Samsung has unveiled its latest camera range for 2010 and with it, a number of interesting photo-related features.
TechRadar managed to get a little hands-on time with the Samsung WB650 range and we have to consider ourselves impressed.
Packing a 12.2MP sensor – plenty of pixel power for the average user – the camera manages to be easy enough to use for the amateur but powerful enough for enthusiasts.
The WB650 is a good deal thicker than its ST70 stablemate but this camera is all about functionality rather than style.
This can be seen in the camera's zoom lens. It's one of the biggest seen on a camera of this size (Samsung is boasting of a world's first), bringing a whopping 15x optical zoom to proceedings.
This isn't where the innovations end, though. Samsung has decided to add a little bit of GPS to the camera, which means you will be able to geo-tag your images.
We had a quick go and it seemed to work well. There's a nice map graphic as well which can be accessed.
On it you can have pointers to all the places you have been with the camera, and access to the pictures you took in the relevant place.
There are murmurings, however, that using the GPS capabilities of the camera will seriously hamper battery life (by around a third).
Luckily the WB650 has been given an OLED screen, which means low battery consumption and super-bright colours.
As you can see from the image taken (see below), the 3-inch AMOLED display is definitely bright even in quite poorly lit situations.
There's a number of features you can use with the WB650 – including an Optical IS function and a 720p movie mode.
Both of which round up a decent shooter for Samsung and one which we can't wait to get into the building for an in-depth review.
The Samsung WB650 and WB600 (which comes sans OLED screen) range will be out in March and will be priced at £299.99 and £249.99 respectively.
Go to www.samsungcamera.co.uk for more details.
Your comments (2) Click to add a new comment
plasma
June 1st 2010
2. With image quality the main criteria I am not always given to gimmicky features but at times finding myself `lost' in remote areas, and I don’t mean London, geo tagging would be very useful if it worked as I would want. I know where I am 90% of the time in the UK even in the sticks, but what about abroad, will it tell me where I am when shooting a landscape in Australia for example?
Samsung have not answered my questions regarding this feature and reviewers most of whom regard the M25 as the boundary of Britain cannot answer them either. Geo-Tagging to me would be most useful when I explore in foreign parts whilst camcorder filming and taking `potshots' with my compact.
Often I get `lost' or loose direction so to be able to point at something and be told where I am would be extremely useful. So are there any users of the WB650 who can tell if they have experience of its Geo-tagging feature and whether it will really work in the wilds of some foreign country? Say Turkey, Greece. Cyprus etc. Will it tell me if there is a village or community not too far away I can relate to on my map? If so then it is a done deal.
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dalethorn
January 27th 2010
1. I wonder if I took a pic with the WB650 and Panasonic's TZ10, both pics of a small bird at 10 metres, both with maximum zoom, which would look better (just the bird portion of the image)?
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