Review: Samsung PL150 digital camera

Samsung's PL150 does what it says it will, and does it well. Photo / Supplied

There are a lot of players pushing compact digital cameras these days, meaning even more confusion for compact digital camera buyers. So Samsung literally had to pull a rabbit out of its hat and do something pretty innovative with the PL150 in order for it to stand out from the crowd. The Korean electronics giant has thankfully succeeded thanks to the PL150's rather nifty dual-LCD display that lets subjects being photographed check out how they'll look before you hit the shutter button.

Look & Feel

Initially the PL150's 1.5" colour LCD front screen screamed "marketing gimmick!", however after a week or so of actual use over the summer holidays, I began to appreciate its sheer utility.

Not only was it ideal for avoiding unflattering nostril shots when taking self portraits, it could also be used as a timer to count down the seconds until to a photo was taken, or to even entertain grumpy kids with goofy animations and noises ensuring they were both looking at the camera and had a smile on their respective dials as the shutter clicked.

Out of the box, my one concern with the PL150's extra LCD screen was its impact on battery life. As it turned out this was a non-issue as the extra screen can be manually switched off, avoiding any additional battery drain.

Samsung has, to its credit, managed to keep the PL150 relatively uncluttered - a good thing as the PL150's chassis is only 19mm thick. Its top panel sports a shutter button (with a zoom toggle around it) as well as power and front LCD screen buttons.

In use, the camera felt light and pocketable and was easily able to be slipped into a pocket or purse (I didn't personally test the latter) without being accompanied by the sound of tearing fabric.

Samsung also managed to incorporate one simple but particularly clever design trick into the PL150 - its underside is angled so that when the lens is extended, so it can either be balanced in an upright position, or angled back by about seven degrees which is useful for tripod-free timer shots or self portraits. It's a clever yet simple touch that anyone travelling will immediately appreciate, especially given the amount of valuable luggage space a tripod can consume.



Bells and whistles

As would be expected from Samsung, there's not much missing from this device. Its 12.4-megapixel sensor see's the world through a Samsung-branded 5x optical zoom lens and uses MicroSD cards for storage, while also packing 30MB of internal storage.

HD video recording is also available, and the PL150 can record video in 1,280 x 720 at 30fps. Video aside, there are also several gazillion photo modes available. Most useful was the smart Auto mode which was able to chose the best shooting mode based on conditions. Dual image stabilisation mode also ensures crispy images even under low light conditions when zooming. Add to these a plethora of other scene modes, which included program, dual-image and night modes, rounded out with photo filters that added some creative (if slightly cheesy) effects. Getting to grips with the PL150's menus didn't require an advanced diploma in space rocketry either.

In use

All up, the PL150 did a reasonable job. From power-up to snapping, pics took a mere 2.4 seconds to grab, and equally importantly, there was barely any noticeable shutter lag so I was able to catch shots I'd have otherwise missed with a slower camera.

Photo reproduction from the PL150 was good, however photos taken at higher ISO settings displayed some pixel noise when blown up. This was particularly evident with photos shot at ISO 800 or higher. Overall,the quality of video was good but varied depending on lighting conditions. Under bright sunlit conditions lens flare was sometimes visible (particularly when white or light coloured objects reflected sunlight).

Verdict

Packing several metric tonnes of features, The PL150 proved genuinely useful, packing plenty of bang per buck especially given its very reasonable $344 sticker price. Aside from its two screens, the PL150's picture quality wasn't terrible and it worked well under most real-world conditions.

Samsung PL150
$344
Specs
Image Sensor: 12.4 Megapixels
Zoom: 5x (optical)
Media: SD/SDHC
Supported Formats: JPEG
Focal Length Equivalent: 27 - 135mm
Shutter Speed: 8 - 1/2000 seconds
Aperture: F3.5(W) - F5.9(T)
Sensitivity: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Movie Resolution:1280 x 720 pixels max
Macro Focus: 5cms
Metering: Multi, Spot, Centre Weighted, Face Detection AE
Image Stabilisation: Yes
Batteries: Lithium-ion Rechargeable
Dimensions: 99.2 x 59 x 19.9mm (W/H/D)
Weight: 136g