People love to shoot themselves – on camera, that is. Take a spin through Facebook and you’ll find any number of self shots: in front of statues in Rome, riding shotgun on epic car trips, and posed with theme park mascots. All of them framed incredibly poorly.
When you don’t have a tripod or a friend, it’s the best option you’ve got – but Samsung’s trying to improve the process with its latest duo of cameras: the TL225. Besides the typical LCD in the rear, it sports an additional 1.5-inch screen up front, specifically for composing those solo shots destined for the Web.
Just center your mug in the frame and snap, the same way you would if you were behind the camera. No more shooting blind. For the group shots taken with a timer, the same screen even shows a timer, so no one has an excuse for blinking at the wrong time ever again. And for snapping shots of kids, it switches to displaying cartoony animations to keep the little ones’ attention on the camera.
Like a lot of compact cameras with gigantic rear displays, the 3.5-inch LCD on the TL225 is touch sensitive, but it also includes haptic feedback to vibrate whenever you make a selection. Other specs include a 12.2-megapixel sensor, optical image stabilization, the ability to shoot 720p HD video, 4.6x optical zoom, and a wide-angle 27mm lens.
The TL225 is available immediately for $350. Its cheaper little brother, the TL220, gets a smaller 3-inch rear screen and sells for $300. More information on both cameras can be found at Samsung.
