Samsung Announces DualView DV300F WiFi Camera

January 3rd, 2012 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News

Samsung‘s DualView camera lineup has been increasingly gaining in popularity over the past couple of years (see DP’s review of the DualView TL225 here), due in large part to the namesake feature: the dual (front and back) LCD screens. Like its predecessors, the newly announced Samsung DV300F features a 1.5-inch front LCD that allows you to see a live view of what the lens sees, in order to get a perfectly framed self-portrait or couples’ travel shot. What at first seemed like a gimmick for the Facebook era narcissist in us all, the DualView has quickly been embraced as a convenient staple point-and-shoot feature.

Much the same, consumers who are used to the immediacy of sharing the images they capture on smart phones have come to expect the same sharing capabilities from digital cameras. Reacting to that consumer demand, the Samsung DV300F is the first DualView model to offer WiFi connectivity. “The camera’s built-in Wi-Fi connectivity enables users to email their images or upload them to social media sites including Facebook, Picasa, Flickr and YouTube. In addition, images saved onto the camera’s microSD memory card, can be saved to a home PC without wires, by using the Auto PC Backup function. Cloud services, including Samsung’s AllShare Play and Microsoft SkyDrive, allows users to store and share their precious pictures from anywhere,” according to Samsung.

The 16-megapixel CCD sensor Samsung DV300F will be available in March for an estimated $199.

(via Samsung)

Samsung SH100 WiFi Compact Camera Review

July 12th, 2011 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Camera Reviews, Compact Cameras, Samsung SH100

Samsung SH100: Pocket Camera with Instant Image Sharing
Text and Images by Allison Gibson

First revealed at CES this year, the Samsung SH100 ($199.99 MSRP) compact digital camera offers instant, wireless sharing of images—via email or upload to social networking and photo sharing sites—directly from the device. For a petite pocket camera, this gadget has a far reach. It features a 14-megapixel CCD image sensor, a 5x optical zoom 26mm f/3.3-5.9 Samsung lens, and 720p High Definition video recording (30fps).

Instant Sharing

The most notable feature of the Samsung SH100 is its ability to share and automatically backup captured images instantly and wirelessly, with easy menu options for single or bulk image sharing. By using the camera’s built-in wireless, you can connect to your WiFi network, to other Samsung WiFi cameras, or to an Android-powered Galaxy S smartphone to share your images. The phone can also be used as a remote viewfinder, offering real time preview and control of the shutter release.

The options for sharing include: email, and upload to Facebook, Picasa, YouTube and Photobucket. You can also browse existing photo albums while logged into Facebook, but cannot view walls or post statuses (there’s no qwerty keyboard on the camera).

When I recently met with members of the Samsung team, I nagged them about the fact that the SH100 wasn’t Twitter compatible, given the massive global popularity of the social networking site. Twitter users regularly include images in their tweets and I saw this as a missed opportunity for Samsung. Another obvious missed opportunity for the photo sharing community is Flickr. The good news is, I was told that Twitter and others are being considered for the next generation of the camera, and that adding support for new services is easy now that the technology for sharing is already there there. The fact that the remote viewfinder feature only works with Samsung smartphones seems a little incestuous and excludes users of other smartphones, but I can understand the interest in keeping the technology within the brand.

Design & UI

click thumbnails to enlarge

With a 3-inch touchscreen LCD that operates in the familiar way of a smartphone, the menus are easy to navigate, if a smidge less graceful in the dragging department than the smartphone that I’m most familiar with—the iPhone 4. The only button on the back of the camera, to the right of the LCD, is a dedicated Home button, which brings you back to the main menu from wherever you happen to be. At the top of the camera, you have the power button, zoom toggle and playback button. Otherwise, everything else is in the digital menu, which certainly helped to keep the camera’s slim profile in check. At 3.66″W x 2.12″H x .74″D, the SH100 is very compact, and also lightweight. Another way they keep the size of the body down is to use MicroSD for memory, rather than the more common SD/SDHC cards.

The thing about these tiny digicams, though, is that they are sometimes too small to stabilize, making them prone to blur from camera shake. And, unfortunately, the SH100 only features “Digital Image Stabilization,” not OIS (optical image stabilization, which stabilizes before the image is converted digitally) to compensate for shakiness. However, one exterior aid is the thumb grip on the back of the camera, which allows the camera to sit more securely in-hand when recording. But even then, especially in low-light conditions, you will need to brace the left side of the camera and turn up the ISO sensitivity to combat blur. I think one way to combat this—externally— in a future generation would be to raise the shutter release, rather than leave it in the recessed position it is in now. As it is now, it requires a lot of pressure to snap a shot, and any extra pressure is bound to cause camera shake.

Creative Touches

Magic Frame: Billboard 1 (click to view full-size image)

One of the many creative features of the SH100 is called Magic Frame Shot, which allows you to layer your photograph into a digital template of your liking, with real time preview of the effects as you shoot. The options include: Wall Art, Album, Ripple, Full Moon, Old Record, Magazine, Sunny Day, Classic TV, Yesterday, Holiday, and two Billboard choices. Options such as image quality, flash and self-timer may still be applied to this effect. As with a regular shot, a Magic Frame Shot can be instantly shared on Facebook or emailed once captured.

Photo Filters: Vignetting, Fish-eye, Miniature; Smart Auto mode (click images to enlarge)

Another built-in creative feature of the SH100 is Photo Filter, which includes a menu of distinct automatic art filters, such as: Miniature (similar to Tilt-Shift or Toy Camera options seen elsewhere), Vignetting (similar to a Pinhole camera effect), Soft Focus, Half Tone, Sketch, Fish-eye, Defog, Classic, Retro, Negative, and two Old Film options. I was pleased to find that the Fish-eye filter is one of the better digital replications of the fish-eye lens effect that I’ve seen to date, after having tested the effect in several other cameras’ art filter lineups—including that of the PENTAX K-x and K-r DSLRs. I only wish the fish-eye images weren’t framed with that black vignette, which sort of looks like an old television set.

Additional creative features include: Scene Modes, Vignetting, Beauty Shot, Movie Filter, Night Shot, Palette Effect and Object Highlight. There is also a built-in Photo Editor. The SH100′s Smart Auto 2.0 for still images and video does the guesswork for you by choosing one of 17 different shooting modes.

Conclusion

While the Samsung SH100 isn’t the first WiFi point-and-shoot, it does offer the most avenues for connecting. Hopefully soon this will be standard fair for pocket cams, with even more options, as instant sharing is the name of the game these days.

Samsung SH100

Samsung Announces ST80 Wi-Fi Digital Camera

July 28th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News

Samsung has just announced the ST80—a 14.2MP Wi-Fi-enabled digital camera. Similar to the technology we’ve seen in the Sony Cyber-shot G3, the Samsung ST80 allows users to upload and share photos and videos instantaneously, directly from the camera to Facebook, Picasa, et al. The slim point-and-shoot offers 3x optical zoom and a 3-inch wide touchscreen, as well as Samsung’s new in-camera editing “Smart Crop” feature. The ST80 will be available in September for $249.99. Read more from Samsung below.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sony G3

August 30th, 2009 by Digital Photographer Posted in Camera Reviews, Compact Cameras, Sony G3

by Don Sutherland

Published Spring ’09

Compact And Packed With Features

A lot of people looking for the best camera for snapshots mistakenly say, “I’m just an amateur, I don’t need a lot of features. I just want something simple.” Well, today’s “simple” camera comes standard with loads of high-end features. Sony’s DSC-G3 Cyber-shot includes face detection, smile shutter, touch screen LCD and even the ability to access the internet via wireless connection for transferring photos direct from the camera to popular photo sharing websites. All this, yet the camera is quite tiny, fitting inside a shirt pocket with room to spare.

With a camera so compact, you need never be without it; with so many features, there’s practically no picture you can’t take. That’s a lot of camera for a list price of $499.99 (or less—as this is written, we’re seeing it advertised for as low as $432.00).

Wireless Connectivity

Of all the novelties in the Sony G3, the most celebrated is its Wi-Fi Internet connectivity. Several pro cameras have this kind of feature, but the G3 is the first in the snapshot market. Under the right conditions, it can greatly expand the fun of taking and sharing pictures.

The benefits accrue to the traveling photographer, wherever a hot spot is to be found.

A wireless transfer, all other things equal, may be slower than a hardwired connection, but it’s a lot faster than none at all. If you have friends eager to see your photos and videos, the G3 is prepared to abide.

The wireless system in the G3 can communicate with its counterpart in your computer, although you may have to work your way through issues like encryption and firewalls before connecting (as you would with most devices). For uploading to online photo sharing sites, the G3 can connect directly to a half-dozen popular destinations including Picasa, Photobucket and YouTube.

The wireless transfer has the broadest benefits to users in the field—out at a location where their computers and drives and storage solutions are unavailable. Some may find it frustrating that only one file at a time can be uploaded to the sharing sites mentioned above, however. Batch uploading several photos at a time would eliminate the need to choose “the best” under conditions that might be hurried and distracting. I’m guessing this is a firmware consideration in the G3, and possibly future editions of the camera (or firmware upgrades) will correct this restriction.

There is also still the option to download images from your camera to your computer by removing the Memory Stick and inserting it in a reader. This is my preference, as it’s the fastest, simplest, and least error-prone approach. The G3 also comes with about 4GB of internal memory, which can be transferred to your computer by wireless connection, or using a special cable supplied with the camera.

Touch Screen Control

The G3’s monitor screen is quite large (about 3.5-inches wide) and very bright, but it still could be overwhelmed if struck directly by sunlight. An optical viewfinder, or eyelevel EVF, would have been a thoughtful addition for conquering those tough moments.

But also, a touch screen for camera settings instead of separate buttons in the camera body keeps costs down, as virtual “buttons” on a monitor screen cost nothing extra to construct. In addition, physical buttons create spaces through which moisture and dust can enter the system. A touch screen reduces this prospect.

One of the helpful features of this touch screen is that you can frame-up a scene and then touch the part of it on the monitor that you want the camera to focus on, and it will.

Say “Cheese”

Face detection has taken the market by storm, and for good reason. By locking onto a face, the camera’s auto focus can follow it around the frame and maintain settings for the face itself and not other components in the scene.

Adult faces have different characteristics than children’s’ faces do, so the G3’s face detection mode can be adjusted for either kind, enhancing its accuracy according to subject.

In addition, the system can recognize a smile and cause the camera to do something in response— such as taking a picture. The smile shutter permits your stepping into the scene and joining a portrait, with no remote-control devices needed other than your grin. Since some people smile more broadly than others, the “smile sensitivity” of the G3’s system can be adjusted to suit.

Final Thoughts

The imager includes 10.1-megapixels, all or some of which can be used for different frame formats. Maximum picture size is 3648×2736 pixels, a 4:3 format matching traditional TV and computer screens. You can also select the 16:9 HDTV format (3648×2056 pixels) or the 3:2 format (same as “full frame” digital SLRs) at 3648×2432 pixels. Or, you can take internet-ready pictures (around 640×480 pixels) in-camera, for upload to a website directly.

The G3 also can shoot movies at 640×480 size, and 320×240, which Sony suggests for e-mail attachments.

The Carl Zeiss Tessar lens provides a 4X zoom range (35-140mm, 35mm equivalent), which covers moderate wide angle to medium telephoto— a respectable range for a camera this small. The optical steady shot system provides image-stabilization. Maximum aperture range is f/3.5-4.6, which would be more-or-less characteristic of a camera of this class.

Picture quality with the Sony G3 Cyber-shot strikes me as very good for a camera of this class. Being the tinycam it is, it uses a smallish imager which is not expected to reproduce quite the fine detail as a 10MP D-SLR, with its large imaging chip. That said, you couldn’t slip a D-SLR into a shirt pocket. I’m confident you’ll find the picture quality of the G3 completely satisfying. And with its loads of additional features, refinements, and fine-tunings, you’ll be impressed with how versatile and flexible today’s “simple camera” can be.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3

MSRP: $499.99

Check out the New Issue of DP!

July 13th, 2009 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, News

The brand new issue of Digital Photographer features profiles on top photographers, including New York based Barbara Bordnick’s unique take on floral photography and an international look at fashion photographers from New York to London to Shanghai. You are sure to learn about and be inspired by the creative and business sides of shooting in that genre. The issue also features insightful reviews of new D-SLRs, including the Nikon D90, which shoots HD video and the Olympus E-30, which features creative art filters. There are also reviews of the retro looking Canon G10 “prosumer” camera and the Sony Cyber-shot G3, which is Wi-Fi enabled to share photos on sites like Picasa instantly and wirelessly. Also, don’t miss the “Back to Basics” features on those nagging features that you never quite understood: resolution, image quality and zoom range, and the basics of camcorder speak.

Of course, there are always the columns you love: Digital Insider, Exposure and Inside the Image, which features the work of a DP reader. Learn how your photograph could be featured in the next issue here. We look forward to your feedback on the new issue, and as always, you can catch us on Twitter for up to the minute photo world news.