Samsung MV800 review

The Samsung MV800 is small and sleek, and even with the added bulk of the flip-out screen it is more than pocket and handbag friendly.

The camera features minimal physical buttons, with only Home and Playback buttons on its rear. The rest of the features are operated by the touchscreen.

Along with the obvious shutter release atop the camera, behind the flip-out screen is an extra shutter release button to enable you to take shots when the screen is fully extended. It's a good idea in principle, but we found it a little awkward to reach at times, especially when holding the camera upside-down to take photos from high angles.

As well as the rear shutter release button, the camera cleverly knows when it's being held upside-down and adjusts the display accordingly, so you won't have problems composing shots.

The Samsung MV800's touchscreen is used for a manner of different operations, including changing settings, scrolling through images taken and making edits.

Although not the worst touchscreen we've come across on a compact camera, it can be a little unresponsive at times, and therefore frustrating to use.

There is room for a couple of extra buttons on the back of the camera, so it's a shame more weren't incorporated. It's also worth noting that when shooting in cold conditions, the touchscreen becomes even harder to use.

As is expected of compact cameras of this type, there's not a great deal of manual control to be enjoyed on the Samsung MV800. Smart Auto can be used if you want to let the camera do everything for you, while Program does enable you to make changes to the white balance, ISO, exposure compensation and metering.

While the menu within Program Mode is laid out nicely and is easy to use, it can be a little frustrating having to dive back into sub menus every time you need to change something, such as ISO sensitivity, rather than having a dedicated quick menu for such simple changes.

The main menu, which is accessed via the Home button, features a wide range of options, including the usual features such as Smart Auto and Program mode, along with other scene modes, art filters and editing modes such as Photo Editor.

Including art filters on compact cameras is a pretty common move now, with most manufacturers offering some variation. On the Samsung MV800, some are more appealing than others. We have, of course, the ubiquitous Miniature Mode, which aims to replicate the effect of using an expensive tilt-shift lens on a DSLR, but there's also Vignetting, Old Film, Soft Focus, Half Tone, Retro, Fish-eye, Oil Painting and more.

Other editing and fun options are available on the camera, including Magic Frame, which enables you to use one of a selection of different pre-set frames to surround the subject of your photo, and Funny Face, which enables you to use fun distortion effects on portraits.