Author Archive: Matt

Samsung ST550 review

Dual screen – Useful or just a novelty ?

Introduction

There’s been a lot of hype about the Samsung ST550 because of its Dual Screen innovation. Lots of TV advertising telling us that we need this camera to make our lives more fun. Let’s see if it does then.

The Samsung ST550

 

Not only is the ST550 well specified in the lens and sensor department, with a 4.6x optical zoom, 12 megapixel sensor and 3.5" touchscreen on the rear but the ST550’s real party piece is the forward facing LCD screen right next to the lens. When you first see this in action you realise what a simple idea it is and wonder why on earth it’s never been done before. How many times have you tried to take a picture of yourself with friends or family holding the camera at arms-length to take shot? Well this makes the process a little easier!

 

What’s in the Box?

• Samsung ST550 Camera
• AV Cable
• USB UK 3pin mains plug with USB cable
• Battery
• Wrist Strap
• Quick start Manual, Guarantee and Software CD (PDF Manual)

See also Matt’s Samsung ST550 unboxing video for a tour of the camera and the box contents.

 

Samsung ST550 specification:

• Style: Ultra Compact
• Megapixels: 12
• Print Ratios: 4:3, 16:9, 3:2
• File Formats: JPEG
• Memory Cards: Micro SD/ Micro SDHC
• Zoom: 4.6x
• Focal Length Equivalent: 27-124.2mm
• Shutter Speed: 8 – 1/2000 seconds
• Aperture: F3.5(W) – F5.9(T)
• Sensitivity: Auto, ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
• White Balance Settings: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten, Custom
• ExposureCompensation: -2EV to +2EV (in 1/3EV steps)
• LCD Screen: 3.5 inches
• Flash Modes: Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, Red eye fix
• Flash Range: 3.4m
• Shooting Modes: Portrait, Night Portrait, Backlight Portrait, Macro Portrait, Backlight, Landscape, White, Action, Tripod, Night, Macro, Macro Text, Blue Sky, Sunset Sky, Natural Portrait, Natural Green, Beauty shot, Frame Guidet, Portrait, Children, Night, Landscape,Close up Text, Sunset, Dawn, Back Light, Fireworks, Beach, Snow
• Maximum Movie Resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels
• Maximum Movie Frames Per Second: 30 fps
• Maximum Movie Duration: To capacity of memory card
• Macro Focus: 3cms
• Metering: Multi-pattern, centre weighted, spot
• Image Stabilisation: Yes
• Video Out (TV Playback): Yes
• Computer Connection: Yes
• Batteries: Lithium-ion Rechargeable
• Dimensions: 99.8 x 59.8 x 18.6mm
• Weight: 165.7g

See the Samsung ST550 page for the full spec.

 

General

Front – Houses the Lens, flash and of course the front 1.5″ LED screen

 

Rear – Large 3.5″ Haptic feedback LED Touchscreen

 

Top – Power button, Shutter Button, Zoom switch, mic and play button

 

Bottom – Connector Socket, tripod mount and battery latch which incorporates Micro SD slot

Left Side – Speaker

Right Side – Wrist Strap loop

 

Highlights

• Very clear, sharp and detailed touch-screen display
• Built in software
• Dual Screen
• Strong, Sturdy build
• Good quality stills and video
• Fairly slim and compact

Lowlights

• Very short USB cable
• Optional HD cable
• Easily chipped case
• Fiddly controls

 

Review

First thing that strikes you about this camera is the nice slim compact design with the red border on one side and chic gloss black front with which they have managed to make the front screen nigh-on invisible, the perfect black tint to match the colour of the case. The next is the super large 3.5″ touchscreen which is virtually the same size as the camera with it’s gentle haptic feedback and easy to use menus. Being a metal case it’s also a bit heavier at 165g (without card or battery) than some compacts of the same size, but personally I prefer that to a piece of plastic that looks nowhere near as plush and is nowhere near as durable or sturdy. Being heavier gives me a confidence in the product, knowing that it’s not going to break with the slightest knock. My one observation and slight concern was that I was obviously not the first to review this camera and as such there were a few chips out of the camera case revealing the shiny metal underneath. I’m not too worried about this as I have no idea what this camera had been through previously and that if I did drop it I’d rather my camera chip slightly than crack or break into pieces.

Pictures where well focused, sharp and detailed with good colour representation especially on the highest 12 megapixel setting. The 4.6x optical zoom was nice and smooth and progressive although for those of us with, how can I say? chunkier fingers the zoom control switch was a bit small and fiddly to use. The video was also good as it records in 720p, nice feature considering this is predominantly a stills camera and when played back through the PS3 via the Micro SD card the video and sound was pretty close to that of a dedicated budget HD camcorder, but through the supplied AV cable it made the video and photos look a lot poorer quality than they actually were as you are only getting standard def. I really wish manufacturers would supply an HD cable of some sort with their HD products because all you are doing is downgrading the quality when viewed on an HDTV. Anyway enough of my rant, back to the review.

Other great features that stand out are face detection (up to 12 at a time), smile detection, blink detection, touch focus and automatic red-eye fix which all worked remarkably well, I had great fun trying these out in front of the camera part smiling and blinking until the camera automatically took the shot when I posed properly.

Talking of self portraits you turn on the front screen with a couple of firm taps or through the menu system and once the camera is focused and happy with your smile it takes the picture automatically. The only slight issue I have with the screen is that I think it could have done with being a little bit bigger as at arms length you can just about squeeze two heads into the frame, even though this is the main selling point of the camera.

A plus point for Samsung is the flexible charging, giving you the facility to charge the camera via USB so that when you are plugged into your laptop or PC to download your photos and videos you can also charge the camera at the same time. Alternatively you could use a USB car charger or just plug into the mains using the USB 3 pin plug. Another criticism would be is that it comes with the shortest USB cable known to man.

 

Conclusion

As I said earlier, I was quite eager to get my hands on the Dual Screen Samsung ST550 to see if it was something I would consider paying over £200 for, just for the extra portrait screen. For me personally I don’t think so. Now don’t get me wrong this is a very capable camera with great innovative features and good picture quality, I just wouldn’t get that much use out of the portrait screen, but for all those youngsters who are forever taking photos and videos of themselves and putting them online. Yes, I think it would give endless amounts of fun.

 

Review by: Charlie

[ Post Tags: Samsung ST550, Digital Camera, compact camera, tracyandmatt.co.uk, photography ]

Sanyo Xacti FH1 review

Does the Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 camera live up to full HD expectations?

Hi everyone, this is my first review so please be gentle. When Matt told me I would be getting a full 1080p HD camcorder for my first review I was really looking forward to it and at roundabout the £400 mark, one that was quite affordable in the growing market of full HD cameras and the latest in the already popular Xacti series. Let’s see if it’s as good as I’d hoped.

 

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1

What’s in the box?

• Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1
• Battery
•  Hand Strap
•  Lens cap
•  Mains Charger
• USB Cable and USB adapter
• Component AV Cable
• Remote Control
• Easystart manual and software/manual disc

Check out Matt’s Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 unboxing video for a more detailed look at the camera.

 

Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 specification:

Effective pixel count/Camera element		Stills: Approx. 8.0-Megapixels Videos: Approx. 5.31-Megapixels (in Full HD/HD mode), Approx. 2.00-Megapixels (in SD mode)
Camera element		1/2.5 inch CMOS sensor, Approx. 8.1-Megapixels (total)
Recording media		SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card (up to 32GB)
Recording file formats		Photos: JPEG (DCF*1, DPOF*2, Exif Ver2.2*3) Videos: ISO standard MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (.MP4) Audio: 48kHZ sampling, 16bit, 2ch, AAC
Resolution (pixels)	Photos	12M: 4000 x 3000*4, 8M-H: 3264 x 2448 (low compression) 8M-S: 3264 x 2448 (standard compression) 6M[16:9]: 3264×1840 2M[16:9]: 1920×1080 2M: 1600 x 1200 0.9M[16:9]: 1280×720 0.3M: 640×480
	Continuous shots	8M: 3264 x 2448 , 6fps/Max 9 photos, 4M: 2288 x 1712 , 12fps/Max 15 photos
	Videos	Full-HR: 1920 x 1080 (60 fps/ 24Mbps) Full HD: 1920 x 1080 (60fields/sec 16Mbps) Full-SHQ: 1920 x 1080 (30 fps/ 12Mbps) HD-SHQ: 1280 x 720 (30 fps/9Mbps) TV-SHQ: 640 x 480 (30 fps/3Mbps) Web-SHR: 448 x 336 (240 fps/8Mbps) Web-UHR: 192 x 108 (600fps/8Mbps)
Lens		10x optical zoom lens; Aperture: F=2.0(W) – 2.8(T) Focus distance: f=5.95 to 59.5mm; Galvanometer method structure, Auto focus: 9 groups, 12 elements (4 aspheric elements, 8 aspheric surfaces), Built-in neutral density filter Photos: f=35.7-357mm(=35mm) Optical 10x zoom Videos: f=41.7-666.9mm(=35mm) 16x Adv. zoom
Photo range		Standard: 50cm to infinity (wide), 1.0m to infinity (tele) / Super macro: 1cm – 1m (wide)
Digital zoom		Shooting: 10x max., Playback 62.5x max. (12M mode, depending on the resolution)
Low light sensitivity (video)		Approx. 6 lux (Auto mode, 1/30 sec.) Approx. 2 lux (High-sensitivity/ Lamp mode, 1/15 sec.)
Stills sensitivity		Auto (ISO 50 – 200), Manual (ISO 50/100/200/400/800/1600/3200, Switching system)
Digital Image Stabilizer		Photos: Digital Image Stabilizer (Multi-Calculation method),Videos: Digital Image Stabilizer (electronic)
Audio		Microphone: Built-in stereo, Speaker: Built-in monaural (L+Rch mixed output)
LCD monitor		3.0 inch, Low-temperature polysilicon TFT color widescreen LCD display, Approx. 230,000 pixels (7-level brightness, 285 degrees rotation)
Languages		English/ French/ German/ Spanish/ Italian/ Dutch/ Russian/ Portuguese/ Turkish/ Thai/ Korean/ Simplified Chinese/ Traditional Chinese
Interface		AV output (Video: HDMI/D/ S-Video/ Composite video(NTSC/PAL) Audio: Stereo sound) USB 2.0 (high-speed mode compatible)
Power source		Lithium-ion battery x 1 (DB-L50 included: 1900mAh) AC-adaptor
Power consumption		When using battery: 4.3W (when filming videos)
Approx. battery-use time		Photos: Approx. 355 shots (CIPA standard), Continuous video filming: Approx. 135min./Continuous playback: Approx. 350 min.
Dimensions/Volume		53.3 (W) x 57.3 (H) x 105.0 (D)mm (maximum dimension, excluding protruding parts) Volume: Approx. 253cc
Weight		Approx. 299g (main unit only), Approx. 342g (including battery, Approx. 41 g, and SD card, Approx. 2 g)

 

SD Memory Card Type	Video Recording Time (Total Time)
	Full-HR	Full-HD	Full-SHQ	HD-SHQ	TV-SHQ	Web-SHR	Web-UHR	Audio Memo
16 GB	1 hr 28 min.	2 hr 11 min.	2 hr 54 min.	3 hr 51 min.	11 hr 06 min.	4 hr 19 min.	41 hr 19 min.	261 hr.

 

SD Memory Card Type	Number of Photographs
	12M	8M-H	8M-S	6.0M [16:9]	2M [16:9]	2M	0.9M [16:9]	0.3M	8M Cont.	4M Cont.
16 GB	4,020	4,020	5,940	7,920	21,700	22,700	41,600	99,800	5,940	11,800

 

General

Front –     Lens, flash and stereo mic’s left and right side

 

Sanyo Xacti FH1 front view

 

Side  –     Right side has hand strap and lens cover holder, left side has Viewing screen which when opened reveals the on/off switch plus USB, Component/AV and HDMI sockets as well as the SDHC card holder

 

Sanyo Xacti FH1 left side view

 

Screen – The screen is a 3.0 inch, Low-temperature polysilicon TFT color widescreen LCD display, approx. 230,000 pixels (7-level brightness, 285 degrees rotation)

 

Bottom –  Underneath is the battery pack cover which slides off and the tripod screw

Top      –  On top is zoom rocker switch and small speaker grill

Controls – Controls are at the rear of the camera with the stills record button on the top left and the video record on the  top right with a set joystick and menu button. Underneath that is the AC adapter socket which has a rubber grommet type cover and the unlock latch for the battery cover.

 

Sanyo Xacti FH1 back view

 

Highlights

• Good build quality and looks
• Value for money
• Light and easy to use
• Good quality video and stills
• Remote Control

Lowlights

• No HDMI lead (optional extra)

 

 

Review

I don’t know about you, but being a bloke I tend to get things out the box and see how much I can do before referring to the instruction manual, this was no exception to that rule. I am pleased to say that it was all very user friendly and I managed to use all functions of the camera and navigate the menu system without any need for instruction.  Big plus point for Sanyo.

I like the looks of the camera especially in gloss black which has a glittery paint finish on the main body of the camera with silver round the lens. You can also have it in gold as well if that takes your fancy. The Xacti FH1 feels solid, robust and comfortable in your hand with your thumb falling nicely on the rear controls.  These controls are large and nicely spaced out and you get used to them very quickly which is great when you need to record the action fast.

The 3″ screen is sharp and clear and makes framing your shots easy. The menu system is very straightforward to use and even gives you a simple menu option for a less detailed format. You can even adjust white balance , exposure etc for the more manual touch and has 9 point or single spot focus and autoflash. It has face recognition/ face chaser technology  which keeps track of up to 12 faces at any one time which is great for group or family shots. The FH1 also includes video and image stabilisation, a must for any kind of movement while recording.

I tested the video and stills out on my 46″ Toshiba LED TV and were very pleased with the results. I used the supplied component leads and also dropped the SDHC card straight into my PS3 which outputs in 1080p just to see if there were any difference, but both ways resulted in great picture quality and clear sound with the camera switching from high to low light very well.  The stills are 8mp (12mp interpolated)  and were good quality  with nice colours and sharp focusing although you have to get used to pressing the stills button down halfway, waiting breifly for focus then pressing all the way down to take a picture with a shutter sound effect, the clever bit is being able to take stills while recording video. I also like the included remote control, very handy when playing back through your tv still sitting in your favourite chair.

The only thing that disappointed me was a lack of an included HDMI cable, especially when there is a HDMI socket on the camera, it is an optional extra (VCP-HDMI02) as well as a battery charger (VAR-L50) and spare battery (DB-L50).

 As far as recording time goes I used an 8 Gig SDHC card which will give about 1 hour recording time in full HD (more info in specs). Battery life is also very good with an average of over 2 hours this includes recording video, taking pics and playback through the screen and TV output. The 10x optical zoom with 16x advanced zoom and 160x digital zoom works well and is  smooth and progressive with the super macro mode working well for close-up work.

 

Software

A Sanyo Xacti software CD is included with:

• Arcsoft Total Media Extreme for full hd playback and editing
• Arcsoft Panorama Maker 4 for easy panoramic photo stitching
• Xacti screen capture 1.1

 

Conclusion

In conclusion I really love this camera and would have no problem buying it myself or recommending it to anyone else. Apart from the unincluded HDMI cable I cannot find any real faults as it did exactly what it said on the box , a small, easy to use full HD Dual camera at a very reasonable price. What more can I say ?

 

Review by: Charlie

[ Post Tags: Camcorder, Video Cameras, sanyo Xacti FH1, VPC-FH1, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]