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Samsung WB150 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £150
inc VAT

Keenly priced, with comprehensive manual controls, but it’s ultimately an average camera

Specifications

1/2.3in 14.2-megapixel sensor, 18.0x zoom (24-432mm equivalent), 204g

http://www.morecomputers.com
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The Samsung WB700 had the same specifications, and the resulting image quality was disappointing. Thankfully, the WB150 marks a big improvement, with much less intrusive noise as the ISO speed went up. This seems to be as much down to improvements in noise-reduction processing as sensor design. Indoor shots taken using automatic settings weren’t excessively grainy, but noise reduction took a heavy toll on subtle details such as hair and skin textures, giving photos an airbrushed appearance.

Samsung WB150 test shots
Noise reduction has drained all the fine detail out of this photo, and still struggled to suppress noise – click to enlarge

Image quality in our outdoor tests was much better. It put in a solid performance at the wide-angle end of its zoom and delivered impressively sharp focus as we zoomed in, often capturing crisper details than rivals with bigger zoom ranges. The autofocus was sometimes slightly off the mark, though, and the slow shot-to-shot times made it more laborious to fire off a couple of shots for safety.

Samsung WB150 test shots
Outdoor photography is much better, although there’s still some evidence of noise reduction smearing details in these leaves – click to enlarge

If you can live with the 720p resolution, this isn’t a bad video camera. Pictures were as sharp as the resolution allows, the optical stabilisation kept shots steady when we zoomed in and the zoom motor didn’t interfere with the soundtrack. The autofocus was extremely reluctant to update while recording, though.

The WB150 doesn’t offer much to get excited about, but it’s keenly priced and takes attractive photos when there’s plenty of light, although it might be worth waiting for the arrival of the WB150F, which adds Wi-Fi and various networking tricks.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ***
CCD effective megapixels 14.2 megapixels
CCD size 1/2.3in
Viewfinder none
Viewfinder magnification, coverage N/A
LCD screen size 3.0in
LCD screen resolution 460,000 pixels
Articulated screen No
Live view Yes
Optical zoom 18.0x
Zoom 35mm equivalent 24-432mm
Image stabilisation optical, lens based
Maximum image resolution 4,320×3,240
File formats JPEG; MP4 (AVC)

Physical

Memory slot SDXC
Mermory supplied 18MB internal
Battery type Li-ion
Battery Life (tested) 270 shots
Connectivity USB, AV
Body material plastic
Lens mount N/A
Focal length multiplier N/A
Kit lens model name N/A
Accessories USB cable
Weight 204g
Size 60x107x33mm

Buying Information

Warranty one-year RTB
Price £150
Supplier http://www.morecomputers.com
Details www.samsung.com/uk

Camera Controls

Exposure modes program, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual
Shutter speed 16 to 1/2,000 seconds
Aperture range f/3.2-7.2 (wide), f/5.8-7.5 (tele)
ISO range (at full resolution) 80 to 3200
Exposure compensation +/-2 EV
White balance auto, 5 presets, manual, Kelvin
Additional image controls contrast, saturation, sharpness, auto contrast balance
Manual focus Yes
Closest macro focus 5cm
Auto-focus modes multi, centre, flexible spot, face detect
Metering modes multi, centre-weighted, centre, face detect
Flash auto, forced, suppressed, slow synchro, red-eye reduction
Drive modes single, continuous, self-timer

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