One wonders where the development in technology will take the photographic
world, but it seems as if Samsung is going to be right at the sharp end of it
all with three new cameras. One in particular looks as though it was designed
with Thai ladies in mind. This was the MV800, which has Dual-View.
This is a 3 inch capacitive LCD touchscreen that flips out to
let you shoot at just about any angle, even if you are in front of the lens
instead of behind it. The LCD screen actually flips all the way back around to
face the photographer. All Thai ladies love taking images of their own selves,
and fit the Narcissus label completely.
Samsung has included its Smart Touch 3.0 interface which
makes navigating camera settings much easier for anyone who isn’t fully aware of
the numerous settings available. The Live Panorama function lets you take super
wide shots to capture the entire scene and then previewing that scene on the
LCD. Certainly a great feature, and this is still a point and shoot remember.
The MV800 also comes with Magic Frame (a collection of
background templates), Smart Filter (a set of artistic affects like “Watercolor
finish”), and Funny Faces (a way to stretch and manipulate faces by tapping and
dragging across the LCD). It even comes with its own Photo Editor that lets you
edit and rotate photos straight from the camera.
The basics on the MV800 are:
16.1 megapixels (more than Canon’s new point and shooters)
5x Optical Zoom
26 mm wide-angle lens
Full HD video capture
3-inch capacitive flip-out LCD touchscreen
The second camera is called the NX200, and is the next step
from a plain point and shoot but going almost towards a full Digital SLR.
Samsung calls it the “compact systems” category. Along with this, the NX200
boasts 20 megapixels.
The NX200 incorporates a number of features already described
in the MV800 - like Smart Filter, Magic Frame, and the Live Panorama mode - but
also brings some new features as well.
The first is that it supports Samsung’s i-Function 2.0
lenses, which basically gives the user control over settings (ISO, white
balance, shutter speed, aperture, and exposure value) through the lens rather
than the camera itself. That means you never actually have to look away from the
shot while you adjust. New lenses for the i-Function system include 18-200 mm
zoom, 16 mm very wide angle, 60 mm and 85 mm focal lengths, as well as the
standard 18-55 mm zoom.
Specifications for the NX200 are:
20.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
18-55 mm zoom lens kit
3-inch LCD touch screen
High-speed continuous shooting (up to 7 fps)
100 msec Advanced Auto Focus
Wide ISO range (100-12,800)
Full HD video capture (1920–1080/30p)
The third camera released is the Samsung WB750. This camera
has Samsung’s longest zoom offering in a compact camera at 18x optical (and 24x
Smart Zoom). This camera allows you to take 10 megapixel shots while shooting
1080 p video which Samsung calls their Dual Capture technology. However, I am
not so sure that this feature would be such as to make me want a WB750 for
myself.
It also comes with the same Smart Filter, Magic Frame, and
Live Panorama features on the other two cameras, but takes that a step further.
The WB750 has two other Panorama modes - Action Panorama and 3D Panorama. Action
Panorama lets you take a shot of a moving person on a static background, which
captures movement within a still image. 3D Panorama does just what you’d expect:
shoots panoramic images in 3D.
Another feature, Smart Auto 2.0 helps you get the settings
right when you aren’t quite sure what to do, but the WB750 also allows for a
good deal of creative control. Manual, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority
settings are all included.
The specifications of the WB750 are:
12.5-megapixel BSI (back-side illuminated) CMOS sensor
18x optical zoom, 24x Smart Zoom
3-inch LCD screen
10 fps burst mode
1080p HD video capture (with dual-capture)
Creative Movie Maker - lets you edit video and arrange clips
straight from the LCD.
Obviously not in Thailand - yet, but just as obviously well
worth your investigating.
