Digital Camera Review by: Michael Gazzola

Today we received the new Samsung V50 fully packaged with a bonus teleconverter lens ready to go. The V50 box contained everything required to get started from cd software, camera manuals, to a camera case, usb leads and a charger.

The V50 bears many similarities to the V4 but with a sharper finish. The outer is still silver, with a few stainless steel finishes. Other than the capture size increasing to 5 mega pixels, the big new feature is the flip multi twist multi directional 2 inch LCD. With this new addition I really don't think there could be any situation where the photographer could not see the LCD when framing an image. Furthermore, unlike many other LCD flips, this also twist upside down - keeping the viewing image always the right way up and then folds inwards back to the camera with either the LCD facing out or in for protection while in transit.

The quality of the 5 megapixel capture is great, which for most will not be appreciated until you enlarge a print up to 8x10 inches and find the image is still sharp.

The V50, like a few others on the market also comes with the option to purchase two additional lenses, one being a wide angle and the other a telephoto. The camera body has a ring around the outside of the fixed lens which can unscrew revealing a thread to attach an additional lens. The telephoto lens is a 1.7x converter and the wide lens converter is .7 each coming with their own cases and are each reletively easy to attach - which will appeal to the 'gadget-savvy' buyer.

The camera starts up very quickly and is ready to use by the time the photographer raises the camera to eye-level. The LCD is bright, clean, clear and accompanied by a traditional viewfinder - which is a touch small, and does not mirror exactly what the LCD displays. This is not really much of an an issue as very few digital compact cameras have this feature in sync.

Samsung's V50 auto option is really all most will ever need. In daylight or tunsten light the images produced we beautifully colour balanced and would give many pro-sumers a run for their money. There is also the option to adjust colour channels via a sliding bar, adjust the exposure or shutter and also the focus.

The navigation system on the menu is new and in a different layout to the V4. The 'menu' button houses four easy option menus which is great for any first time digital camera user. However, it did take me some time to get use to secondary menu navigation options located through another button, which do not navigate in the same manner.

Overall Samsung really have produced a great addition to it's range with the V50 and will satisfy those who take the plunge and purchase one. If image quality is what your after, which should be high up on you list of features then add the V50 to your list - you will not be disappointed.

Appearance rating	4.5 stars
Functionality rating	4 stars
Functionality rating	4 stars
Value for money	4 stars
RRP (AUD)
Effective Pixels	5.0 Million mega pixels
Image Sizes	6 Sizes / 3 quality modes
Lens - zoom wide [mm]	7.7mm (35mm equivalent to 37mm)
Lens -zoom tele [mm]	23.1mm (38mm equivalent to 114mm)
Resolution Settings	From 544 x 408 to 2272 x 1704
Modes	8 Individual. Plus auto.
Manual Focus	Yes
Auto Focus	Yes, TTL & Spot
Focus Range [cm]	80cm to infinity
Aperture Range	F2.7 - F4.9
Aperture Priority	Yes
Macro	Yes
Macro Range [cm]	6cm
Shutter Speeds	15 seconds - 1/2000
Shutter Priority	Yes
ISO	5 Options. 50, 100, 200, 400 and Auto.
LCD Monitor	Yes
LCD Size	1.5 inch TFT colour monitor
Viewfinder	Yes. Optical real image zoom.
Flash	Built In. 3 mode options. Plus auto and on/off.
Hot Shoe	No
White balance	4 options. Plus auto.
Self Timer	Yes. 2 or 10 seconds.
Movie Options	Yes. Limited only by memory card size.
Audio Options	Yes. Up to 2 hours.
Video Out	Yes. AV out. NTSC / PAL
Storage Type	SD / MMC Cards (up to 512 guaranteed)
Storage Included [Mb]	32Mb Removable Sandisk SD Card
Image / Audio Formats	Tiff / Jpeg / Avi
Connectivity	USB.
Power Source	5.0V DC / AC Recharge Pk Inc.
Battery Options	Rechargable battery. 2x AA batteries.
Dimensions	106.5mm x 57mm x 38.5mm
Weight	190 without battery or card.
Appearance rating	4.5 stars
Functionality rating	4 stars
RRP (AUD)

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