New Concept Compact Digital Camera Samsung ST550(TL225)

Prologue: Taking shots with watching?

Samsung Digital Imaging which has been loved by various models having great quality and functions has released a new concept digital camera. Cameras have focused on taking other people. Of course, the smaller the size of cameras, the easier self shots, but in order to confirm the results, we need to review them a lot and this was quite inconvenient. However, the ST550(TL225) recently released has a 1.5” LCD on the front and allows easier self shots. In addition, this is not just for self shots, but to suggest another meaning of a digital camera. Let’s take a closer look at the ST550(TL225).

SPECIFICATION

Design: High Glossy and Black

The ST550(TL225) has adopted high glossy design, so it’s more luxurious than other digital cameras. In order to minimize the design simplicity, it has some design points such as orange and black in edges, so it becomes a stylish camera.

Despite its thin design, the ST550(TL225) has a 24-124mm optical 4x zoom lens, 1.5” front LCD, and 3.5” back LCD. Especially, the LCD on the back is a 1.15M pixels Haptic touch LCD, so it displays more vivid images. All menus in the ST550(TL225) are controlled by the LCD, so the body has only a few buttons such as zoom, shutter, power, and play buttons. However, due to its slim design and high glossy coating, the grip is not so good, and it’s vulnerable to fingerprints and dusts. You need to be careful to use it.

Performance (1): New 1.5” Front LCD

The Samsung ST550(TL225) has installed the Dual LCD in a digital camera for the first time in the world. The 1.5” Front LCD allows you to take easy self shots and confirm information. In order to turn on the Front Display, you can just tap the screen.

The Front Display supports not only the Self shot function, but also other functions such as Children mode showing fun animation to children to get their attention, Hand blur warning, Shot information, Shutter information, and viewing guide showing countdown when using Self Timer. You can confirm taken images from both back and front LCD. But, the Front Display can only show images, so you can’t adjust or set any settings.

Performance (2): 3.5” Haptic back LCD

After the ST10 which adopted the Haptic function for the first time in a digital camera, the Haptic touch LCD has become a trademark of Samsung digital cameras. The ST550(TL225) has also the Haptic touch display in 3.5” 1.15M pixels wide screen LCD showing more vivid and clear images. The Haptic function is the same as the ST10 and gives different feeling, because it can be set as sound or vibration as feedback.

[Haptic Setting Menu]

Besides, the ST550(TL225) supports Smart Gesture to provide the best convenience for users. By tilting the camera, you can flip pictures or set different modes. By drawing X or O on the LCD with a finger, you can delete/rotate the photo, and tilting it sideward, you can see the previous/next picture.

[Smart Gesture function]

With pushing the Smart Gesture icon on the right side, tilt the camera to the side on the LCD. Then you can move to the menu.

[Image play function]

[Delete function]

Those functions have already been used for previous cameras, so I don’t need to explain much, but by tilting the camera sideward, you can see the next image. And if you keep the camera tilted, images start to flip like a slideshow. If you stop tilting it, the image review also stops.

Performance (3): 4 kinds of AF functions.

The ST550(TL225) supports 4 kinds of AF functions, and they are not much different from the previous models, but One Touch Shot mode has been added. The One Touch Shot mode is a function to take an automatic shot without pushing the shutter when pushing a subject you want to focus on. Like the below image, it shows the shot progress with blue and red colors on the box and after 1 sec from pushing it, the shot is taken. These 4 AF can also be used from Auto mode and Program mode, but not from Smart Auto and from the Scene mode, there’s some limit, so if you want all of the AF modes, you’d better use Auto mode or Program mode.

[One Touch Mode]

Performance (4): Schneider 27-125mm F3.5-5.9 4.6x zoom lens

The ST550(TL225) has a 27-125mm 4.6x zoom Schneider lens on 35mm equivalent and despite its slim design, it can take good pictures in both wide and telephoto angles. But it has relatively small F3.5-5.9. It supports 5cm of Macro and 3 cm of Super Macro.

4.6x zoom and 27mm angle are very good as a slim design camera, but the performance is not much different from the previous mode and it has small F-value. Also the vividness of the Schneider lens is not fully shown.

Performance (5): Perfect Portrait and Scene mode

The Perfect Portrait function is one of the most popular functions of Samsung cameras. The ST550(TL225) has also this function, and the Perfect Portrait function in the ST550(TL225) is an integrated version of Face Recognition mode and Beauty Shot function.

[Face Recognition mode]

Face Recognition Functions are Standard, Smile, Blink Detection, Smart Face Recognition, Registration of faces, and My Star. Smile is to detect smile and automatically take a shot. Using My Star, you can register up to 5 faces and taking shots with Smart Face Recognition, the camera give priority to registered faces to automatically set focus and exposure. Up to 5 different pictures can be saved to raise the success rate.

[Setting focus on registered faces]

Beauty Shot function included in Scene mode supports some retouching functions through fixing brightness and skin, so you don’t need to use Photoshop after taking shots. Brightness and Skin can be retouched to 3 levels but you need to be careful when using it, because too much retouching can ruin the picture.

[Level of fixing brightness and skin tone]

                [Before retouching]          [After retouching (Brightness+2/Skin tone+2)]

It supports 13 Scene modes including Beauty Shot mode. Children mode is used to take children, and using it with the Front Display, animation comes up to get their attention. Beauty Shot, Frame Guide, Night Scenery, Portrait, Children, Scenery, Macro, Letter, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Firework, Beach and Snow are supported.

[SCENE MODE]

Performance (5): HD quality video recording

Most of the recent digital cameras support a HD quality video recording. No, if a camera doesn’t support a HD video recording, it’s kind of old now. The ST550(TL225) supports 1280HQ, 640, and 320 good for HDTV output in 30 fps and 15 fps. Exposure fix, White Balance, and Photometry can be adjusted, but while recording, you can’t use zoom functions.

Quality (1): 12M pixels quality and clean color

The ST550(TL225) having 12.2M pixels supports 4:3 ratio 4000x3000 pixels suitable for A1, 3:2 10M, and 16:9 9M sizes. It’s good for large development because of its relatively high resolution as a compact camera. Besides, through its clean color, you can take natural shots and through 10 effects, Sharpness, Contrast, and Saturation, various types of images can be made.

[Resolution and Image quality]

The resolution of the ST550(TL225) is great, but the quality is not as great as the resolution. The image quality of the central part is comparatively good, but surrounding part is not that good in both wide and telephoto angles.

Quality (2): Noise by ISO

Practical ISO of the ST550(TL225) is up to ISO 800 and for Web sites, I think ISO 1600 is also possible. However, you’d better not to use ISO 3200 much, because of a lot of noise and quality degradation. ISO 3200 can be used for maximum resolution in the ST550(TL225).

Quality (3): Good White Balance

Custom White Balance (18% grey card) Shot

Considering it’s a compact digital camera, White Balance is quite good. It supports 7 modes such as Auto, Sunlight, Cloudy, Fluorescent H, Fluorescent L, Light Bulb, and Custom. It’s a big insufficient, but because of the Custom mode, we can set the White Balance and use it. But because it can’t show accurate White balance for the color temperature of tungsten 200~3000K, you have to use the Custom mode.

Quality (4): 10 style effects

Quality (5): Image Retouching and OIS

The ST550(TL225) supports the image retouching function adjusting Sharpness, Contrast, and Saturation and OIS minimizing hand blur, and the intensity of retouching is adjustable from -2 to +2.

Epilogue: New Concept digital camera Samsung ST550(TL225)

The ST550(TL225) from Samsung Digital Imaging has adopted the Dual LCD for the first time in the world and it’s a new concept digital camera allowing anyone to take easy self shots with various functions. Most of all, the 1.5” Front LCD, 12.2M pixels, and 1.15M pixels Haptic touch screen 3.5” LCD are the biggest points of the ST550(TL225). However, the ST550(TL225) is not a high level camera, but a compact digital camera for everyone. Small F value, limited functions, and some inconvenient functions are distinguished from the WB series. Therefore, this camera is for parents or women users enjoying self shots, I think.

Actually, since I started reviewing the ST550(TL225), I’ve expected the next camera rather than the ST550(TL225). If a camera has the Dual LCD from the ST550(TL225) and high performance from the WB series, it will hugely appeal to a lot of users in the digital camera market. Lastly, I’m looking forward to the bright future of Samsung cameras.

SAMPLE IMAGE BY SAMSUNG ST550(TL225)