Different from last year, in this year, there was no many tropical nights, but since August, it’s has been hot, so the tourists are crowed with a lot of people. (My friends are busy to make a plan for vacation. I’m so sorry that I can’t enjoy the vacation for my personal reason.) When I look at the people taking pictures with a digital camera in a tourist, I envy them very much.

For this vacation season, digital camera makers have released their distinguished new products. The ST550(TL225) I’m reviewing from Samsung Digital Imaging is a sensible designed product like other ST series, and I could see this product has the innovative front display. (Users having good sense already knew that.)

It’s so long time ago, since I reviewed a camera, so I’m a little afraid and nervous. Through the review of the ST550(TL225), let’s take a look at the design, functions, and performance.

☆This product is for test, so it might be different from the product for sale in specifications.

I didn’t have any inconvenience to carry this, because of the size 99.8x59.8x18.6mm and the weight 165.7g. (Certainly, it’s a little bigger and heavier than other ST series, so I couldn’t be satisfied with the portability for 100%. However, with a little more weight, I could take more stable shots than before.)

The design of the product is so satisfactory, and I think this is one of the best design cameras among all Samsung digital Imaging cameras which I’ve reviewed so far. The wide screen to minimize the button part is so outstanding, and the high-glossy UV coating for sensible and elegant feeling is also very satisfactory. (There’s no extra part, and it’s so sharp and neat product. If you think the design is important for a digital camera, I strongly recommend this product.)

It’s the front of the body. It has 27~124.2mm (There’s no problem to take wide and standard angle shots. I think it’s a quite ideal angle.) Schneider protruding optical zoom lens(4.6x), and it supports F3.5(W)~5.9(T). (It’s quite different from the WB series having F2.8.) @Not only does it support 12.2M pixels, but also it has Dual IS function, so you can take satisfactory pictures any time.

There’s a flash on the left top, and on the lens side, there’s AF&Self timer lamp. It also has the front display (World’s first), so perfect self shot is possible. (It’s totally different from a convex lens or face recognition. You can take a self shot with looking at your face, so the picture is much more satisfactory.) @It supports the Smart gesture UI, so tapping on the front LCD, it  is automatically activated.

It’s the top of the body. In the center, a microphone is attached, so you can easily record the sound when recording a video. On the side, a power button is located (Because LED is also located, you can easily see the status of power.), and shutter button and zoom buttons are also there. (On the bottom, the status display LED and play buttons are located, so you can easily see videos and pictures.) @ Zoom button is small compared to other products, so at first, I couldn’t be used to it. I think it should have been better if it changes the position with the play button and the size and angle of the zoom button.

It’s the back of the product. Different from other product having some buttons, it has adopted the 3.5 inch wide (1,152K color) wide touch LCD for better display. (Even though it’s the TFT LCD, I could fee the same vividness and strength as the OLED of the WB1000. It also has a good viewing angle, and the touch response was also very good. And as a haptic product, it was so impressive that it supports the vibration feedback.) @This minimizes the buttons, so almost all functions have to be controlled by touch, but there was no inconvenience much. The large display makes finger touch easier. Moreover, like other touch panel installed product, it supports the gesture function, so rotation, magnification, and delete of pictures can be done by fingers. (Please, refer to the video preview.)

It’s the left side of the product, and you can see the strap ring there. (You can connect the hand strap included and hang on your neck.)

It’s the left side of the product, and you can see the strap ring there. (You can connect the hand strap included and hang on your neck.)

It’s the bottom of the product. The mount hall for tripod connection is installed and 34 pin for USB and A/V connection is also located. (It’s not universal 20 pin, but 34 pin. Using an accessory not included, HDMI output is possible.) On the side, battery is attached with the card slot. (Unlike other product, it has Micro SD memory. They said it guarantees 4GB, but the 8GB MicroSDHC was perfectly recognized.) @It also supports 55MB internal memory.

It’s the simple comparison of size. We can see the small size of the product. (The size is similar to smart phones or premium MP3P.)

@ Body, Power adaptor, USB cable, battery, hand strap, A/V cable, CD (Including user manual), and quick manual are provided, and case, memory card, HDMI cable / adaptor, and remote controller will be on sale.

We’ve looked at the design and features. Now, let’s take a look at the functions this supports.

It’s the main UI. As a touch screen product, we can see various additional functions can be set here. On the left top, the mode is displayed, and on the lower part, flash, self timer, and front LCD settings are possible. On the right side, including the motion recognition setting button, menu buttons are provided, and on the lower part, the quick menu is displayed. (Through the quick menu, you don’t need to go into each menu. You can simply set the function.) @ The motion recognition function is so impressive. Like the picture, holding the button and tilting the camera to this direction, the mode and function are automatically executed.

We can see it supports 6 modes. Including the smart auto which automatically recognizes a scene and allows us to take satisfactory pictures, it supports auto program mode, and unlike other low range product supporting DIS, this basically supports Dual IS mode. This also supports scene mode including the beauty shot and video function, so the camera is useful for a lot of works. (Through the HD video recording function, this can also be used as a camcorder.)

When setting the mode, you can see the icons on the left top are changed. (When it comes to shots, the main UI structure is mostly the same.) @ In the smart auto, macro, macro text, white, scenery, action, tripod, night scenery, night portrait, backlight, backlight portrait, portrait, blue sky, sunset, macro color, macro portrait, and natural are automatically recognized and set. I can say this is the improved smart auto mode.

As a front LCD supporting product, separate display setting menu is supported. (Like I told you, you don’t need to go inside the menu, but you can just tap the LCD to activate it.) You can also set the flash, focus (Supporting the super macro), and self timer setting.

It’s the beauty shot in the scene mode. You can see more detailed setting is possible. (You can set the skin brightness and skin compensation with 3 levels.)

Let’s see the video mode. As you can confirm from the picture, video size and recording speed can freely set and OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) is also supported. Unlike other products supporting SD quality videos, this supports 1280x720 720P HD video recording, so you can get better quality videos. (Using the cradle not included, HDMI connection is possible. This product is enough to be used as a camcorder.)

When setting the program mode, all functions needed can be manually set. (When selecting another mode, some settings are automatically adjusted.) It’s the shot setting menu, and you can see this supports various basic functions.

From -2 to +2, the brightness can be freely adjusted, and various white balance functions are supported. Up to ISO 3200 is supported, so in the dark place, you can take a picture without a flash. The ACB which compensates the difference of brightness and darkness is also supported.

In the AF region, not only central and multi division AF, but also the smart touch AF function which moves the focus region when changing the composition after setting the focus by touching the screen are supported. (It’s the function maximizing the advantage of the touch screen.) Also, multi division, spot, and central photometry are supported, and normal, continuous (Continuous shots while pushing the shutter), motion capture (Continuously taking 6 shots per 1 sec up to 30 pictures), and AEB (3 continuous shots with proper, insufficient, and excessive exposures) are also featured.

The detailed face recognition function is one of the advantages of Samsung digital cameras. The ST550(TL225) also supports normal, smile shot, and blink detection, and smart face recognition, face recognition list, and my star have also been added as new functions. @ Up to 20 faces are supported for the smart face recognition. (It supports the largest number of people in the world.)

This supports 12.2M pixels high quality shots, and as the picture, it supports various sizes of pictures wit h 3 resolution set for each size. (Considering the size and quality, you can select the size and quality of pictures.)

Like other products, through the photo style setting, you can take pictures with different feelings, and contrast, sharpness, and chroma can also be manually set. (This function is used when you want to give some unique feeing on a normal picture.)

Unlike other low price range products, it perfectly supports the OIS (OIS is very useful and frequently used.)  and voice memo and voice recording functions are also supported.

Let’s check out the sound setting. The volume of operation sounds can be adjusted (3 levels and turn off), and haptic intensity, starting sound, shutter sound, and AF sound can also be set.

It’s the display menu setting. This supports various languages and self explanation function displaying option and instruction. (It’s useful for beginners to get used to functions.) The starting image is also provided to choose the image when booted. (A user can register the image.)

The guideline function is supported, so it allows you to take pictures with more accurate angle, and brightness, view time, and power saving mode can also be set. (If you set the power saving mode, when the camera is not working for a certain time, the LCD is turned off and goes to the saving mode with blinking LED.)

It’s the setting menu, and like other products, it supports various menus. (Like the right below picture, it supports initialization and format functions.)

Date & Time and Time zone setting are possible, and you can select the file naming type. (If you take a lot of shots and manage files with a PC like me, please select the ‘continuous’. If you set ‘From the beginning’, the file number will be overlapped.) Auto rotation of pictures, date recording, auto power off, and AF can be set, and Anynet+ setting is also supported.

In case you connect the cradle not included, it supports HDMI resolution set, and video output, USB, and PC software can be set.

Connecting the PC through USB cable, like the picture, the built-in software Intelli-Studio is automatically activated, so users can easily save, edit, and share images.

Pushing the play button on the back, you can check pictures, videos, and voices. (You can also check them with the play button even though it’s off.) As a touch screen product, it’s noticeable that various additional functions to control pictures can be adjusted form the main menu.

Picture magnification function is supported (After magnification, you can cut the picture.), and the motion recognition function is also supported when playing. Moreover, through the various divided screens, you can more quickly find images and videos. (Using the zoom lever, when playing, you can magnify pictures and set the thumbnail.)

This supports various sort functions. Pushing the menu button, you can sort them by file, date (Week/Day), and color. Besides, by registering faces taken, you can also sort the files by the priority of faces in the smart album.

This supports various sort functions. Pushing the menu button, you can sort them by file, date (Week/Day), and color. Besides, by registering faces taken, you can also sort the files by the priority of faces in the smart album.

It’s the multi slideshow setting screen. You can set the play mode, interval, background music, and effect.

It’s the editing screen. You can rotate pictures and change the size of pictures. Besides, you can also apply photo style on pictures already taken, and effect, brightness, contrast, chroma, ACB, face decoration (Skin compensation, Red-eye elimination, Snow, Mosaic, and out focusing) are supported.

It’s the play setting menu. When executing the smart album, you can set the display of the number of pictures, and delete and protection functions are also supported. Besides, through the trash bin function, deleted pictures can easily be recovered, and voice memo, copy to DPOF card, and motion recognition can be set.

Unlike former products, I could see the improvement in functions. Let’s take a look at the quality of pictures through the shot test.

It’s the maximum wide angle and tele angle. I could see it’s enough to be used usually. It supports 27mm wide angle, so when taking scenery shots, you can not only get satisfactory FOV, but also through the optical zoom, you can take objects in a long distant without moving much.

As the first product in the second half of this year, the ST550(TL225) has various new remarkable functions. I’d like to talk about the front display which is one of the most important functions. Normally, when taking a self shot with a digital camera, because you can’t see yourself, you need some trial and error. However, the ST550(TL225) supports the front display, so you can easily set the angle and focus like the picture above.

It’s the self shot using the front display. Different from other cases using other products, we can see it’s possible to take a shot as we wish with the ST550(TL225). (Unlike most other products which need feelings to take a shot, you can confirm and shot with this product, so I didn’t need to try many times. Personally, I want to say this is a very innovative function.)

As a Samsung product strong for portrait shots, this has various functions. The picture above is taken with the beauty shot, and you can see the noticeable difference from the normal mode. (You can see the skin get cleaned as if putting on cosmetic and the exposure is also optimized for the portrait shot. Especially, this will make female users happy, I think.)

It supports the smile shot function automatically taking smiling faces and blink detection function taking 2 consecutive shots when someone is blinking is also perfectly supported. (Because it supports the dual LCD for self shots, the self guide function is not supported.)

Unlike other low price products supporting only the DIS, the ST550(TL225) supports the OIS, and separate Dual IS mode is included. The picture above was taken indoors after setting the Dual IS mode. Even though the shutter speed is only 1/10s, there’s no blur. (When it comes to moving objects, faster shutter speed should be secured, but for still objects, this shutter speed is enough to get a good picture without hand blur.)

This supports the advanced smart auto function. Unlike other products, Sunset, Blue sky, Natural Green, and Self shot (Macro Portrait) have been added, so optimized shot is possible under any circumstances. (As you can see from the picture, it was possible to take pictures under any circumstances.)

It’s the macro function test. From the program mode, it supports the Super macro, so more detailed expression like the picture is possible. (When setting the super macro, zoom function doesn’t work. However, there was no inconvenience, because the super macro was possible. As you can see from the picture, the exact focus has been set.)

It’s the noise test by each ISO. There’s no noise up to ISO 800, and the ISO 1600 and 3200 also can be used, because noise wasn’t that much. (The picture has been resized to 300 pixels. In spite of ISO 3200, it’s enough to be used for web with less noise.)

It’s the original picture. When it comes to a shot with ISO 800, the noise is acceptable. There’s some noise with ISO 1600 and 3200, but for web, it’s no problem. (Recent noise reduction of Samsung product is pretty impressive.)

It’s the sample picture. We can see the color expression is quite good. (With the smart auto and Dual IS, I could get satisfactory pictures under any circumstances without setting much. Like I mentioned before, the exposure is quite accurate and there was no shake or noise much.)

@ Clicking the picture, you can see the original pictures

It’s possible to record a HD video. Even though it’s connected through AV cable with a Full HD TV, the quality was quite satisfactory. (Unlike the indistinct SD quality, it was so vivid. Connecting through HDMI using a cradle not included, more vivid videos can be enjoyed in the TV.)

[Design of the ST550(TL225) & Operation Video]

As the first product of Samsung digital imaging at the second half of the year, strong and unique functions were so impressive. (While testing, I was quite surprised. I could see they’ve tried much for all day long to be a leader of the digital camera market.

As a stylish series, the ST550(TL225) has elegant design enough to appeal anywhere. It could have been better if it had been smaller, but I could be satisfied with the large and vivid touch screen. Through the more advanced smart auto mode, satisfactory shots could be made under any circumstances, and as a high range product, this supports the OIS, I could take shots without hand blur even though I have some tremor of the hand.

through the funny animation, it was easy to take a picture of children. (Not only that. It also supports other various functions such as Viewing guide, Shutter info, and function info.)

On top of that, the smart gesture UI function was also quite satisfactory. Through the motion recognition sensor, it’s possible to set the camera through movement. (Especially, turning the front display on by tapping it is still miraculous.)

That it doesn’t’ support manual function is a little unsatisfactory, but I could feel satisfaction from most of the tests. I’d like to recommend this product to those who take a lot of self shots, beginners, and users who want elegant design and good quality of pictures.