Samsung L83T Digital Camera Review

Written by me for ComputerActive magazine India

Specs:
8.2 Megapixels
3X optical zoom
2.5 inch TFT colour LCD
ISO 1600
Face recognition AF and AE
Advanced Shake Reduction system (ASR)
Dimensions: 93.3 x 15 x 57.7 (WHD)
Weight: 110 g

Flaunting a sleek look, encased in metallic body and matte finish, Samsung L83T digital camera list looks pretty magnetic at a first glance. It has new innovative user interface combining style with elegance. Available in Silver, Red and Black models it comes with a one year warranty.

Its well designed body provides a good grip. It packs a substantial 8.2 megapixels for its class, an optical zoom of 3X supplemented with a digital zoom of upto 12X and a host of interesting features like Face recognition AF and AE, Image stabilizer (ASR), upto 1cm super macro and a high ISO of 1600. It doesn’t feature a view finder.

The ergonomics of the camera are very good. However, to have a hassle free look, it has incorporated fewer buttons with shared functions, which can be confusing and takes time to get used to. But the basic custom features, like switching in between modes, are very easily located. The more detailed features are a bit intricate. A wide 2.5 inch TFT screen has a clear display with good contrasts. The shoot button is conveniently located on top right of the body.

The Mode “M” and Effect “E” button aligned on the right of the display screen will take care of most features that an average point and shoot camera user seeks. The Function “Fn” button on the bottom right provides for detailed custom features. Besides these, as with all digital cameras, the navigation pad doubles up with regular buttons to decrease the amount of buttons on the camera.

The shutter speed ranging from 1 - 1/2,000 sec very effectively powers the capture motion setting (burst mode) and works pretty well. The auto exposure bracketing ranges from -2 to +2 (1/3EV steps). Besides Spot, Centered weight and Multi focus metering modes, it boasts of a very interesting Face Recognition AF and AE function.

The Face Recognition mode, automatically recognizes and focuses on the faces. The exposure is also automatically adjusted enabling you to take better portrait pictures. The ASR technology designed to prevent the degradation of image clarity and colour, which is sometimes found in flash photography, works good. With ASR the effects of image blur are reduced in lower light conditions.

Even though it boasts of an ISO of 1600, this domain is left with a lot to be desired. The images at ISO 1600 are of very poor quality. An ISO 800 still doesn’t match up in the acceptable range, while values of 400 and below does fine. The movie feature is definitely a plus point in its list of forte. With movie recording in the SVGA quality (800X592) size it provides wider images than the VGA (600X480) size.

It supports MMC (up to 2 GB) and SDHC (up to 4 GB) external memory cards. The camera is powered with a Li-ion battery and comes with a unique multi charging system, which means that with a single charging cable, SAC-46Kit (SAC-46, SUC-C2), you can conveniently charge the camera on a power point or a computer.

This camera is definitely worth the attention. The slim design and metallic finish makes it a good one to comfortably point and shoot and the decent build will not let it get bumped or bruised. If you want an easy camera with advanced features and stylish looks, you won’t go wrong by considering this piece.
We say:
Good points:
Slim styling and metal body
Easy to use
ASR and Face detection
Multi charging system
Good movie quality

Bad points:
Poor ISO
Functions can be crowded and confusing