Samsung DualView TL225/ST550 Camera Reviewed

Samsung’s DualView TL225 (aka Mirror ST550 in Europe and Asia) is the first digital camera to have two LCD displays, including a 1.5-inch LCD on the front for easy self-portraits capturing. The 12.2 Megapixel camera features a 4.6x optical zoom lens, face detection, blink detection, smile shot, optical and digital image stabilization system and Beauty Shot function.

The camera has been reviewed by several sites:

Steves-digicams comments:

Bottom line – Samsung has really hit a home run with this clever compact digicam. With the new DualView feature, you can now rest assured that your self-snapshots will be framed properly, and with the camera’s affective Smart Auto, your photos will be sharp and properly exposed. The only issues I had with this camera was the locking up problem, red-eye in our people photos, and sometimes the Smart Auto choose Not to use the flash when it should. With a MSRP of $299, this is not the cheapest 12-megapixel model out there. However, it does offer a great value when you consider the versatility it offers with DualView, not to mention is packed full of the latest technologies (OIS, Smart Auto with Scene recondition, etc.) and features like a huge 3.5-inch LCD.

CNET comments:

The good: Large automatic shooting feature set; responsive touch-screen navigation; unique dual-screen design.

The bad: Adapter needed for HDMI output; microSD card requirement might irk some; touch-screen interface not for everyone; battery charges in camera; whole screen not used for framing shots at full resolution.

The bottom line: The technology-packed Samsung DualView TL225 is the ultimate ultracompact for those who like to be in front of the camera more than they like being behind it.

Photographyblog comments:

The ST550 is a real joy to use, with the combination of the clever haptic control system and the high-resolution screen finally producing a touchscreen system that doesn’t send us rushing back to a button-based interface. Only the gesture-based controls, which have you wildly waving the camera in all directions, feel like an unnecessary extra. The self-portrait LCD is the icing on the cake, making the ST550 ideally suited for use by all members of the family.

When you’ve got over that initial rush of excitement, however, two main problems raise their ugly heads. The main one is the incredibly poor battery life – just over 100 shots if make extensive use of the touchscreen, playback and the self-portrait screen – making a second battery a compulsory purchase. And as with the PL70 model that we reviewed earlier this week, still image quality is not that great, with noise at low ISO speeds blighting what are otherwise acceptable pictures.