SAMSUNG ST5500

Digital Camera

SAMSUNG ST5500

Verdict: A stunner in all three aspects – performance, features and style.

Specifications

Rs 17,990

www.samsung.com

Dimensions (WxHxD): 103.8 x 58.3 x 19.6 mm;

Weight: 183 g;

Resolution: 14.2 MP;

Focal length (35mm equivalent): 31 - 217 mm;

Aperture range: f3.3 – f5.5;

Shutter range: 8 - 1/2000 sec.

Contact: Samsung India

Phone: 011-41511234

When it comes to cameras with a whole lot of innovative features there are only a few that we can stand up for. Some of these would be from companies such as Sony, Panasonic and Samsung. We are not talking about DSLRs but in fact the whole focus here is about digital cameras; cameras that one can pocket without giving it a second thought. Yes, they have come a long way to what they are now and are progressively getting better not only in their set features but also in delivering sharp image quality.

Encased in a plastic orange body the Samsung ST5500 spews out perfection in almost all fronts – be it design or even its user interface. To begin with the camera features a very good build. It measures 103.8 x 58.3 x 19.6 mm and weighs about 183 g making it a tad heavy. Irrespective of its weight the camera sits plum when held and the slightly angled rear adds to a much better grip. That apart the camera features a full matt finish which eliminates fingerprints which would otherwise bring down the overall appeal of the camera. Moreover the camera comes with a decent 7x optical zoom along with a standard 31 mm lens.

What you will love about the ST5500 is its large 3.7-inch AMOLED touch screen that has a very good viewing angle. Too bad that it only performs exceptionally well when viewed indoors. Take it out on a bright sunny day and you would find it close to impossible to view pictures at the slightest angle. This is one major drawback that the ST5500 has and definitely needs to be looked into.

You will also notice that the camera has a button-less interface which makes it a fully touch sensitive camera. Though the only buttons that the ST5500 has are the power, shutter release and picture view.

Now, as mentioned the performance of the screen isn’t one of the best but works well when viewed indoors. As far as the cameras interface is concerned it definitely will not take long to get used to as all options are well laid out on both sides of the screen. In fact the interface is very similar to their previous and non-existent ST550. Having said that, menu system is divided into three parts—the extreme left holds options such as scene modes, flash, auto focus and timer. The bottom half displays options such as white balance, ISO, light metering, exposure value and a few more that are all neatly clubbed together in a drop-down interface thus allowing you to view images comfortably on a larger screen area.

The ST5500 features a total of six shooting modes apart from its 13 scene modes. There are also lists of other features which include additional modes such as face, smile and blink detection. There is an additional feature known as “Self portrait”. This basically provides an audible feedback when a face is detected thereby allowing you to judge when to click. In addition to this the camera also allows you to apply effects such as miniature, fish-eye and vignetting.

The most striking feature of this camera is the support for Bluetooth as well as Wi-fi. Here there are a whole list of options that allow you to upload pictures to a list of sites such as Facebook, Picasa, YouTube and their very own Samsung Imaging. The whole process of uploading images is extremely simple as you just need to drag and drop files that need to be uploaded to any one of the account that you have signed into. Having said that, the ST5500 also allows you to send pictures via email. All one needs to do is enter the sender's/receiver's address – that is all that actually needs to be done. What we would have liked to see here is the option of adding some tags or captions to pictures before uploading them.

Additional features include file transfers to other Wi-fi-enabled cameras, wireless transfer to PC and best of all, the camera can be configured to share images with multiple machines. This basically allows all connected users to scan through the list of pictures that need to be copied. And as mentioned, Bluetooth is also there if you find the need to send images to a phone.

Typing in your name or email address isn’t a problem as the camera has a QWERTY interface that is quite responsive. Nevertheless if you find it a problem to type, the provided stylus is always there to make the input much easier.

Video: Apart from the mentioned features the Samsung ST5500 is capable of capturing videos at a max resolution of 1280 x 720 (720p) at 30 fps. The overall quality as well as clarity is good under well lit conditions but falls a bit short in areas that are dimly lit. However the camera does a good job at maintaining the overall color and contrast. Other resolutions include 640 x 480, 320 x 240 and 320 x 240 (web). The last one limits video recording to 30 seconds in order to keep the file size small.

Colors: The performance of this camera will actually leave you speechless. The overall color and contrast are handled quite well with no fringing or color bleeding. However the saturation level of the reds does stand out at times but there is nothing really to complain about here.

Sharpness: The camera maintains a good level of sharpness but the problem here is that the objects at a distance tend to appear a little blotched. However it is only the finer details that tend lose out on sharpness.

Nightshot: There is not much you can complain about with the camera's low light performance. It does a very good job of capturing details as well as produces images that are quite sharp. And for such performance under poorly lit conditions we personally don’t have anything that would go against the ST5500. However you would need steady hands to take a near perfect shot.

Macro: The camera's macro range is a little disappointing as it can only focus from a minimum distance of 3.5 cm. We have seen cameras that can capture brilliant macro shots from as close as 1 cm. But as always the camera does a good job at maintaining the overall sharpness and details.

It’s been a while since we have seen cameras perform in almost all aspects. From maintaining a good color balance to capturing night scenes to possessing an overabundance of features—the Samsung ST5500 is a brilliant piece of work that needs a standing ovation. And after testing a number of cameras this is the first that actually brings in looks, performance and features that most photographers have been looking for. With an asking price of Rs 17,990 the Samsung ST5500 is definitely worth the money.   

– Sandeep Balachandran