SAMSUNG WB1000

First Class WB1000

Samsung Digital Imaging released 13 new products, and changed the whole compact camera line-up. The goal was to invent cameras for anyone to easily take good pictures with, so they made 13 different cameras with various design, specifications, and features. And the last but least is WB1000. WB1000 is the first class out of new VLUU line-up, with attractive specifications and features. It is the first class camera coming out in the first year of newly starting Samsung Digital Imaging, so it’ll become a barometer for Samsung’s technology and possibility in the future. For the first time, it has introduces 5x optical zoom with 3 inch AMOLED screen and 24mm wide angle.

　

24mm ultra-wide zoom lens

WB1000’s Schneider lens starts from 24mm wide angle. Compared to regular cameras which start from 35mm, it provides attraction of wider view. At the same time, it extended the zoom up to 120mm. So it has 24-120mm in 35mm equivalent, 5x optical Schneider zoom lens. And it starts from as bright as F2.8. Lens, the most fundamental factor, is the best grade. And it also provides full manual exposure feature with which you can control aperture and shutter as you want. You may control the aperture and shutter using Smart dial, which is a convenient interface. There’re A/S/M exposure mode, USER mode with a user’s setting, and Smart auto mode which automatically applies the optimal shooting condition by recognizing the circumstances.

　

3 inch hVGA AMOLED

For the first time in the world, it adopted AMOLED type display device in digital camera. Compared to TFT LCD which is usually used in cell phones or digital cameras, it’s about 1000 times faster and is well seen in bright places since it shines itself, and its energy consumption is low. Another strength is that AMOLED can be made as 7times smaller volume than LCD. Compared to other cameras, it shows the screen pretty well even in bright outdoors. WB1000 supports 1280x720, 30 frame HD video function. And thorough HDMI connection, you can watch HD video and photos on HDTV without loss. Dual IS stabilizes image in both optical and digital way. Plus, there’s Perfect portrait system that helps portrait shots in many ways based on face detection features.

　

　

　

Stylish stainless steel

WB1000 looks a little different from former WB series style. WB series lineup have provided traditionally stable grip, wide angle, and high zoom lens. So body and grip part is usually thick, and wide barrel lens is located on the front. WB1000 also has 24mm wide angle and 5x optical zoom lens. But its body is slim and lens is also smaller than other WBs. Its surface is finished stainless steel which protects it from scratches, so it’ll stay safe for a long time. When you hold the smoothly processed body in your hand, you’ll get notice its durability. Overall, it looks more like NV series than WB. The edges are rounded, and there’s something put over the grip part for the anti-slip. In order to reinforce the grip of a slim body, hand strap loop is on the back of the camera to hold a thumb. And on the upper left side, there’s a part around the speaker, which is caved in for comfortable left-hand grip.

　

Classical body

If the former WB series had design for comfortable grip and operation, WB1000’s style focuses on classical code. There’re two color options: all-black version and silver one. In the silver version, two tones of the black and silver are matched. In the silver model, lens barrel, grip part, and the top side are black. Silver and black harmony seems a little unbalanced. Lens barrel, with Schneider logo printed, takes up much space and flash and AF assist light are placed on the top. Next to the grip part, Samsung logo is carved. And remote control reception is at the bottom. WB1000’s front looks solid without many curves, expressing its classical style.

　

　

Dash board for battery and memory

Two dash boards on the top show the classic code of WB1000. Those round boards with moving red gage display the capacity of battery and memory left. If you compare it to ca car, it’s similar to gas gage. WB1000 also provides battery and memory information on LCD like other digital cameras. But analogue boards provide you unique feelings. Three blue points for VLUU series, blue ring on lens, blue dot on shutter, and blue lamp on power button, are all applied. On the upper side of grip part, there’s a shooting mode dial so that you can easily change modes. On the back of the body, the side of the dial is exposed so you can easily handle it with your thumb. But maybe it’s too easy, because there were some occasions that the dial was turned by accident. There’re two mikes on the top. With WB1000, you can insert stereo sound to the HD video clips.

　

　

Camera with the best quality screen

WB1000’s proud AMOLDED screen is 3 inch big and has hVGA image quality with 520,000 pixels. But more important thing is its screen is AMOLED which completely different type from the cameras’ LCD is so far. AMOLED shines by itself, so it’s brighter than TFT-LCD; but consumes lower energy. And it’s slim and is seen well even in bright outdoors. If the screen of regular digital cameras is recognizable about 30% under strong sunlight, in WB1000, you can check about 70%. It’s a big difference. (about 40% difference in lux) And since its response is quick, when you move the camera or the subject moves, the screen changes smoothly in real time. It is said that it is about 3,000 times faster. It is the next generation’s display tech that solves the common problems in compact cameras, difficulty to see the screen or slow response. AMOLED, adopted in WB1000 for the first time, should be used for all cameras from now on. AMOLED screen is better seen that TFT-LCD from above or sides. It has the most satisfying screen that I’ve ever experienced from compact cameras so far.

If you play the same image on WB550 with TFT-LCD, you’ll find that it distinguishes dark and bright area accurately.

　

AMOLED and TFT-LCD

TFT-LCD needs back-light under color filter, but AMOLED uses chemicals that self brighten. It is 87% more precise in its expression than LCD type with back-light. It is 150% brighter and shows twice contrast, 1:10,000 and 1:5,000. In short, it is bright and clear. There’s also difference in viewing angle. When you look at it from the front, if the contrast in AMOLED is 1:10,000 and in TFT-LCD 1:5,000, TFT-LCD’s contrast drops to 1:20 in 60º. On the other hand, contrast in AMOLED stays 1:9000. You can see WB1000’s screen accurately in any angles. Since it shines itself, the screen looks clear even under strong light. TFT-LCD under 3000 lux and AMOLED under 5000 lux seem about the same. There’s a definite reason that WB1000’s screen is the best out of all the digital cameras.

Comparison between AMOLED in WB1000 and TFT-LCD in WB550

　

Wheel type Smart Dial

Because of 3 inch big AMOLED, the grip part is decreased the size of two thumbs. From the left, there’re zoom lever, menu button, Smart dial, play button, and Fn button. In Samsung cameras, WB1000 is the first one that has Smart dial. It can be turned and clicked in eight directions. When you select function, you click. When you change optional values like aperture or shutter speed/ exposure control, you turn the wheel. It is a convenient interface with which you can adjust options without clicking several times. The wheel turns very smoothly, felt quite loose. It is suitable interface for first class camera. Smart dial helps adjust many options quickly and conveniently; it heightens the efficiency of manual exposure functions.

　

　

Improved battery performance

WB550 provides lithium battery only for SLB-10A. WB1000 provides the lithium battery in the same form only for SLB-11A, but with bigger capacity. The capacity of SLB-10A is 1050mAh (3.8Wh) and that of SLB-11A, 1130mAh (4.2Wh). Since it uses AMOLED with low energy consumption, the battery stands for a long time. It uses SD card and SDHC. There’s 34-pin terminal at the bottom, so you can charge and connect to computer or AV using a connector. It supports HDMI, but you need to purchase HDMI cable and cradle separately.

　

WB1000’s classical style

It shows different style from the WB series compact cameras; it’s slim and chic. It covers from 24mm wide angle to 120mm telephoto zoom, with 21mm slim 5x zoom. It even has optical image stabilizer. NV9, a slim digital camera with inner zoom lens released last year, has similar body type, but protruding type 5x optical lens WB1000 is even slimmer than that.

Its slim base body and analogue dash boards and many decorating elements completed the classical and elaborate design. But because of many decorations, the consistency in design seems somewhat weak. My personal preference is all-black model rather than two-toned silver. WB1000 has AMOLED, outstanding lens, and strong body.

Easy-to-use WB1000

If you think highly of image quality and want to express what you want exactly, DSLR is a right choice for you. On the other hand, compact cameras are easy to use. Considering that people put purpose before price, the biggest strength of compact cameras is convenience. So the ideal compact camera is the one that is easy to use but produces good quality pictures. WB1000 is a high-end product among Samsung Digital Imaging compact cameras. It also has detailed manual features that other cameras don’t have. In this section, I’ll introduce many smart functions of WB1000.

　

　

The world of 24mm wide angle

WB1000’s x5 optical lens starts from 24mm (35mm equivalent) wide angle. It kept the 120mm telephoto zoom, widened the angle, and heightened zoom. Compared to regular compact cameras that start from 30mm or compact cameras with 28mm wide angle, it shows wider angle and view. WB1000 is the world’s first 5x optical zoom with 24mm wide angle. It can express spectacular landscape and wide open view of horizon. Since you cannot change the lens in compact cameras, the angle supported by lens can become a very important selling point. Its wide angle and telephoto zoom lens is an important attraction of WB1000.

24mm                                120mm

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24mm  Sample

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F2.8 bright lens

24-120mm 5x optical Schneider lens starts from F2.8. It is amazing that it made the bright lens in this 20mm-small lens in slim body. Its image stabilizer also helps reduce trembling, but if the lens itself is bright, there’s basically less shakes. In dark places, you’d better use F2.8 in 24mm wide angle. Thanks to fast shutter speed with bright lens and wide angle effect, you can take stable pictures. WB1000’s lens can be used with F2.8 in 24mm, and gets darker to F5.8 in maximum zoom.

　

Fast moving lens

When you press the power button, the lens comes out forward. And it takes about 1.1 seconds to do that, which is very fast. It is a protruding type lens, but as fast as an inner zoom lens. It takes about 1.2 seconds to move from 24mm to 120mm. Lens movement is fast, too. And when the lens moves, it doesn’t make much noise, so you don’t need to worry at quite places. It is convenient that you can use zoom during shooting, but the sound isn’t recorded while moving.

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Schneider lens with optical image stabilization

WB1000 has optical image stabilizer as a premium compact camera. By detecting the trembling of the camera, it moves the lens unit to the opposite direction to prevent shakes. Since it offsets trembling, the stable light reaches the sensor. Generally, OIS can stabilize image in 2-3 step slow shutter speed. Considering that it doesn’t shake in maximum zoom if it’s over 1/60 sec, obtaining 1/15 sec can stabilize images with OIS. In 24mm wide angle, you can take a shot with your hands up to 1/3 sec. There’re only two options for OIS- on or off. There’s no panning mode or always working option. The basic setting is that OIS works when the half-shutter is pressed.

OIS off, ISO80, 120mm, 1/2s   OIS on, ISO80, 120mm, 1/2s   Tripod, ISO80, 120mm, 1/2s

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High-sensitivity for fast shooting

WB1000 supports from ISO80 to ISO3200. In ISO3200, 12,200,000-pixel resolution is well kept. If you use Auto ISO option, the camera automatically adjusts within ISO80 to ISO800. If you use high-sensitivity mode, you can take successive shots without noise processing time. It only goes through the basic noise processing that is set in image processing. But, if it is shot in high-sensitivity mode with low shutter speed, noise processing for long exposure follows.

DIS (Digital Image Stabilization) for good image quality

DIS (Digital Image Stabilization) is a function that applies strong noise processing in high-sensitivity. In Dual IS mode, it is used together with OIS function. If it’s a bit bright indoors, ISO200 or ISO400, and ISO800, if in dark places, are automatically set. If you use DIS function, strong noise removal is applied, unlike normal high-sensitivity shorts. Using high-sensitivity fast shutter speed, it reduces shakes, but prevents quality drop at the same time, which is the weakness of high sensitivity. But since it takes time to process noise, successive shooting is hard. It takes about three seconds to process noise. Samsung DIS used to combine high-sensitivity and low-sensitivity shots. Compared to this former way, the processing time has decreased.

　

OIS + DIS, Dual IS

In Dual IS mode, OIS and DIS work at the same time. Normally, indoor shots can be done with over 1/30 sec shutter speed. Even though your hand shakes, OIS stabilizes light and strongly removes noise. If you used Dual IS mode, you can take stable indoor shots with less noise compared to regular high-sensitivity shots. As I explained earlier, WB1000 has bright lens, so its Dual IS shows higher effectiveness than others. In widest angle, you can get stable image under indoor light without much care. When you take pictures of kids without using strong flash, it’ll be very useful.

Applying the best shooting method by recognizing circumstances

If you lightly press shutter in WB1000’s Smart Auto mode, the camera selects the right Scene mode based on the circumstances. It is a smart function that camera automatically do the set-up without users’ effort. If you put focus on a subject in short distance, it automatically sets close-up mode. If you press half-shutter towards snowy landscape, it automatically set snow (white) mode. There’re 11 Scene modes for that; close-up, text close-up, landscape, snow, tripod, action, night scene, night portrait, backlight, backlight portrait, and portrait. A variety of Scene modes is its strength. Out of those, portrait-related mode, close-up, and landscape show high success rate. Action and tripod mode have low success rate. Each Scene mode in Smart Auto adjusts focus or exposure options according to scenes. I expect that this feature will get stronger by adding detailed color expression soon.

TEST : Smart Auto mode

　

WB1000’s Perfect Portrait System

The main purpose of compact cameras is portrait shots. Most of the time, a camera is evaluated based on the result of portrait shots. Based on face detection features, Samsung has invented and improved various functions to heighten success rate and satisfaction of portrait shots. All of those functions together are called Perfect Portrait System, and WB1000 has that, too. Not only Face detection, it has Smile shot, Self Guide, Blink detection, and Beauty shot that edits skin tone and texture.

Face detection function option

　

Increased success rate of face detection

There’s a Face detection function that detects faces on adjust focus and exposure accordingly. It has become the common function in most of digital cameras. However, what matters is its detection rate. Compared to the first time Samsung has introduced the Face detection function, Samsung’s newly released ones show success rate improved more than 50%. Within 2-3m distance, which is normal for portrait shots, it detects faces with no exceptions. However, if the face is tilted or seen in too small size, the camera may not detect it. It cannot be said to be in the best level compared to other cameras.

Increased success rate of face detection

Smile shot that takes smiley faces

It offers Smile shot function that detects faces and automatically takes pictures of smiley faces. You can’t set the degree of smile, but when it takes a shot when your lips smile a little. But it differs depending on people’s faces, and there can be a little gap between detecting the smile and actually taking a shot. It is good that you can leave a happy moment as a photo. If you go on a trip with family or a lover, it would be good to turn on the Smile shot. You can press the shutter when you want to take a picture, and it automatically takes pictures of smiling moment; so you can leave pleasant memory as a record.

Beauty shot for bright and clean faces

Beauty shot, one of the features in Perfect Portrait System, has become independent Scene mode. When you use Beauty shot mode, the camera automatically edits the subject’s skin tone and saves the image. The fact that it’s not afterwards-editing but on-the-process editing is unique. There’re two editing options- skin brightness and texture. You can set those in three levels. It is convenient since you don’t need Photoshop to remove your facial flaws and brighten it. If you enjoy uploading portraits on your homepage, you’ll love this feature.

Automatically editing skin tone and brightness and saving

　

A camera for anyone to take pictures easily

Every camera maker probably would want to develop a camera for anyone to take good pictures with. WB1000 is also developed for users to take good pictures easily with its features and various technologies. I’ve emphasized this many times, but its24mm bright zoom lens will help you produce good images for landscape and portraits. And it has DIS which that adds noise processing to high sensitivity for better indoor shots. Plus, there’s OIS that stabilizes images by moving the lens. Bright lens and Dual IS make indoor shots stable, and it can be said the best among compact cameras. Samsung was not the first one to adopt face detection and Smart Auto function, but its completeness is rapidly growing to chase other brands. In 2009, the features are even more improved. Another strength of Samsung cameras is they have most of features that other cameras have. Self Guide and Beauty shot functions are Samsung’s exclusive. I hope that it will keep tuning the accuracy of features and provided options.

A                             B                           C

A. Regular shot in backlight, face looking dark

B. Face detection shot in backlight, automatically detecting the face and shooting it brightly

C. Smart Auto Backlight Portrait in backlight, detecting backlight and automatically turning flash on

Powerful features and convenient interface

It is hard to meet a compact camera with manual functions these days. That’s because most people use DSLR for manual functions. However, DSLR users also use a convenient sub-camera that is easy to carry every time. They hope for a complete manual functions in a compact camera. WB1000 has a manual exposure mode with which you need to set aperture and shutter, aperture first, and shutter first mode. The types of features are important, but what’s more important is how convenient to use those. If you have to adjust aperture and shutter speed one by one using the 4-directional button, it’s not that useful. In order for users to use manual functions easily, WB1000 offers Smart dial interface. So it has powerful manual functions and convenient interface to use them. A compact camera that can also satisfy professionals is a WB1000’s core aspect.

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Smart dial and OK button

DSLRs that are better than middle grade usually have dials to control aperture and shutter one on the front and another on the back, so users don’t need to keep an eye off the view screen. With WB1000, you look at the screen instead of the view finder, so it doesn’t need dials both on front and back. However, button clicking type should better be avoided in compact cameras. So it chose a Smart dial that keeps horizontal with the back side. Instead of 4-directional button, this dial can be turned to clockwise or anticlockwise. And it also detects the click of 8-directional pressure. It is called Smart dial because wheel and button type are combined here. Through Smart dial, you can move through menu, select options, turn over photos, and select aperture, shutter speed, and exposure value. In M mode where you can control both aperture and shutter speed, press OK button to change modes. Users’ thumb does not slip to other sides, and every option can be controlled quickly and easily on a small dial. I think that it has the most convenient interface among the compact cameras that I have used recently. I’d like to give a high credit to the OK button in the middle of the dial with which you can control aperture and shutter speed.

Live view and manual features in AMOLED

Compared to TFT-LCD, AMOLED can express color accurately and helps to utilize manual functions in outdoors. In M mode, if you changes aperture and shutter speed, you can check the expected image brightness on the screen. AMOLED displays the change in the screen more accurately and quickly compared to other compact cameras. Thanks to the screen’s outstanding quality, WB1000’s manual functions are easier to use. First you turn the Smart dial to adjust aperture and shutter speed. And then when the screen looks in the appropriate brightness, press the shutter. You don’t need to depend on only the experience to expect the combination of aperture and shutter speed according to lights. You’ll rarely fail even if you take pictures depending only on the AMOLED’s brightness. WB1000’s outstanding screen and convenient interface will heighten the value of manual functions.

　

Live view and manual features in AMOLED

Compared to TFT-LCD, AMOLED can express color accurately and helps to utilize manual functions in outdoors. In M mode, if you changes aperture and shutter speed, you can check the expected image brightness on the screen. AMOLED displays the change in the screen more accurately and quickly compared to other compact cameras. Thanks to the screen’s outstanding quality, WB1000’s manual functions are easier to use. First you turn the Smart dial to adjust aperture and shutter speed. And then when the screen looks in the appropriate brightness, press the shutter. You don’t need to depend on only the experience to expect the combination of aperture and shutter speed according to lights. You’ll rarely fail even if you take pictures depending only on the AMOLED’s brightness. WB1000’s outstanding screen and convenient interface will heighten the value of manual functions.

24mm F2.8 Maximum exposure              24mm F7.2 Minimum exposure

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Shutter speed that captures the flow

With compact cameras, shutter speed change is more effective than aperture control in manual function. It’s because the aperture range is not that wide in small lens. On the other hand, the effect from shutter speed is not that different from DSLR. If you slow the shutter speed in bright outdoors, you can express the flow of people’s movement. In this case, use shutter speed mode which automatically sets apertures once you set a desired shutter speed.

Different image quality depending on aperture

Better lenses show less quality drop even with much exposure. So far, I haven’t done aperture test because it was impossible to control aperture in compact cameras. But you can control it in WB1000, so I’ve done some test for comparison. Normally, when you open aperture, image quality drops. But the result of the WB1000 test showed that the image quality was better when I opened the aperture than when I closed it. In the minimal closure, it showed lens diffraction. and ideal quality seems to be between F2.8 to F5.6. In the Auto mode, it is usually set for the best, so it’s ok to leave it Auto.

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12,000,000-pixel stable image quality

WB1000’s resolution is the best quality that 12,000,000 pixels can ever express. In the chart, it definitely distinguished up to 2000^th sample. Samsung IT100 with 28mm, 5x optical zoom distinguished 20^th vertically, but couldn’t reach 1800^th horizontally. 24mm, 5x optical lens is more disadvantageous condition, but WB1000 shows superior resolution. Both of them are from Samsung, but premium camera has the lens that performs better.

Central and peripheral image quality

A camera with wide angle must produce good image quality in wide angle. That’s what WB1000 is like. In 24mm widest angle, it shows stable expression not only in central area but also the peripheral area. Dropping of the quality in peripheral area is inevitable in wide angle, but that area is very small and minute. Out of the competing models that offer wide angles, I think this one shows the best stability.

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Stable image quality in zoom

It looks both stable in central and peripheral area in 120mm maximum zoom, too. Since the wide angle feature is so outstanding, the capacity of telephoto may not stand out. But it is also excellent as 24mm 5x optical lens. It offers attractive angle with high-quality lens.

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Ability to pick out the light

IT100 was not able to pick out strong light well. But WB1000’s lens is great even in backlight. In backlight or tilted light, it rarely showed diffused reflection or quality decline. In the image that keeps the glittering light of backlight, the expression in dark area is not lost. It is a rare occasion that digital cameras have the clarity of Schneider lens.

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Stable White Balance tuning

WB1000 is invented to satisfy sensitive high-end camera users. So its white balance function is tuned in detail compared to other Samsung cameras. You won’t see white balance inconsistent or unstable. It is stable in bright area or shadow, or under artificial light. In addition, there’re various white balance settings, so you can adjust it through color matrix in Preset mode. And there’s also Custom white balance and Color temperature setting mode.

Auto white balance       /       Cloudy Preset         /       Cloudy Preset+White Balance

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Detailed color tuning

Along with White balance, color expression is tuned in detail. Thanks to that, it shows accurate colors based on the stable White balance. Vivid color looks clear, and medium tone looks stable. It looks simple and refined rather than splendid. Personally, I feel that the blue tone seems to be brightly tuned compared to the former models. And overall balance seems to get very stable. There’s nothing to pick at the color expression. On the other hand, the unique feelings have become weaker.

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From ISO80 to ISO3200

It supports from low-sensitivity ISO80 to high-sensitivity ISO3200. There’s no resolution limit in ISO3200. It looks quite clear in ISO80, ISO100, and ISO200. In ISO400, noise starts to appear. But considering it’s a compact camera, it is still stable; the particles are minute and unnoticeable. In ISO800 and ISO1600, the noise increases. ISO800 seems to be the suitable sensitivity you may use without concerns. In the standards of compact cameras, it seems stable.

　

Photo style

Eight preset Photo styles are provided, so you can change the color tone in many ways. The frequently used ones are Vivid mode with strong color tone, Cool mode, and Calm mode. The last option is Custom RGB with which the user can select the level of RGB channel.

　

WB1000 for better pictures

Not only it has the attractive angle, its lens is very stable. It shows stable expression in outdoors with strong light. White balance and color are clear, too. Recent compact cameras with high pixels don’t express great details when you look at the imaged 100% enlarged. However, WB1000’s image processing is good enough to express details well. If you look the several original images linked, you’ll see that how great the image quality of WB1000 is. Attractive angle, high image quality, good features, and convenient interface make the impression of WB1000 as a good camera to take pictures.

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1280x720, 30fps HD quality video

It has HD video feature that records videos in 30fps in 1280x720. You can use zoom during shooting, but when the zoom movers, the sound isn’t recorded. Through the two mikes on the top, lively stereo sound is recorded. However, the sound through the small mike isn’t spectacular. Considering it’s a compact camera, its image quality is fairly good. It shows smooth movement, expressing the details well. It uses H.264 Codec. If you purchase a cradle separately, you can connect HDMI to HDTV, so you can enjoy HD quality video clips without loss.

　

Smart Album and Recycle bin

You can turn over images using Smart dial in Play mode. And you can sort the images under various categories- by file names, dates, etc. Dates can be specified by days or weeks. Also, there’s a unique arrangement by color spectrum which analyzes the color tone of images. In addition, when you deleted images by mistake, you can restore those using recycle bin function. When you delete an image, it goes to recycle bin folder in the internal memory and can get restored later.

　

CRITIQUE : Samsung Digital Imaging WB1000

Attractive 24mm Schneider lens

For me, 24mm wide angle was a big attraction of WB1000. 28mm is good, but 24mm is even more satisfying. When the angle gets wider, the image can carry more stories into it. With WB1000, you can express special landscape and be able to select the angle. Not only that, the capacity of Schneider lens is better than expected. 24mm-120mm high zoom in small size! It is small but stable. It deals with strong light well and gives clear expression. There’s some color difference on leaves part, but not that much. WB1000’s 5x optical Schneider zoom lens is perfectly satisfying.

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3 inch hVGA AMOLED

I even question why they didn’t use AMOLED sooner. AMOLED is much greater than LCD. AMOLED solves the compact cameras’ long-standing problem- not seen well in where it’s bright. With WB1000, you can check the screen in bright places relatively well. Since it has wide angle, you can check the screen from various directions without turning the screen. LCD spends the most of energy in digital camera, but since its energy consumption is low, the battery lasted longer. From now on, it is expected all the cameras will adopt AMOLED type. WB1000 was the first one.

　

A compact camera with various manual functions

It has a manual mode with which you can adjust both aperture and shutter speed, and aperture first, shutter first mode. It is a rarely seen feature in compact cameras. It is a compact camera that can satisfy professional users, so you can tune white balance and control colors in detail. It selected Smart dial that senses 8-deirectional clicks, so it’s easy to control many features. The convenience of features and operation is almost as good as DSLR. But the effect that manual functions can create is not as big as DSLR. Rather than using it all the time, you’d better use it for special intention. The combination of outstanding AMOLED and manual exposure function is outstanding.

　

Diverse speed

The speed for turning on, zooming, and saving is all satisfying. It’s fast to turn the camera on, control zoom, and take a shot. One thing disappointing is its AF sometimes fails. Especially in close-up shot, the focus is often pushed back than the desired point. To solve this problem, it supports selective AF for you to move the focus point and manual focus function. Also, it has Smart dial, so you can control focus easily.

Focus has been pushed backward.

　

Smart Auto that recognizes the circumstances

Smart Auto mode automatically selects the optimal Scene mode that is suitable for the current circumstance. What’s important in Smart Auto mode is the ability to detect the circumstances. A variety of Scene modes is strength of WB1000 Smart Auto mode, but it seems that its detection rate is not high enough. It’s ok in close-up, portrait, and night scene modes, though. Exposure, focus, and flash are adjusted in Smart Auto mode. I wish color tone or white balance, which affect the atmosphere of photos, would be added later.

　

Perfect Portrait System

A variety of features related to portrait shots in Samsung is the best. If you utilize Face detection with Smile shot, Beauty shot, or Self Guide, you can get much help in portrait shots. From now on, they have to focus on improving the success rate and adding options. It is a little disappointing that it doesn’t have a function to detect frequently appearing faces like ST10.

　

Dual IS in high sensitivity

AS a first class camera, it has OIS function, so it makes 120mm telephoto more useful. Since you can use F2.8 bright lens, it rarely trembles. It supports from ISO80 to ISO3200, and noise restraint in high sensitivity is stable. However, it’s not the best level. If you use Dual IS mode, noise is reduced more than regular high sensitivity, since DIS adds noise reduction to high sensitivity. But its effect is not that big. Anyways, it is one step ahead than a competing model which has DIS combination of regular sensitivity and optical image stabilizer.

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Classical body

There’s an analogue dash board on the top that displays the remains of battery and memory. Including the dash board, its overall style is classical. It used stainless steel with high durability, and hair-lined finish is cool. It looks solid and classically stylish. In silver model, black is partially used for top of the body, lens barrel, and grip part, looking a little unbalanced. Since it used the former body design and added some points, it seems not so unique. I wish there would be new design which has balanced style in next line.

　

World Best WB1000

It seems for sure that it’ll be the best compact camera released in 2009. WB1000 is qualified for its lens specifications, screen quality, accurate functions, convenient interface, stable image quality, and HD video function. These many strengths are all in a small digital camera. It is one of the few compact cameras that produce satisfying photos. It’ll be perfect as a sub-camera for DSLR users. I’ve been curious about what WB stands for. But looking at WB1000, I’ve started thinking that it might stand for ‘World Best’ I cannot help but admit that WB1000 is the most superior one in the first half of 2009.