[Samsung Galaxy Featured Article] Photography’s always been about sharing. But until now, picture taking and picture sharing were two entirely different things.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the writing has long been on the wall for pocket-friendly point and shoot cameras. After all, a new generation of camera equipped smart phones such as the Samsung Galaxy SIII are overturning the idea of happy snapping by matching great optics with a state of the art communications platform running the Android Jelly Bean OS.
Millions of smartphone users have discovered the joy of being able to take a picture, or shoot a short video clip and then to immediately share their imagery via Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox and the like. Indeed, it could be said that never have so many shared so much.
But really, even the best camera equipped smartphones are first and foremost communication devices. And even the top models can’t match the picture taking flexibility, ease of use and image quality you get from a great lens and a modern camera.
Social Networking Say Hello to Photography
In retrospect the Samsung Galaxy camera is such an obvious product that you wonder why someone didn’t come up with it sooner. The formula is simple: combine smartphone user-friendly social networking functionality with a sleek looking and thoroughly modern superzoom camera.
The key to social networking is of course being connected and the Galaxy Camera is a true network device. Thanks to its built-in 3G and Wi-Fi capability it’s always on and always connected. Your pictures and videos are only ever a tap away from friends, family and the social networking universe.
Photographically speaking, the Samsung Galaxy delivers a specification list that has much in common with other state of the art enthusiast compact cameras. The 1 / 2.3″ CMOS sensor offers 4608 x 2458 pixel resolution (16.3 megapixel) and the Samsung 21x zoom lens system delivers a zoom range that is the equivalent of a 23 to 483mm on a 35mm camera.
From an operational perspective, the emphasis is very much on ease of use. But as you’d expect from a 16 megapixel camera, the knowledgeable photographer too is catered for. Just to go a bit technical on you, this isn’t only an auto-everything, point and shoot camera. Experienced photographers will find that their exposure options include Program AE, as well as both aperture and shutter AE. And if the occasion demands, they can put the camera in manual exposure mode and take complete control. There are a number of flash modes, EV may be adjusted in â…“ EV steps and ISO sensitivity may be set across a range from ISO 100 through to ISO 3200.
If you’re not into the detail of ISOs, EV and manual exposure, don’t worry. Samsung helps you out via its clever Smart Pro Mode. Smart Pro Mode helps you get shots that once were the domain of professional photographers. At the tap of a finger, you can access 15 different photography modes. For instance, if you want to capture one of those edgy city night shots with car brake lights creating striking patterns, you just tap on Smart Pro Mode’s Light trace option and you’re ready to snap your own masterpiece. Expressing yourself could hardly be easier.
Check this video to see Light trace in action.
Speaking of expression, sometimes the best way to tell a story is with video. Here again the Galaxy is every millimetre the very model of a modern digital camera. You’re free to shoot in full HD (1080p) at 30 frames a second, or, if you really want to get creative, you can slow everything right down with the 120 fps slo-mo mode.
Reviewing your photo and video handiwork will be a real pleasure thanks to the 121mm HD Super Clear Touch Display. Offering an extremely sharp 308 pixel per inch resolution, the touch-sensitive display is big enough not only to see what you’ve captured, but to enjoy it. There are other obvious benefits to all the screen real estate, not the least of which is ease with which the Galaxy Camera’s photo and video wizard editing packages may be used to tweak your pictures and video while you’re still out and about.
Having a big, bright display is more than a little handy when it comes to deploying the Galaxy Camera’s quite exceptional sharing capabilities. With GSM 3G and HSPA built in and with support for Wi-Fi standards, it can rightly be described as the only truly connected camera in the world. In a few moments, images and video can be safely transferred to cloud storage and, equally importantly posted directly to your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Because the Galaxy Camera runs Android’s Jelly Bean operating system, you’ll have access to many useful apps including social networking favourites such as Instagram and Dropbox, as well as all the Google goodies (YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Navigation, Chrome browser, Search, etc).
To see more of the ground breaking new Galaxy Camera in action, have a look at this short video.
The spec sheet
Image sensor: BSI CMOS 16.3 Megapixels 1 / 2.3″
Lens: 21x Zoom Lens F = 4.1 ~ 86.1mm (35mm film equivalent : 23 ~ 483mm)
Display: 1280 x 720 HD Super Clear LCD (TFT)
Exposure: Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual Exposure
Multi, Spot, Centre-weighted, Face Detection AE; ±2EV (1 / 3EV steps)
White Balance: Auto WB, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten, Custom
Focusing: TTL Auto Focus (Centre AF, Multi AF, Face Detection AF)
Shutter Speed: Auto: 1 / 8 ~ 1 / 2000sec; Manual: 16 ~ 1 / 2000sec
ISO: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Flash: Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash Off, Red-eye fix
Still Image: 16M : 4608 x 3456, 14MP: 4608 x 3072, 12M W: 4608 x 2592, 10M: 3648 x 2736, 5M: 2592 x 1944, 3M : 1984 x 1488, 2MW: 1920 x 1080, 1M: 1024 x 768
Still Image modes: Auto, Smart (15 Mode): Beauty face, Best photo, Continuous shot, Best face, Landscape, Macro, Action freeze, Rich tone, Panorama, Waterfall, Silhouette, Sunset, Night, Fireworks, Light trace; Expert Control (5 Mode) : P (Auto+), A (Aperture Priority), S (Speed Priority), Camcorder, M (Manual)
Video: Movie Size : 1920 x 1080 (30fps), 1280 x 720 (60fps), 1280 x 720 (30fps), 640 x 480 (60fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30fps); Slow Motion Video WVGA : 768 x 512 (120fps)
Video modes: Normal, Vintage, Black & White, Autumn Brown, Negative, Nostalgia, Colour Fade, Retro, Sunshine, Old Photo, Comic, Pastel Sketch, Gothic Noir, Impressionist
Audio and Video playback: AVI, MP4 / 3GP, WMV, FLV, MKV, WEBM, Full HD (1080p) Video, (Audio) MP3, AAC, AMR, WMA, OGG, FLAC, 3GA / M4A, WAV
Battery: 1650mAh (USB Chargeable); Standby Time: Up to 280 hours (3G)
Network/Bearer and Wireless Connectivity: GSM 3G , HSPA-PLUS HSPA+21 (850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100), 802.11a/b/g/n 2.4GHz / 5GHz, Wi-Fi Direct available; GAP, SSP, HSP, A2DP, SPP, OPP, AVRCP 1.3, HID, DLNA, HDMI 1.4 support, KIES, KIES Air support
Connectors: USB v2.0, 3.5pi 4pole, Stereo
Memory: MicroSD External Memory Slot (SDXC 64GB), MicroSIM, Micro USB available
Chipset: Quad Core Application Processor, 1.4GHz CPU Speed
Operating system: Android 4.1
Dimensions: 70.8 x 128.7 x 19.1mm
Weight: 300g Weight