Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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138 of 140 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great little camera with some really neat features, June 22, 2009
Length:: 9:10 Mins
If you are like me you prefer to see a camera in person and to hold it in your own hands before you purchase it. I made this video review hoping that it could serve as a "virtual" hands-on demo. I go through some of the Samsung's major features and even demonstrate a few in the field. I hope that this review helps you in your decision making process.
Lowerpro Ridge 30 Digital Camera Bag (Artic Blue)
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Versatile Super-Zoom Digital Camera, May 29, 2009
PROS
HDMI connection terminal
In-camera cropping
In-camera trimming of video clips
10x optical zoom
Lightweight
Crisp viewing from LCD
CONS
No dedicated battery charger
Unusual placement of flash adjacent to grip
Short charging cable (2 feet)
Average sound quality for a camera but below average for someone looking for a camcorder
INTRODUCTION
I am a casual user who prefers size, convenience and function over versatility of SLR cameras. I have been using digital cameras since the 1.2 MP era in the late 1990s. My most recent camera prior to this model was the Panasonic Lumix TZ-5 with 9 MP and 10x optical zoom.
WHAT IS IN THE BOX?
Camera
User manual
AC adapter
Rechargeable battery
Audio Video Cable
Carrying Strap
CONSTRUCTION
The metallic body has a black matte finish with a grip on the right side. The grip is textured which decreases the chance of slipping from my hand. It is slightly heavier than my TZ-5 and really requires two handed operation to keep it steady.
On the top of the camera, there is a power button, speaker, zoom lever, and mode dial. The flash is on the same side as the grip which is something that you need to be congnisant of when using flash. In the bottom of the unit, there is a centrally placed tripod unit which is more stable than eccentric placement that I have had on other cameras. The Battery chamber holds the battery and memory card. The back of the camera has a nice vivid color screen, a multidirectional keypad, command lever, function/delete key, play button and effect button. On the right side of the unit a USB, AV and DC terminal are located towards the top.
The command lever allows for custom exposure control, ISO/white balance and Aperture/shutter speed.
The unit has 21 MB of internal memory and is guaranteed to work with up to 8 GB. The built in memory does not allow for more than 5 photos at the highest resolution.
OPERATION
Setup of the camera is easy and intuitive. You initially set up the camera by entering your language (English, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Italian) and the Time and date.
I set my command lever for white balance but you can also set it for exposure levels.
Operation of the camera includes full automatic mode, program mode, manual mode, Scene, beauty shot , movie and smart auto. There are a few scene modes including landscape, self shot, children, beach/snow, and fireworks, just to name a few. The mode is set by using the control dial at the top of the unit. What I like about this camera over my Panasonic Lumix TZ-5 is that the dial actually locks into place, as opposed to inadvertently switching me to another mode (big advantage in my opinion). Beauty shot mode allows you to clear facial imperfections (this is the first that I have experienced something like this).
This camera has good low light sensitivity with both video and photographs.
This camera uses an SDHC card up to 32 GB. With a 1 GB card, you can take 404 pictures at the highest resolution or 780 photos at 5 MP. At the highest quality movie, you can record 8 minutes 20 seconds at 1280 HQ, 30 Frames per second.
Battery life by the manufacturer is about 140 minutes for stills only and 125 minutes for movie mode, so I recommend a second battery for backup when travelling or taking videos of your child's rehearsal, for example. Unfortunately, this has no supplied battery charger, so you have to plug the camera into the wall.
The glossy LCD screen is comprehensive showing icons for remaining battery life, shots remaining on camera, metering, ISO, color saturation, date/time, flash status, zoom level, and histogram (there are other functions revealed but I mentioned what I feel are important). The quality of the images viewed on the LCD is vivid and crisp.
The camera can take 1.5 frames per second in high speed mode or one picture at a time, aside from the continuous and motion capture mode (6 shots per second for 5 seconds).
Image stabilization is good but there are times that I would still get motion blur.
There seems to be a long refractory time between photographs when flash is being used. Shutter lag is average to other point and shoot cameras that I have used.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographs are stored in JPEG, EXIF, DPOF. Color effects include normal, black and white, sepia, red, green, blue, negative and custom color.
Recharging time for the battery is about 5 seconds when freshly charged.
Viewing photos by normal display or thumbnails is intuitive. I like the ability to crop the photo within the camera - it's like having a built in photo-editor. You can also view photos by slide show, which I use to play back when we go on trips.
Shutter speed on automatic mode runs from 1/8 to 1/1,500, on program mode from 1 to 1/1,500, manual from 16 to 1/1,500. ISO equivalents are from 80 to 3200.
VIDEO
The video mode allows for zooming while filming. Zoom is smooth in transition.
Video is stored in MP4 (H.264(MPEG4.AVC). Audio is saved as a WAV file.
Video clips are set by determining your image size from 1280x720 HQ to640x480 to 320x240. Maximum recording time per clip is 29 minutes. Frame rate can be set based upon resolution. Videos can be recorded with or without sound.
Sound quality from the microphone is decent but not as sensitive as a conventional camcorder.
A nice feature of the movie playback is the ability to trim clips, if they are longer than 10 seconds. So in-camera processing is relatively painless.
PLAYBACK ON TELEVISION
Image size for playback includes 1080i, 720p, 480p, and 576p.
SOFTWARE
System recommendations for the USB support on Windows:
Pentium III 800 Mhz
Windows 2000/XP/Vista
Greater than 1 GB
MS Direct X 9.0 C
The recommendations for USB support on Mac:
Power Mac G3 or later
Mac OS 10.3 or later
110 MB hard drive space
>512 MB RAM
The software is rudimentary allowing for photo organization, inserting text, effects, narrations, and music files to a movie clip. It is not quite a full featured program like iMovie on my Mac.
CONCLUSION
Overall, this is a powerful camera for its relatively compact size. Its limitations for video include low sensitivity for the microphone and just an average shutter lag.
Highly recommend for an all purpose camera and casual videography.
UPDATE June 13, 2009
I was at the beach last weekend and I took a picture of the clouds. With the 12 Megapixel resolution, I was able to zoom into the picture and see very good detail of people (who were in the distance). So even though you probably would not print a 30x40" picture, you can zoom in and crop small details of your photograph. I have also found that using the in-camera crop feature, that I can edit out 'bystanders' in photos without having to resort to Photoshop Elements.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well designed. Great features. Results good, not great., May 30, 2009
Having owned a Panasonic TZ5 for over a year, when I received the HZ15W, physically they look like siblings. The HZ15W is loaded with features, that my TZ5 just doesn't have though. Notably, manual controls, and a wider 24mm lens. The first negative thing I noticed about the HZ15W was apparent as soon as I opened the box. The included proprietary USB cable is no longer than maybe 2'. Since it's needed to attach the camera to a computer, I found this ridiculous. When I was ready to load the pics from the camera to my desktop computer, the cable would not even reach my computer desk. I had to place the camera under my desk, on top of the computer to attach it. Enough about the cable though. After charging the battery, I set out and took about 100 pictures in all different conditions and modes. The battery started showing a low charge after about 100 pictures and a few minutes of video, which I consider fair at best. I found the camera very easy to use, and the controls well laid out. Settings were easy to find in the menus. After loading the pictures onto my computer, and printing a couple out, the results were mostly good, but there were some things I was disappointed in. Mainly in the "detail" of outdoor photos taken at ISO 80. There seemed to be a lot of blown detail, that shouldn't happen at a low ISO. Apparently Samsung has squeezed too may MP into the HZ15W's small sensor. I took several of the same pictures with my TZ5. the TZ5 was never known for "fine detail", but IMO it had maintained more detail than the Samsung. This was very surprising and disappointing to me. One thing the Samsung excelled out was color. I thought the colors were among the best of any P&S camera I own. I took a few minutes of video, and it was "good" when viewed on my wide screen monitor. Sound was fair at best. About on par with the video of the Panasonic. All in all, the HZ15W is a good camera loaded with awesome features. I was slightly disappointed with the image detail, but it's still a good choice for casual photography.
Pros:
Great 24mm wide angle 10x Schneider lens.
Manual controls.
Good 3" screen.
Generally good results under all conditions. Great color.
Well built and designed.
Cons:
Short proprietary USB cable is a joke.
Battery life nothing special.
Pictures lack fine detail at low ISO.
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