A 10 MP camera from Samsung that hardly has anything to impress.

Sum and Substance:

Thumbs Up:

Good feature set; miniHDMI out; 24mm-equivalent wide-angle lens with 10x zoom.

Thumbs Down:

Subpar photo quality; menu system too spread out.

Inside the Trunk:

Carrying strap, Cables Included – USB cable, A/V cable.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

12.2 mega pixels, CCD Optical Sensor, 5X Digital Zoom, 10x Optical Zoom, Optical Image Stabilizer, Image Format – JPEG, Video Format – .mp4, SD Memory Card, 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery – 1050 mAh, Face detection, Date/Time Stamp, 720p HD movie recording, Blink Detection, Smile Detection, Auto Contrast Balance, Digital image stabilization, 3 inch LCD 230k dots, Highest resolution 4,000X3,000 (photos) and 1,280×720 at 30fps (Video)

Razzle Dazzle:

Samsung HZ15W has got the typical camera looks which is quite good. We reviewed the Casio Exilim EX-FC100 before this and both cameras don’t have anything that is out of the box in the looks department but we aren’t complaining much. We have tested cameras which looked great on the outside but were disaster when you use it and there are others which don’t look that good but are great with the inside-quality. Behind the camera is three inch LCD with 230 k dots. This camera is a little bigger than your average one and may struggle for a place in your tight jeans. Make sure carry this camera in a bag if you are going away for long.

Inside Dope:

Samsung HZ15W is a 10 MP camera and it is quite good, the photo quality didn’t disappoint us. But it was not impressive either. The camera can churn out photos with good detail and the sharpness. There is a command lever near the LCD which can be used to adjust exposure compensation, adjust ISO or white balance. The command lever sometimes comes in the way and there is a possibility of accidental presses while taking a picture or zooming.

There is a four way directional pad that is used for changing display information, setting a timer, entering macro and manual focus, or turning on the flash. The Menu/OK button in the centre is used for accessing basic shooting, sound, display, and system settings. There is a Function button, which goes by the name Fn and it is for context sensitive shooting. If you use the command lever for ISO or white balance, then you can use the function button for exposure compensation, which will be controlled again by the command lever. A second press of the function button takes you to shooting controls.

The camera takes 2.8 seconds to take the first picture and the subsequent pictures need a pause of 2.2 seconds. In bright conditions the focus time taken is 0.5 seconds and goes up to 0.7 seconds if it is too dark.

The available resolutions for video capture is from     320X240 to 1280X720 videos  and are stored in H.264 format. The photos are stored in JPEG format and the resolution is up to 4,000X3,000. Video quality is good but low light movies have high noise content. You can capture video in 720p mode. The available video recording modes are Smart Auto, Auto, Program, Manual, Scene, Movie, Dual IS, Beauty Shot.

Nitty Gritty:

The camera is good but there are other options in the market that are better than this. Other cameras in this class are Canon PowerShot SX120 IS, Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1. Make sure you go through both of them before buying this camera.

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