty mode
- No manual controls
- 720p 30 FPS movie mode with sound
- Takes micro SD/SDHC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in September for $400
- Comes in your choice of black, beige and red
Samsung ST500 AKA TL220
(Ultra-compact camera)
- 12 effective megapixels
- 27 – 124 mm (f3.5 – f5.9) 4.6X optical zoom lens
- Optical image stabilization
- 3.0 inch touchscreen (230k pixels) on the back; front 1.5 inch LCD (61k pixels)
- Touchscreen user interface, the camera also supports gestures via its built-in orientation sensor
- Face, blink and smile detection with face recognition and beauty mode
- No manual controls
- 720p 30 FPS movie mode with sound
- Takes micro SD/SDHC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in September for $300
- Comes in your choice of silver, red and blue
Samsung ST550 AKA TL225
(Ultra-compact camera)
- Same main features as TL220 above but adds:
- Increases rear LCD size to 3.5 inch touchscreen (1,152k pixels)
- Comes in your choice of black, gold, orange and purple
- Available in September for $350
Check out my review of the Samsung HZ10W aka WB500, a compact super-zoom camera from Samsung. I’ll also be covering a bit of tthe Samsung HZ15W aka WB550 in this review since both cameras are so similar. As usual, full-sized photos are available in the Samsung HZ10W photo gallery. Hit the link for the full review of the camera.
Continue reading the review...
Here’s the Samsung HZ10W Photo Gallery (the camera is also known as the WB500) with full-sized photos taken using the camera. Be sure to check out the Samsung HZ10W aka WB500 review as well.
View the Samsung HZ10W photos
Presenting the rugged camera comparative review from DPInterface… Rugged cameras are good solutions if you need a photographic device which can take more than a few hits and still survive, that you can take anywhere without worrying too much. We have six rugged/waterproof digital cameras here today… Which rugged camera is the one for you? And which camera will receive our rugged camera ‘highly recommended’ award? Find out now!
Read our comparative review now...
Thanks to the 3000+ readers who took our little survey last week, we got down to writing our first ever Camera comparative review and have just published it today! Our comparative reviews, not to be confused with Group reviews, will be an extension to our usual reviews; which means full reviews are NOT going anywhere. Let’s say I had to review a bunch of ultra-zoom cameras:
- A group review would be a single review article, attempting to review all three cameras at the same time. So it’s essentially a “Canon SX10 + Nikon P90 + Olympus SP590″ review.
- A comparative review will be a concise and straightforward comparison between the three cameras “Canon SX10 vs. Nikon P90 vs. Olympus SP590″. The difference here is that each camera will be independently reviewed beforehand, so you’ll still get a full Canon SX10 review, full Nikon P90 review and full Olympus SP590 review (three full reviews) before the comparative review comes out.
Group reviews compromise the quality of reviews, in my opinion, while comparison reviews would add-on to existing reviews to summarize the differences between several similar cameras and help determine the best of the bunch. Again, full reviews will still be published to give cameras individual attention before a comparative review comes out. Yet another reason why DPInterface stands out from the crowd.
Check out the Rugged camera comparative review and tell us what you think! What other improvements should we tack on to future reviews?
Click on the image for a larger view (and sorry, the camera pic had to be interpolated)
Well, I’m not really a big fan of covering leaks and stuff, but when I noticed much of the internet community talking about the Panasonic GF1 (which was leaked this evening) and the ‘mysterious port/slot/piece/button thingy’ below the hot shoe, I thought I’d chime in to help solve the puzzle. It’s not a slot, it’s not a button, IT’S A FINGERPRINT READER!
The instant I saw the rendered pictures of the camera, I just knew what it was – I simply looked down to the palmrest of my notebook and boom, the exact same thing! *Of course, it could just be an electronic connector for an electronic viewfinder or external microphone or to plug in that popcorn machine you saw at Walmart. Happy speculating! (I have no idea what’s with the many cameras being leaked this summer, it’s almost as if it has become a new norm; how disturbing)
Update: For our readers’ sake, here’s what’s already known about the camera (you can also find this info elsewhere on the net)
- It’ll be called the Panasonic Lumix GF1
- It’s a Micro Four Thirds camera
- There is an on-board flash, as well as a hotshoe for an external one
- 720p HD movie mode with mono sound; there’s a dedicated movie button on the top of the camera
- Two new lenses (20 mm and 45 mm primes) will be announced with the camera
Update 2: This is a speculation post. All the full juicy details available will have to wait until the camera becomes official on September 2nd!
I’ve just finished writing my review of the Canon PowerShot D10; Canon’s first rugged digital camera with 12 megapixels, a 3X lens and interchangeable front plates. Do visit the Canon PowerShot D10 photo gallery as well. Hit the link and check out the full review of the camera now!
Read the Canon D10 review
Here’s the Canon PowerShot D10 Photo Gallery containing full-sized pictures taken by the camera. Be sure to check out the Canon PowerShot D10 review for more about the camera.
Enter the Canon D10 gallery
