The Review
We haven't had a chance to fully test this product yet, but we've assembled this helpful overview of relevant information on it.
The biggest feature of Samsung's WB850F SMART camera is the WiFi connectivity that it features. This feature allows for sharing photos and videos through to social networking sites.
With the WB850F SMART camera from Samsung users get a point and shoot with some pretty features. The camera comes with a 16 megapixel BSI-CMOS sensor. The lens on the camera is Schneider-Kreuznach 21x Zoom lens of 4.1mm to 86.1mm. The aperture has a fairly normal range of F/2.8 – 5.9. You can get up to 21x with the optical zoom. It features a pop-up flash, built-in GPS, and USB 2.0 connectivity. Full HD 1080p video recording is available which can be viewed on the 3-inch AMOLED screen. The biggest feature of note on this camera is the WiFi connectivity. Samsung backs up images via their AllShare cloud platform. You can upload photos to social sites and e-mail from the camera.
Features List:
- 16 megapixels
- 21x optical zoom
- F/2.8-5.9
- GPS, USB 2.0
- Full 1080p HD
- 3-inch AMOLED screen
- WiFi
- Schneider-Kreuznach 4.1mm to 86.1mm lens
Digital Trends’ Camera Buying Tips:
Flexibility and Options: SLR or Point-n-Shoot?
Lens Flexibility: Point-and-shoot cameras offer a wide variety of zoom lenses from the basic 3x up to 26x. If you’re thinking compact, you have many options, but we recommend starting out with a basic wide-angle view (28mm or so) then multiplying that to your heart’s content. A 24x model like the Nikon Coolpix P90 even offers 28-624mm options so you can take nice group shots and zoom into subjects you can barely recognize. There are many small cameras with wide focal ranges that are easily toted around-a huge plus for point-and-shoots.
Contrastingly, DSLRs are far from compact and typically are supplied with a 3x kit lens. From there you can go crazy, spending a small fortune on interchangeable lenses. Canon and Nikon, the two biggest DSLR sellers by far, each have over 65 to choose from. And these lenses use finer glass than point-and-shoots, adding to overall quality advantage of DSLRs. The downside is that they are much heavier, bulkier and require at least a backpack to lug everything around. Still, for the professional or prosumer, DSLR is the natural fit.
Options: Most point-and-shoot digital cameras offer limited manual options for adjusting aperture (f/stops) and shutter speeds. Granted, the vast majority of amateur paparazzi out there couldn’t care less about this small range of potential adjustments, and will be perfectly happy firing away in Auto mode. But while DSLRs have Auto settings too, they also let you unleash your inner Annie Leibovitz by adjusting depth of field, blurring subjects and going wherever the creative muse takes you. If you’re looking to get more creative with photos, a DSLR is the right choice.
Don’t Buy Til You Try
One final bit of advice. Never, ever buy a camera purely on its specs or a few positive reviews. What looks good on paper, and what feels good to one person, isn’t necessarily going to be the perfect camera for you. Patronize shops that allow you to spend a lot of hands-on time with your prospective models. Cameras are extremely touchy-feely products, and the truth is that most of them include similar feature sets and take decent pictures. But they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and you’ll be spending many hours with one of them in your hands. Long-term comfort is perhaps the most important factor of all.
What are some basics I should look for?
Your new digital camera should have these key features:
- At least a 6MP imaging device for a D-SLR
- At least a 7MP imager for a point-and-shoot
- Optical zoom of 3x, not just a digital zoom
- The highest quality optics
- A large LCD screen; the more pixels, the better the quality
- The widest range for aperture (f/stops), shutter speed and ISO
- An AF Illuminator or AF Assist mode for best flash shots in dim light
- A variety of Scene Modes for more convenient shooting in a variety of situations
- Make sure you do your own ergonomic hands-on test
Memory card buying tips
Name Brand: Buying a name brand memory card can sometimes cost an extra few dollars, but along with the name comes a trustworthy company, a good warranty, a generous exchange policy and a reputation for stability – something that’s much more critical than it sounds.
Speed: Not all Flash Memory cards are created equal. Some are terribly slow and others are turbo charged for high-end digital photography. True high-speed Flash Memory cards will have their speed ratings prominently displayed, whether on the card itself, the product packaging or both. You’ll see ratings like 80X, 133X, 266X, or perhaps 8MB/second, 20MB/second or 40MB/second. If you don’t see this number, inquire with a sales rep. If they don’t know or if the manufacturer hides this info, don’t buy the card. Look for a card that has at least a 9MB/second or 60X rating. Why is this speed important? If you’re taking numerous photos in succession, you don’t want the camera to stop taking photos so it can slooowwly save the images to the memory card.
Storage capacity: There are many factors that affect how many photos you can store on a single card – how many “megapixels” the camera is rated for, whether you’ve selected highest-quality photo settings or if you’ve set your camera to take slightly smaller photos. For example, an 8 megapixel Canon point-and-shoot camera can fit around 2,200 high-quality photos on an 8GB Secure Digital card. By this standard, even a 1GB memory card could hold up to 275 high quality photos. A whopping 16GB card could hold nearly 4,400 pics! That’s a lot!
What Should I look for in an LCD Display?
Camera manufacturers market display size quite prominently because it’s easy to visualize, but other factors also come into play. Resolution (usually measured in the number of pixels, like 461K) will determine how clear the display looks, and brightness will help determine whether it gets washed out when shooting outdoors. An optical viewfinder makes a great backup when shooting with a less-than-ideal LCD.
LCD screens are measured diagonally and 2.5 inches is a common size. We prefer even larger ones, up to 3 inches. If your eyesight is a bit challenged, definitely look for a larger LCD. Screens are measured in pixels, just like image size. Again, the more pixels, the better the image you’ll see on screen.
