Samsung Presents 5 Digicams

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 1/19/2011

Seoul, South Korea - Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday the global launch of five digital cameras, including three additions to the ultra-slim series.


The ST6500 ($230) is a 5x, 16-megapixel point-and-shoot that is said to have a rounded "liquid" body design, and the ST30 ($100) is a low-cost, ultra-compact model with 3x zoom and 10-megapixel resolution. Both cameras ship in March.

The new ultra-slim cameras measure 16.5mm (ST90) or 17mm (ST95 and ST65), and a feature a design that is said to improve the overall usability and function.

Features include a 26mm wide lens on the ST95 and ST90, and a 27mm wide lens on the ST65 plus a 5x optical zoom lens. Resolution levels include 16 megapixels for the ST95 and 14 megapixels for the ST90 and ST65.

All have a Smart Auto system that chooses from 16 different landscape and portrait modes (15 modes on the ST65) to automatically select the appropriate settings for conditions.

All three cameras also have 720p HD movie recording, and the ST95 supports the H.264 codec as well.

The ST95 adds a newly developed Smart Touch 3.0 user interface that works on the 3-inch-wide multi-purpose LCD touchscreen.

Smart features include Smart Filter and Smart Album functions, where the Smart Filter delivers an artistic edge to both still shots and videos through the miniaturizing effect, compositional contrast with a vignetting filter and the fish-eye setting. The Smart Album automatically organizes photos by type, date and face recognition, to simplify image searches.

Meanwhile, the ST6500 (March, $230) features a sleek and fluid body design, angled 7 degrees to make for a more ergonomic fit in the hand.

Features include a 16-megapixel sensor, 5x zoom lens, Smart Touch 3.0 User Interface and 3-inch LCD touchscreen.

Video is captured in 720p HD format with additional voice recording, along with HD shooting and HD playback.

Also included is a built-in image editing and creative shooting tool suite, including Magic Frame capability that offers 12 predefined templates with multiple background properties to create stylish images formatted as postcards and posters.

The advanced Smart Filter 2.0 allows enhanced video-filtering features, with several professional color options.

The new ultra-compact ST30 (March, $100) incorporates is about the size of a mobile phone and features a high-quality metal body design.

Features include a 3x optical (28mm) zoom, Smart Auto focus, internal battery-charging system, image stabilization, 10.1-megapixel sensor, digital image stabilization, face detection technology, red-eye fix and facial-blinking detection.