Samsung launches new range of digital cameras

Samsung has announced a new range of compact digital cameras. Among Samsung's CES launches is what it claims to be the 'world's first 24mm ultra wide angle camera with a 10x optical zoom'.

The 10 megapixel Samsung WB500 also includes HD movie capture and introduces Samsung's new "Smart Scene Recognition" technology.

"Smart Scene Recognition" has 11 picture pre-sets such as Portrait, Macro and the like, in order to help you take the perfect shot regardless of the conditions. It's by no means an original concept, but Samsung has reworked things slightly in order to make things work a bit better. The WB500 costs £229.

Samsung ST10

Also launched today is the winsome 9 megapixel Samsung ST10 camera. Samsung claims that this camera is the world's first digital compact to come with face recognition - not to be confused with face detection.

Face recognition actually recognises the people you're taking photos of. It keeps a record of who your friends are and who you photograph most, so that it can prioritise those people when focusing in future.

Smart Scene is also included in the ST10- along with a host of other cool features - and it'll set you back £179.

Samsung ES55

And the third camera launch from Samsung today is the 10 megapixel ES55. It's a fairly low end digital compact with a meagre list of features - but then it only costs £79 which sounds like a bit of a bargain to us.

Samsung ST50

Alongside the ST10 comes the ST50, which is a fairly comparable design and has many of the same features. It even shares the same price. The differences include a 12 megapixel sensor instead of 9, and is touted as being 'ultra slim'. It shares the £179 price tag with the ST10.

Samsung PL60

And finally comes the Samsung PL60 which has a 5x optical zoom, a 10 megapixel sensor as well as standard face detection and smart scene recognition. It costs £129.

From CES 2009