Link: http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/samsung/st95/samsung-st95-review.html

Samsung ST95 Review Review posted 09/21/2011

The Samsung ST95 is an aggressively priced touchscreen digital camera that utilizes a 16-megapixel 1/2.3" image sensor, a 26mm Wide 5x optical zoom Lens, and a 3.0-inch touchscreen display to control all the camera's functions similar to an iPhone. The camera also shoots 720p HD video using the H.264 codec for longer recording. In addition, it comes with the standard array of "Smart" features including filters, an album function and automatic correction when shooting. Samsung ST95 features include:

16-megapixel 1/2.3" CCD sensor

3.0" Touch Screen LCD (Smart Touch 3.0)

5x Wide-angle lens 26 - 130mm (35mm equivalent)

Smart Auto 2.0

Smart Filter

Smart Album

720p HD video (H.264)

16 landscape and portrait modes

17mm Thick

USB 2.0 High Speed Connection

Lithium-ion rechargeable battery The Samsung ST95 comes in either black or silver, with a MSRP of $179.99 US. See our buy boxes below for the most current pricing online.

Specifications Design

Black Design

Point and Shoot Image sensor

16.1 Effective Megapixels

1/2.3″ (Approx. 7.76mm) CCD Image Sensor Type Lens

26mm wide angle lens

5x optical zoom lens

4.7 ~ 23.5mm Focal Length Display

3.0" LCD touch screen Image Stabilization

Digital Image Stabilization Smart Settings

Smart Auto 2.0

Smart Filter

Smart Album

Face/Smile/Blink Detection

Smart Crop

Smart Movie Storage

JPEG, DCF, EXIF 2.21, DPOF 1.1,PictBridge: 1.0, Movie Clip: MP4, Audio: WAV,Video: H.264 File Formats

16M : 4608x3456, 14M P : 4608×3072, 10M : 3648x2736, 12M W : 4608×2592, 5M : 2592x1944, 3M : 1984x1488, 2MW : 1920×1080, 1M : 1024x768 Image Sizes

Video

HD Movie

Windows 2000/XP/Vista Mac OS 10.3 or higher Dimensions

3.62" (W) x 2.09" (H) x 0.67" (D) Product Dimensions Weight

0.24 lbs (without battery and card) System Requirements

Windows: Windows 2000/XP/Vista , Intel, Pentium 4, 3.2GHz or later/AMD Athelon 64FX,2.6GHz or later. Minimum 512MB RAM (1GB).Windows XP/ VISTA 7, 250 MB (over 1GB recommended). CD-ROM Drive, USB 2.0,Microsoft 9.0c or later, over 1024x768 pixels,16 bit color monitor or later

Mac OS 10.3 or higher

Physical Views

Features & Controls

The ST95 sports a wide 26mm, 5x optical zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent of 26-130mm. With a maximum aperture of f/3.3-5.9, it is average in low light situations, but lacks any optical image stabilization. It folds up into the camera body when the camera is turned off to protect itself.

This ultra-compact camera also features an ultra-compact flash unit. With a range of up to 3.5m (approx. 11.5ft) at ISO auto, you will have to be as close to your subject as possible in order to keep the ISO image noise down. This flash operates in: Auto, Red-eye, Fill in, Slow Sync, Off, Red-eye Fix.

On the back of the camera you will see the 3.0-inch, 230,000 dot full touch LCD screen. Since the screen controls the camera, there is only a home button and a playback button found on the back of the camera. The camera's menu system is easy to navigate and operates easily, especially if you use the included stylus.

Only armed with one input/output port, the ST95 does not output video with included cable, but connects to a PC and charges through this USB 2.0 port.

The ST95 is not as versatile as most camera's as it only uses microSD and microSDHC memory cards. Samsung only guarantees operation with microSDHC cards up to 8GB.

Powering the ST95 is a 3.7V, 740mAh Li-Ion rechargeable battery. Also included is this USB adapter that allows you to charge the battery right inside the camera.

Record Screens & Menus Please excuse the quality of the ST95 screens, the video out cable is not included with the camera.

Pressing the Home button on the camera takes you to the menu shown above that allows you to select any number of the camera's shooting and playback modes as well as the camera settings. No matter what you are doing with the camera, you are only one click away from this screen.

Samsung's smart auto 2.0 mode analyzes the scene and its key compositional elements before choosing the appropriate scene mode and settings. The only thing you need to do is point and shoot.

Scene modes not found in the Home menu: Landscape, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Beach & Snow, Text.

Program mode gives you the most control over the camera, however, it is still an automatic shooting mode. Although the shutter speed and aperture will be set for you, all of the other controls are in your hands.

Program Menu:

Exposure Compensation - ±2 in 1/3 increments

White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent H-L, Tungsten, Custom

ISO - Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200

Focus Area - Center, Multi, One Touch Shooting, Smart Touch AF

Face Detection - Off, Normal, Self-Portrait, Smile Shot, Blink Detection, Smart Face Recognition

Smart FR Edit - Register you faces

Photo Size - 16M, 14M, 12M, 10M, 5M, 3M, 2M, 1M

Quality - Super Fine, Fine, Normal

ACB - On or Off

Metering - Multi, Spot, Center-weighted

Drive Mode - Multi, Single

Smart Filter -Normal, Miniature, Vignetting, Soft-Focus, Cinema 1, Cinema 2, Half Tone Dot, Sketch, Fish-Eye, Defog, Classic

Image Adjust - Image Adjustment controls

DIS - On or Off

Intelli Zoom - On or Off

Memo - On or Off

My Screen - Lets you choose the settings for the left side of the screen

Auto shooting mode works like smart auto for still images. The camera will choose between 4 video scenes while adjusting its settings. Then just pressing the record button on the back starts you recording in 720p HD.

Movie Menu:

Exposure Compensation - ±2 in 1/3 increments

White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent H-L, Tungsten, Custom

Movie Size - 1280x720 HQ, 1280x720, 640x480, 320x240

Frame Rate - 30fps, 15fps

Metering - Multi, Spot, Center-weighted

Smart Filter - Normal, Palette Effect 1-4, Miniature, Vignetting, Half Tone Dot, Sketch, Fish-Eye, Defong, Classic, Retro, Negative, Custom RGB

Voice - Sound Alive on or off, Mute

Playback Screens & Menus Please excuse the quality of the ST95 screens, the video out cable is not included with the camera.

Pressing the playback button on the back allows you to view the images that are saved on the LCD screen. You have the option of turning the photo info on and off in the menu.

Pressing the checkerboard icon or the zoom to the wide end enters the camera into index mode. Here you can quickly look through all of the images on the microSD card. Just touch the image you want to see to make it full-sized.

Using the zoom control to the telephoto end allows you to zoom in on an image up to 14.4x its normal size. Dragging your finger across the screen allows you to scroll around. The scissor icon on the left allows you to crop your image to the point that you are zoomed into.

Playback menu options:

Delete - Select file or All

Start Slide Show - Starts a slideshow of your images

Protect - Save files from deletion

Resize - 3M, 1M. Start Image

Rotate - Change the orientation of an image 90° at a time

Smart Crop - Choose 4 points and the camera will crop your image to them

Face List - List of saved faces on the camera

File Information - On or Off

DPOF - Set the direct print settings

Copy to Card - Copy files from internal memory to the memory card

Gesture View - Enable or disable the ability to "draw" on the LCD to sort files, rotate, delete, etc.

Photo Edit is photo editing suite that is built right into your camera. This gives you total control over any image that is stored on your memory card.

Resize allows you to make a smaller copy of an image that you have already captured. This saves you time by preparing images for upload to the web or email on the camera.

Rotate lets you change the orientation of an image 90° at a time.

While you are zoomed in on an image, pressing the scissor icon allows you to trim that image to the zoomed position on the LCD screen.

Sound Options:

Volume - Off, Low, Medium, High

Children Sound - Off, 1, 2, 3

Beep Sound - On or Off

Shutter Sound - Off, 1, 2, 3

Start Sound - Off, 1, 2, 3

AF Sound - On or Off

Display Options:

Function Description - On or Off

Start Image - Off, Logo, User Image

Grid Line - 2x2, 3x3, +, X

Display Brightness - Auto, Dark, Normal, Bright

Quick View - Off, 0.5, 1, 3 seconds

Power Save - On or Off

Auto Lock - Off, 10 or 30 seconds, 1 min. Connectivity Options:

Video Out - NTSC, PAL

USB - Computer, Printer, Select Mode

PC Software - On or Off General Options:

Language - Choose the language used in menus

Time Zone - Choose your time zone

Date & Time - Set the internal clock/calendar

Date Type - Choose how date is displayed.

File No. - Series or Reset

Auto Rotate - On or Off

Imprint - Off, Date or Date & Time

Auto Power Off - Off, 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes

AF Lamp - Turn the AF assist lamp On of Off

Format - Erase everything from the memory card

Reset - Reset the camera to the factory defaults

Touch Calibration - Calibrate the touch screen

Steve's Conclusion

Steve's SnapShot

16-Megapixel Imaging Sensor

3.0-Inch Touch LCD Screen

5x Optical zoom lens: 26-130mm (35mm equivalent)

Smart Auto 2.0

720p HD video capture

Ultra-Compact body

MicroSD/SDHC memory card compatible

Pros

Smart Auto 2.0 performs well, allowing you to simply point-n-shoot

Excellent 720p HD video capture

Great overall image quality

Easy to use 3.0-inch touch screen LCD

Versatile 5x optical zoom lens

Good battery life

Cons

No optical image stabilization

Image noise in low-light, shadow areas

No dedicated video recording button

Very short flash range

Timing Test Results

The ultra-compact Samsung ST95 sports a 16-Megapixel CCD imaging sensor, 5x optical zoom lens, 3.0-inch Touch Screen LCD, Smart Auto 2.0 shooting and video modes, and 720p HD video capture. All of these great features have been crammed into this tiny body that is smaller and thinner than a standard deck of playing cards. Perfect for someone who likes to capture memories everywhere, the camera is also loaded with face/blink/smile detection and a great self-portrait beauty mode that automatically enhances the images of the faces captured while centering your self-portrait shots. It's compact and simple design is made even more stylish with the option of a black or silver finish to suit your taste. With how small and thin the camera is, it is incredibly easy to take anywhere. Just drop it in a purse or your pocket and you will never notice that it is there. This size does present a small problem when handling the camera with one hand. A thumb grip on the back keeps you from hitting the Touch LCD, but it is very easy to block the flash on the front with your fingers. Changing camera modes is fairly easy, especially if you have previous experience with a touch screen device. Some of the options, such as the flash, can be hard to adjust, but the main menu is very easy to handle. Framing and viewing your images with the 3.0-inch Touch LCD (230,000 dots) is easy in all lighting conditions. This screen is also surprisingly clear when you consider its lower resolution. Looking at our outdoor image samples, we see that the camera's overall exposures and colors are very good; although the camera did struggle a little in high dynamic situations like our museum shot. With a little overexposure on one end and some dark, noisy shadows on the other, it would have been better to expose for one or the other instead in the middle. Other than that, we see great color and excellent exposures in the other outdoor images. Framing and adjusting your composition is assisted by the camera's 5x wide optical zoom lens. With a 35mm equivalent of 26-130mm, this is a great range for everyday use. Our indoor samples make it really easy to see the incredible amount of detail found in these 16-Megapixel images. Color reproduction and metering is very accurate, reproducing just what the photographer sees. At the lower ISO settings, image noise is controlled very well, giving you printable images up through ISO 800. ISO 1600 and 3200 show more noise than we would like to see. Assisting with your indoor and low-light images, the ST95's small flash unit has a range of up to 3.5m (11.5 ft.) so you will need to stay as close as possible to your subjects when using the flash. Samsung's Face Detection software works well, detecting faces without too much delay and following them without any trouble as long as they continue to face the camera and stay within the frame. Once detected, the camera did an excellent job of keeping the face in focus and accurately exposed. This face detection software also has options for blink detection and smile capture that ensure you never miss a smiling face. Capturing HD home movies is an easy task with the ST95. Putting the camera into Smart Auto movie mode makes it just as easy as capturing your images with Smart Auto. Even in less than perfect light, the camera captured excellent looking video, with just a little image noise, and great sound from the tiny built-in microphone. These videos play back very smoothly both on the camera and the computer,

Power up to first image captured = 2.3 seconds

Shutter lag when prefocused = 1/10 of a second

Shutter lag with autofocus = approx. 2/10 to 5/10 of a second

Shot to shot delay wo/flash = 1.78 seconds

Shot to shot delay w/flash = 3.32 seconds

Sequential burst = 0.68fps for

Sport burst = Approx. 9fps VGA

All tests were taken using an PNY Class 4, 4GB microSDHC memory card, Program Mode, ISO auto, Flash off and all other settings at the factory defaults unless noted otherwise.

Bottom Line

Samsung's ST95 ultra-compact is one of the smallest and easiest to use entry-level digicams on the market. It comes loaded with a 16-megapixel imaging sensor, 3.0-inch Touch LCD, and great image quality for its class.

Pick This Up If...

You are looking for an ultra-compact to carry every day or if you are looking for your first digicam and want a camera that is as easy as possible to operate.

which is a surprise for a camera using a class 4 microSD card. Powering the ST95 is a 3.7V, 740mAh rechargeable Li-Ion battery. This battery gave us enough power to capture over 200 images and several videos while still having plenty of power left. Although we did not see a number of images from Samsung for this battery, it should be able to capture at least 275+ images on a single charge. Also included with the camera is a USB cable that allows you to charge the battery while it is inside the camera. A small LED light on the cable lets you know when the battery is charging and when it is complete. As with all camera's, a second battery is never a bad idea, especially when you are traveling or spending long days shooting. Bottom Line - The ultra-compact Samsung ST95 offers some appealing specs, like its 16-Megapixel imaging sensor, 5x optical zoom lens, 720p HD video capture and Samsung's Smart Auto 2.0 shooting mode. These combined help make capturing great photos and videos as easy as possible. With good image quality and a very easy to use touch interface, this is an excellent first camera for anyone. With a MSRP of just $179.99 US, it is also very affordable and well worth its price for an entry-level point-n-shoot digicam.

Sample Photos All of our samples were taken in Smart Auto 2.0 mode, ISO auto and flash off unless noted otherwise.

SAM_0068.JPG 4608x3456 3,542.94 KB

SAM_0075.JPG 4608x3456 3,959.76 KB

SAM_0081.JPG 4608x3456 8,070.55 KB

SAM_0083.JPG 4608x3456 7,071.11 KB

SAM_0090.JPG 4608x3456 6,643.84 KB

SAM_0094.JPG 4608x3456 6,443.95 KB

SAM_0104.JPG 4608x3456 6,434.49 KB Smart Auto 2.0/Portrait

SAM_0108.MP4 1280x720 12.16 MB 10 Seconds

SAM_0134.JPG 4608x3456 7,708.07 KB Smart Auto 2.0

SAM_0136.JPG 4608x3456 7,640.24 KB ISO 80

SAM_0138.JPG 4608x3456 7,764.42 KB ISO 100

SAM_0140.JPG 4608x3456 7,870.92 KB ISO 200

SAM_0142.JPG 4608x3456 7,886.71 KB ISO 400

SAM_0144.JPG 4608x3456 7,898.87 KB ISO 800

SAM_0146.JPG 4608x3456 7,823.59 KB ISO 1600

SAM_0148.JPG 4608x3456 7,972.34 KB ISO 3200

SAM_0206.JPG 4608x3456 6,212.71 KB Macro Mode