Samsung Pro815 digital camera

Posted by T3 Online on Mon 29 Oct 2007

Samsung launches the biggest "compact" yet.

If you're thinking of moving up from the world of pocket-sized digital snappers but you're not ready to splash out on intimidating, unwieldy SLRs, this monster from Samsung could be the camera for you.

Just look at the spec: the Pro815 has the world's biggest built-in zoom (15x magnification), the world's largest camera LCD (a mighty 3.5-inches) and the world's best battery life for an allegedly "compact" camera (450 shots). Where many "pro" products fall short of their lofty name- and price-tags, this delivers, although it's not without its design flaws.

With such a big, bright screen round the back, many controls have migrated to the top or even to the lens, making for some awkward reaching around to alter settings like metering. A jog dial and clear menus help considerably - and there's even a status LCD that doubles as a waist-level viewfinder. As you'd expect, the Samsung is packed with advanced features: manual exposure, continuous focusing and shooting, scene programs and excellent hi-res, stereo movies.

The lens is swift to zoom manually, and while there are some fringing problems at the wide-angle setting, it's generally sharp and distortion-free. Image quality from the eight-megapixel sensor is also impressive - not as smooth as an equivalent SLR but with solid, natural colours and just enough detail.

This isn't perfect. It needs either higher sensitivity than ISO 400 or image stabilisation to avoid camera shake with that huge lens, and it could be less ponderous in use. Overall, though, it's one "pro" product that's more likely to have experts casting envious glances than aspersions.