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A little while ago, Samsung digital imaging has released premium-compact camera WB550. Professional photographers usually carry DSLR as a main camera with a sub camera and camcorder. When it comes to me, I had used Nikkon P5000 as a sub and gave it to my wife. And I ve been using Xacti HD1000. However, at this time, I ve got an opportunity to use the Samsung WB550. A few months ago, Samsung already released the WB500 and got a good appraisal from various countries. The WB550 is an upgraded model of the WB500.
It s the specification of the WB550.
| Image Sensor | Type | 1/2.33 (1.09cm) CCD |
| Effective Pixel | Approx. 12.2 Mega-pixels | |
| Total Pixel | Approx. 12.3 Mega-pixels | |
| Lens | Focal Length | Schneider Lens f = 4.2 ~ 42.0mm (35mm film equivalent : 24 ~ 240 mm) |
| F No. | F3.3(W) ~ F5.8(T) | |
| Digital Zoom | Still
Image mode : 1.0X ~ 5.0X Play mode : 1.0X ~ 12.5X (depends on image size) | |
| Image Stabilization | Image Stabilization | Dual
IS (OIS + DIS) * OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), DIS (Digital Image Stabilization) |
| Display | Type | TFT LCD |
| Feature | 3.0" (7.62cm) QVGA (230,000 pixel) | |
| Viewfinder | Viewfinder | N/A |
| Focusing | Type | TTL auto focus (Center AF, Multi AF, Selection AF, Manual Focus, Face Detection AF) |
| Range | Normal : 50cm ~ infinity (Wide), 2m ~ infinity (Tele) Macro : 5cm ~ 50cm (Wide), 1m~2m (Tele) Auto Macro : 5cm ~ Infinity (Wide), 1m ~ Infinity (Tele) Manual : 5cm ~ Infinity (Wide), 1m ~ Infinity (Tele) | |
| Shutter Speed | Shutter Speed | Auto
: 1/8 ~ 1/1,500 sec., Program : 1 ~ 1/1,500 sec., Manual Mode : 16 ~ 1/1,500 sec. Night : 8 ~ 1/1,500 sec., Fireworks : 4 sec. |
| Exposure | Control | Program AE or Manual Exposure |
| Metering | Multi, Spot, Center Weighted, Face Detection AE | |
| Compensation | 2EV (1/3EV steps) | |
| ISO Equivalent | Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200(Up to 3M Size) | |
| Flash | Modes | Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, Red eye fix |
| Range | Wide
: 0.3m ~ 4.7m, Tele : 0.5m ~ 2.7m (ISO AUTO) Flash Amount Compensation ( 1EV (1/2 steps)) | |
| Recharging Time | Approx. 5 sec. | |
| Sharpness | Sharpness | Soft+, Soft, Normal, Vivid, Vivid+ |
| White Balance | White Balance | Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten, Custom |
| Still Image | Shooting | Smart
Auto, Auto, Program, Manual, Dual IS, Beauty Shot, Scene Scene : Frame Guide, Night, Portrait, Children, Landscape, Close-up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Self shot, Food, Cafe Continuous: Single, Continuous, HS Continuous, AEB, Motion Capture Self-timer : 10 sec., 2 sec., Double, Motion Timer, Remote Controller(SCR-A5) |
| Effect | Photo
Style Selector : Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm,
Classic Color Effect : Normal, BW, Sepia, Red, Blue, Green, Negative Image Adjust : Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation (5 steps) | |
| Edit | Image
Edit : Resize, Rotate, Trimming Color Effect : Normal, BW, Sepia, Red, Blue, Green, Negative, Custom Image Adjust :ACB, Red Eye Fix, Face Retouch, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Add Noise | |
| Image Play | Image Play | Single image, Thumbnails, Advanced Slide show, Smart Album * Slide show : Slide show with Effect & Music |
| Voice Recording | Voice Recording | Voice
Recording (max. 10 hours) Voice Memo in Still Image (max. 10 sec.) Stereo Recording (Only Movie mode) |
| Date Imprinting | Date Imprinting | Date&Time, Date, Off (user selectable) |
| Movie Clip | Recording | Size
: 1280x720(30fps & 15fps) High Quality, 1280x720(30fps & 15fps) Standard
Quality, 640x480(30fps & 15fps) , 320x240 (60fps & 30fps & 15fps) Optical Zoom : 1280X720 HQ & SQ - 10X Optical Zoom(24.0 ~ 240 mm) with sound recording 640X480, 320X240 : 6.7X Optical Zoom(36.0 ~ 240 mm) with sound recording Max Recording time : 29min |
| Effect | Color
: Normal, BW, Sepia, Red, Blue, Green, Negative Photo Style Selector : Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic | |
| Edit | Pause during recording, Still Image Capture, Time Trimming | |
| Storage | Media | Internal Memory : About 21MB External Memory(Optional) : MMCplus(up to 2GB guaranteed 4bit 20MHz) SD (up to 4GB guaranteed) SDHC (up to 8GB guaranteed) * Internal memory capacity is subject to change without prior notice. |
| File Format | Still
Image : JPEG (DCF), EXIF 2.21, DPOF 1.1, PictBridge 1.0 Movie Clip :MP4 (H.264(MPEG4.AVC)) Audio : WAV | |
| Image Size | 12M
:4000x3000 pixels 10MP : 3984X2656 pixels 9MW : 3968X2232 pixels 8M : 3264x2448 pixels 5M : 2592x1944 pixels 3M : 2048x1536 pixels 1M : 1024x768 pixels | |
| Interface | Digital output connector | USB 2.0 |
| Audio | Microphone : Stereo Internal Speaker : Mono | |
| Video Out | AV :
NTSC, PAL (user selectable) HDMI 1.2 : NTSC, PAL (user selectable) * Remarks: HDMI function is available when connected through Type C HDMI Cable (optional). | |
| DC power input | 4.2V | |
| Cradle | N/A | |
| Power Source | Power Source | Rechargeable battery : SLB-10A (1,050mAh) Adaptor : SAC-47, CB20U05 Connector Type : 20pin * Included battery may vary depending on sales region. |
| Physical Specification | Dimensions (WxHxD) | 105 x 61.4 x 36.5 mm |
| Weight | 225g (without battery and card) | |
| Operating Temperature | 0 ~ 40 C | |
| Operating Humidity | 5 ~ 85% | |
| Software | Software | Samsung Master, Quick Time Player 7.5, Adobe Reader |
| System
Requirement |
For Windows | PC
with processor better than Pentium 500MHz (Pentium 800MHz
recommended) Windows 2000/XP/Vista 250MB of available hard-disk space (Over 1GB recommend) Minimum 256MB RAM (Over 512MB recommended) USB port CD-ROM drive 1024 768 pixels, 16-bit color display compatible monitor (24-bit color display recommended) Microsoft DirectX 9.0C |
| For Macintosh | Power
Mac G3 or later Mac OS 10.3 or higher Minimum 256MB RAM 110MB of available hard-disk space USB port CD-ROM drive | |
| System
requirements for 720P H.264 Movie |
For Windows | Intel
Pentium 4, 3.2GHz or higher / AMD Athlin 64FX, 2.6GHz or higher Windows XP service pack2/Vista Minimum 512MB RAM (1GB and above recommended) 64MB or greater video card (nVIDIA Geforce 7600GT or higher / ATI X1600 series or higher recommended) |
| For Macintosh | 1.8GHz Power Mac G5 or 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo or faster Macintosh
computer Mac OS 10.3.9 or higher At least 256MB of RAM 64MB or greater video card |
The most noticeable 2 things are 24mm wide angle and HD video recording. Unlike other former digital cameras, you can take wide angle pictures, and you don t need to carry another HD camcorder. (Of course, for those who are not professionals) Then, let s open the box.
It s the box. The size is like a cell phone box.
I took out items in the box.
It s the body. You can see the lens is way bigger than other compact cameras.
From the top, it gives metallic feeling. The very right side button is not a button, but a speaker.
It s the back. The important thing of the compact digital camera! It s slim.
It s wide 3 inch LCD monitor. It s quite bright.
It s an HDMI output port. I was looking for a cable for a long time, but it s not included in the package.
It s USB, AV, and DC input port.
On the bottom, there s a tripod hole, battery and SD card slot.
When turning on, the blue light is on.
More pictures
Size comparison with the Nikkon P5000 which used as a sub camera.
Size comparison with the Xacti HD1000 which used as a sub camcorder.
I m expecting how great performance the WB550 has. Next time, I m going to pose up pictures by the WB500. Let s wrap up the unboxing of the Samsung WB550.
