Samsung unveils new TL, SL, and HZ-series pocket cameras
It appears Samsung held out on us a bit at CES and has now debuted five new point-and-shoot, ultra-slim digital cameras in their TL, SL and HZ-series - all in one day!
We have a quintet of new Samsung pocket-sized cameras on our hands, all with some interesting specs, so let's break them down:
TL110 (pictured above)
- 14.2-megapixel sensor
- 5x optical zoom
- 27mm wide-angle lens
- 2.7-inch LCD screen
- Records HD 720p video at 30 fps, with H.264 compression
- Available in February
- 12.2-megapixel sensor
- 4x optical zoom
- 27.5mm wide-angle lens
- 2.7-inch LCD screen
- Records HD 720p video at 30 fps, with H.264 compression
- Available in February
- 12.2-megapixel sensor
- 5x optical zoom
- 28mm wide-angle lens
- 2.7-inch LCD screen
- Records SD 640x480 resolution video at 30 fps in AVI format
- Available in March
- 12-megapixel sensor
- 15x optical zoom
- 24mm wide-angle Schneider lenses
- 3-inch AMOLED display
- Built-in GPS with visual map-view
- Records HD 720p video at 30 fps, with H.264 compression
- HDMI connectivity
- Available in March
- 12-megapixel sensor
- 15x optical zoom
- 24mm wide-angle Schneider lenses
- 3-inch TFT LCD screen
- Records HD 720p video at 30 fps, with H.264 compression
- HDMI connectivity
- Available in March
All of these cameras come with Dual Image Stabilization already installed, composed of both optical and digital image stabilizers. These functions attempt to compesate for camera shake by shifting the lens around in opposite directions to reduce blurring.
The new Samsungs also all come with Smart Auto for both video and stills, meaning that they can automatically pick out the scene mode for you based on environmental settings. (That's bound to be wrong sometimes, but it's worth trying out.) Then there are the usual preset functions like face and blink detection, nighttime, fireworks and Samsung's special "Beauty Shot." (I am quite curious about "Dawn Backlight" as well.)
These also all go by some different names in Europe, so watch out for that. With the exception of the HZ35W, all of them seem fairly standard. Prices haven't been announced yet, but I can't see most of these being that expensive. Or at least they shouldn't be.