Electronics manufacturers are showcasing many of their holiday season goodies at this week’s IFA trade show in Berlin, and Samsung has taken the opportunity to show off three upcoming cameras: the unique flip-screen compact MV800, the compact superzoom WB750, and the high-end NX200 with interchangeable lenses and a 20.3 megapixel resolution.
First up, the MV800 tries something new with compact digital cameras: the 3-inch touch screen display on the back flips out, enabling photographers to easily frame their photos from any angle and unique perspectives—shoot from below, above, or flip it all the way up for self-portraits. The MV800 offers a 16.1 megapixel resolution, a 5× optical zoom, and a 26mm wide-angle lens. The camera also has a number of built-in features to make picture-taking a snap, including an on-screen Pose Guide grid for portraits, 14 artistic effects, an integrated storyboarding capability that lets users assemble photos to tell a story, and a three-shots-in-one feature that takes three rapid photos at different zoom settings for fast creativity. The MV800 will shoot MPEG4 720p high-definition video, and has a bunch of other bells and whistles: optical image stabilization, face detection, object tracking, multi autofocus, ISO sensitivity down to 3200, HDMI output, and SD/SDHC card support. Samsung hasn’t announced a release date, but expect to see the MV800 with a suggested price around $280.
Next the WB750 has a more traditional camera design, but also sports an 18×’; optical zoom with 24× Smart Zoom technology, which Samsung claims makes it the longest zoom in any compact camera Samsung has ever made. The WB750 sports a 12.5 megapixel proprietary backside illuminated CMOS sensor that lowers distortion and noise even in low-light conditions. And the WB750 can be used for action shooting, snapping up to 10 frames per second in a continuous shooting mode. Other features include HD video capture (1080p at 30fps), panorama shooting, high-dynamic range (HDR) capability, on-board creative filters, intelligent face tracking, a 3-inch LCD display, HDMI output, and the ability to shoot 10 megapixel stills while shooting video. Samsung hasn’t announced any pricing or availability, but it’s a good bet they’d like this camera on the market before the end-of-year holiday buying season hits.
For folks looking for a pro-level camera, the Samsung NX200 offers a 20.3 megapixel resolution along with interchangeable lens capability and an astonishingly wide ISO range: 100–12800, covering a full seven stops. Users can get the perfect shot using Samsung’s nine i-Function lenses, which enable users to adjust camera settings from the lens without having to lose track of a shot to fiddle with menus—and with the NX200, that control extends to six different smart filters and intelli-Zoom. Samsung will be offering 18–200mm, 16mm, 60mm, and 85mm focal length i-Function lenses—and Samsung looks like it’ll be shipping the NX200 with an 18–55mm lens. The NX200 sports a 3-inch LCD display and can shoot 1080p high-definition video with stereo sound, an optional GPS module can add geotagging functions, can handle panorama shots, and claims to be easy enough for even first-time users. Again, Samsung hasn’t announced availability, but the new iFunction lenses should start appearing now through October, and the NX200 should carry a suggested retail price of about $900.
