Samsung Camera IT100 Review

Like cell phones, it seems that soon there will be a camera per person. (Most of users from teens to those in their thirties own their own digital cameras. Unlike the past, older people over forties also start to use digital cameras since it is not that difficult to operate them now. Actually, I bought a camera for my mother, who is 60, and she enjoys using it.) In this trend, camera makers have released various products to meet many people’s tastes, so it becomes harder to choose one out of so many choices.

Like cell phones, it seems that soon there will be a camera per person. (Most of users from teens to those in their thirties own their own digital cameras. Unlike the past, older people over forties also start to use digital cameras since it is not that difficult to operate them now. Actually, I bought a camera for my mother, who is 60, and she enjoys using it.) In this trend, camera makers have released various products to meet many people’s tastes, so it becomes harder to choose one out of so many choices.

You must be curious about its functions. Now let’s take a look at the basic functions and image quality of photos and videos in this review.

@ This is made for test, so it may differ from the actual product on sale.

You are looking at FULL KIT and you can find there’re lots of accessories provided. There’re quick manual, S/W CD (Samsung Master, Quick Time Player 7.5, Adobe Reader, and manual included), hand strap, battery, power adapter, USB cable, and AV cable. @ As a camera with 720P HD video recording function, it supports HDMI output. But, in order to use HDMI output, you need to purchase a cradle separately.

Its size is 94.5 x 58.9 x 22.5mm, and weight 155g, which is a bit weighty. (Of course it fits into one hand, so its portability is great. Unlike other cheaper products, it has good grip and the appropriate weight helps stable shooting.) @ Personally, I don’t like cameras that are too light. It is not hard to realize that IT100 is high-quality product when you feel the texture and weight with your hands.

Its design is quite different from ST50 or ST10 that I reviewed right before. It looks quite masculine. (Of course it still looks refined. It is made of stainless steel and hairline processed, making it look strong and solid. And metal finish anodizing looks luxurious.) @ Personally, it is the best design within all the models from Samsung Digital Imaging that I reviewed.

You can look at the protruding type lens that supports 5x optical zoom on the front side. (It supports 28mm wide, and you can do wide shooting more comfortably than with regular cameras of 35mm or higher. It supports 28-140mm angle in 35mm film equivalent, so it can cover all wide angle, standard, and zoom. Also, it supports Dual IS, so you can get high-quality pictures under any situation.)

On the upper left side, there’s a built-in flash. (It supports auto, red eye reducer, compulsory flash, slow syncro, no flash, and red eye removal.) On the upper right side, there’s a reception for the remote control which is on sale; also AF assist light and self-timer lamp are there.

It is noticeable that there’s a dual mike on the upper side. (Unlike other cameras’ mono sound, it records stereo sound through two mikes.) There’s a speaker on the center, and power button and shutter button on the right side. (Thanks to LED on the power button, it is easy to notice the operating situation.) @ Its initial operating time is very fast. You can take a shot within two seconds after pressing power button.

The back part also looks as classy as the front part. (It uses NON frame type like recently released digital TV or notebook, looking neat.) It has 230,000 pixels and 3 inch TFT LCD, offering good view. (Since LCD’s is big and clear, you can distinguish subject in detail.) On the right side, there’re zoom button, mode dial, status check LED, menu and cross button for your convenience. (I could control those with one hand.) @ Compared to other products where you select mode at UI, it was a lot easier and faster to choose mode. It is best in its speed.

On the bottom of the camera, there’re mount hole for tripod and 34-pin terminal. (While most other cameras use 20-pin, it uses 34-pin terminal. IT100 used 34 pin because it considered the use of cradle when it was designed. On its side, there’s a memory slot for 8GB SDHC (It supports 76MB built-in memory so there’s no inconvenience when there’s no memory.) and a battery.

There’s a strap loop on the left side. (If you link a strap that is included, you can use it for outdoor shooting for support.)

As you can see in the photo, the size is very small. (It fits right into one hand; it is similar size as cell phones or premium MP3.)

There are accessories all included in the package: AV cable, USB cable, power adapter (USB type, you can use it for other machines.), battery, hand strap, quick manual, S/W CD, etc.

We’ve looked at its design and features. Now let’s take a look at the various functions that it supports through UI.

This is how main screen looks like. Like most digital cameras, it displays set mode and shooting information.

It basically supports eight modes. There is ‘Smart Auto’ that automatically detects scene and produces satisfying pictures without extra set-up, also Auto Program mode, etc. Plus, it not only supports DIS but DUAL IS. Also, it supports ‘shooting guide’ mode that helps beginners to learn how to use the camera easily. Using ‘Beauty shot’ mode, you can take beautiful portrait shots.

Lastly, it offers video recording function. (It supports HD video recording, which could be used as a camcorder. We’ll go over it below.)

When you set a mode, icon on the upper left side changes according to mode. (For taking photos, the structure of UI is similar most of the cases.) @ Smart Auto detects scenes and automatically set mode like Macro, Macro text, White, Landscape, Action, Tripod, Night scene, Night portrait, Backlight, Backlight portrait, portrait, etc. It could be said Auto Scene mode.

In shooting guide, it displays the guide in text and photo, helping beginners to take good pictures under any circumstance. Also it offers scene mode that sets conditions according to each environment. (Night scene, Portrait, Children, Landscape, Text, Close-up, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Firework, Beach/Snow, and Frame guide)

Unlike beauty shot function that is included in Scene mode, it supports separate ‘Beauty shot’ mode, which enables detailed setting. (Face tone and retouch can be done in three degrees. Please see the result of Beauty shot in the following test part.)

Lastly, let’s take a look at the video recording mode. As you can see at the picture, video size and shooting speed can be set freely. And it supports OIS function. Many other products only support SD, but IT100 supports 720p HD video in 1280x720 resolution, enabling high quality movie clips. (You can connnect it to HDMI using cradle that you have to purchase separately. It is good enough to be used as a camcorder.)

Frequently used functions can be controlled without going into MENU. (You can directly reach there using a cross button.) You can set the display of shooting information, self-timer (There’re 2/10 sec self-timer, double self-timer which takes photo between 10 and 12 second for better result, and motion timer which detects movement 6 seconds after the shutter is pressed and captures a moment when the motion stops.) Macro for close-up shot and flash for indoor and outdoor shooting (auto, red eye reducer, compulsory flash, slow syncro, no flash, and red eye removal) are available.

In program mode, you can set every function manually. (If you select other modes, some of them are set automatically.) The photo above shows menu of various recording functions.

Photo brightness can be controlled from -2 to +2, and white balance also can be controlled in many ways. Maximum 3200 ISO is possible, so you can take a picture in dark area without flash. It also offers ACB function which revises darkness difference.

Perfect Portrait System offers various face detection functions. There’re Regular mode that detects face and sets focus and exposure automatically, Self guide that helps perfect self shots by beeping sound, Smile shot that detects smiley face and automatically takes a shot, and Blink detection that takes successive shots when it detects blinking of eyes.

It supports high resolution with12.2 mega pixels and offers various photo sizes. And there’re image quality options in three degrees. (You may choose image size or quality according to the photo capacity and quality.)

It supports not only central side light but also multi-divisional, spot side light. Also, it supports Motion capture that takes successive shots or five shots per sec (maximum 30 shots), AEB that takes three shots in a row with different exposure (standard, high, low). By setting photo style like contrast, sharpness, or saturation, you can take unique pictures.

You may set central and multi-divisional AF. It also supports Image Stabilization function. (IT100 not only support optical image stabilization but also Advanced digital image stabilization.) @ Advanced DIS: It captures one shot in high speed, and removes noise in two steps. It shortens image saving time, and prevents the saturation drop that could happen when combining images.

Voice memo can be inserted to taken photo up to 10 seconds. And if there’s spare room in memory, the voice can be recorded up to 10 hours. (It can be used as a voice recorder.)

Now let’s take a look at the sound feature. You can set the volume for sound (There’re three levels, and you can also turn it off.): start-up sound, shutter sound, and operating sound. Also, you can activate/deactivate AF sound, and set beeping sound for the self guide.

It is how menu setting looks like on the screen. You can see that it supports many languages and there’s explanation provided for options. (It helps beginners to learn about the functions.) In addition, a user can select image for start-up screen. (The user can also register his/her own image.) Screen brightness, preview time, and energy saving mode can be set. (When you set energy saving mode, LCD turns off and LED blinks and goes into saving mode if the camera doesn’t work for some time.)

Lastly, let’s take a close look at the setup menu. (You can see there’re lots of menu offered.)

It supports memory format and reset. And you can put dates and time in the photo. Also, you can set different time zone for countries and select file numbering type. (For the users like me who takes lots of pictures and tends to manage them on PC, select ‘continuous.’ If you select ‘from the first,’ the numbers can overlap.)

You can set auto power off function, and also select video output type and AF assist light activation. And you can select resolution when connecting to HDMI, and it supports USB setup menu. (You can connect it not only to PC but also directly to printer and for printing photos.) @ As I mentioned before, you can connect it to HDMI with a cradle that you need to buy yourself.

You can check photos, videos, and voices by pressing the play button at the back of the camera. (You can even check them even when it is turned off.) @ You can capture screen by pressing a cross button after pausing while recording a movie. Also, you can check the photo information using the cross button.

It supports magnifying the photos, so you can check the image in detail. It also offers a cut-out function after magnifying the images. As you can see in the photo above, it offers 20 thumbnail functions so you can easily pick a photo you want for appreciation.

It supports various sorting functions. You can sort the images under file, date (week/day), or color. (It is very troublesome to check each one of the photos when there’re hundreds of them. IT100 offers a perfect sorting function that categorizes and makes it easy to search for wanted image.)

This is an editing function in setup menu of play function. You can see that photo size can be modified (small photos cannot get bigger.) and there’re many rotating functions. Also, after shooting, you can apply photo style and image revision such as ACB, red eye removal, face retouch, brightness, contrast, saturation, and noise effect.

You may play multi-slideshow by selecting photos in photo viewing menu, and select effect, interval, background music, etc. (It’s different from simple slideshow. It’s more dynamic. If you use TV-OUT function, it will be even more satisfying.)

Through file management, you can perform deleting, protecting, voice recording, DPOF (saving photo output info in memory card MIDC folder and selecting photos conveniently and set number of sheets to print out), and copying. @ It has recycle bin function which helps restore accidentally deleted data easily.

We’ve looked into various functions that are supported through UI. Now let’s take a closer look at the advanced functions in photo and video recording, and check the image quality.

IT100 offers a variety of functions for perfect portrait shots. The photo above is taken with Beauty shot, and it looks definitely different from regular shooting. (The skin looks very clear like make-up on, and exposure is also optimized for the portrait shot. Especially, it will appeal to female users.)

It supports Smile shot function that automatically takes a shot of smiley face, and Blink detection that takes successive shots when it detects blinking of eyes. Also, there’s a self guide function that helps produce perfect self-shots by beeping sound when it detects a face. (I’m planning to focus on face detection functions in video preview, too. Please take a look.)

Unlike other products which support from 35mm, IT100 supports 28mm wide angle. As you can see in the above photo, you can take a shot of a wide area without much difficulty. And it support 5x optical zoom, so you can take distant subject well. (In my case, I use 24-85mm lens and crop body, always feeling disappointed in wide angle. So when I took a wide angle shot with IT100, I was very satisfied.)

@ It is also appealing that it supports optical image stabilization. When you use maximum zoom, it is hard to focus due to shakes. But when you set OIS, there was no unstable shot. If you set Dual IS, you’ll clearly see the difference.

Now let’s learn more about Dual IS. When I set Smart mode, flash light was on because there’s not enough exposure. This is the image taken with Dual IS mode in 1/20 shutter speed, and you can see there’s no shakes. While drop in quality and poor color expression happen under DIS, Advanced DIS displays no such noise and expresses colors perfectly.

This is an image taken with ‘Smart mode.’ The camera automatically detects various shooting environment and take a shot in the optimized status. Unlike other products with which you have to set brightness and macro, IT100 can take a shot under any situation without much extra setting from a user. (Most of recently released products support auto mode. But when you take a shot with that, many times, exposure is not right or the photo is shaken. IT100’s Smart Auto is very accurate as you can see in photos. I’d like to tell it is far more advanced mode that regular auto mode.)

I did noise test for each ISO. There’s no noise until ISO 400, and there’s little noise in ISO 800, 1600, 3200. (The photo above is resized to 600 pixels. It is ISO 3200, but it is ok for web use. Rather ISO 80/100/200 are shaken because of shutter speed, but ISO 800/1600/3200 look clear even with some noise.

This is comparison between original ISO 200 image and ISO 3200. In ISO 200, there’s little noise but it’s shaken a little. On the other hand, ISO 3200 shows some noise but looks very clear. (Out of all the Samsung Digital Imaging cameras that I’ve tested, IT shows the best result in ISO. In ISO 3200, it supports up to 2048 x 1536. And if there’s noise is this little, it can be utilized very well in real life.)

Thanks to Smart Auto and Dual IS, I could get satisfying result under any situation. As I mentioned before, exposure is very accurate, and almost no shakes or noise were discovered. Also, it is very impressive that it shows great color expression. (It is definitely distinguishable from cheaper models.)

@ If you press the photo above, you can see the original image.

As I told you at the video menu, IT100 offers 720p HD video. In the photo above, it is played connecting to FULLHD TV after video recording. Even though I used AV cable that is included in the package, the quality was very satisfying. (Unlike blur SD video, it was extremely clear. If you connect to HDMI using a cradle, you would be able to enjoy clearer image on TV.)

Users love recently released cheaper digital cameras since they offer many functions and good quality. However, there’s an obvious limitations in those models. (It doesn’t support most of advanced functions and shows much difference in image quality.)

I want to give two thumbs up for IT100 in its image quality, convenience, and functions. Smart Auto helped to get the best result in every situation, and Dual IS enabled perfect image shot without shakes even indoors or in dark area. (Optical Image Stabilization is especially attractive.) Also, there is little noise in high ISO, so you can take a shot without flash. (It is definitely distinguished from other products which just supports high ISO. Since it shows little noise, it can be utilized a lot.)

28mm wide angle and 5x optical zoom can completely cover wide angle/standard/zoom. So you can easily set an angle you want anywhere. It is impressive that it offers various functions for perfect portraits. (Not only face detection, there’re smile shot, blink detection, self guide, beauty shot, red eye removal. It would be the biggest strength as a compact digital camera.)

I think this is a camera that can give an answer to how high-end digital cameras are different from others. It is a camera that can satisfy consumers in every way with its design, image quality, and supporting functions.