Latest - Review and Sample Test Photos at PhotoReview (added 13 October ‘07)
Samsung Digimax L74 Wide features:
- 7.2 megapixel
- 3.6x optical zoom
- 3.0 inch LCD
- ISO up to 1600
- 28mm wide-angle lens
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Reviews - (updated 13 October ‘07)
| PhotoReview |  |
| Cameras.co.uk |  |
| PopPhoto |  |
| DCResource | |
| Megapixel | |
| Digital Camera Review | |
| Consumers Electronics | |
| LapTop Magazine | |
| CNET | |
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PhotoReview - 13 October’07 - reviews the Samsung Digimax L74 Wide and was impressed with the large amount of internal memory, 450MB, untill, they uploaded the World Tour guide which took up half of the memory card. Here’s an excerpt from their review -
“Pictures from the test camera were bright and colorful with the slightly raised saturation common in point-and-shoot cameras and blown highlights in high contrast scenes. Imatest showed overall resolution to be below expectations and revealed a severe loss of sharpness towards the edges of frames. This edge softening was confirmed by inspection of test shots. However, distortion was low across the zoom range, despite the wider than average angle of view of the lens.”
Cameras.co.uk - 06 October’07 - reviews the Samsung Digimax L74 Wide and felt that its picture quality was medium quality at best. Here’s their overall verdict;
“The Samsung Digimax L74 is a digital camera full of good intentions. My own feeling is that when it comes to picture quality it is half a yard of the pace in places. It is not a bad camera, but there are a number of rivals I prefer. Having said that when you look at the price tag it is very reasonably priced.”
PopPhoto - 25 September’07 - reviews the Samsung Digimax L74 Wide and writes;
“Samsung’s got a pretty good thing going in the L74 Wide. They’ve made a great-looking camera with a cool 3-inch touchscreen interface, a unique Tour Guide feature, and some fun extras that are sure to be a hit with the younger crowd. But more experienced photographers who demand first-rate image quality — even in a compact pocket camera — will likely be disappointed with the limited dynamic range and metering issues, the serious wide angle distortion, and a few other cut corners that make the good-looking Samsung L74 Wide more a toy than a serious vacation camera.”
DCResource examines the Samsung Digimax L74 Wide and thinks it an innovative camera but that it just does not deliver very good image quality. Performance was at best average while the continuous shooting made failed to impress the reviewer. Photo quality is where the L74 really hit the skids. Overexposing many shots and a white balance that was easy to confuse in mixed lighting.
Bottom Line: Lots of features, above average build quality but sorry to say it lacks in the image quality department.
Megapixel - 7/20/2007 - has reviewed the Samsung Digimax L74 Wide and they write, “The Samsung L74 Wide is solid and well crafted, and the touch screen is generally easy to use. The icons that completely surround the image, however, make the screen look quite cluttered, and can hide elements in the frame, or lead to cut-off parts in the image as the user does not realize the framing is off. Moreover, the interface design does not seem to take full advantage of the touch-screen system, and in combination with the odd-shaped stylus particularly when the latter is tethered to the wrist strap, as the strap gets in the way can lead to errors while trying to set functions.”
Digital Camera Review - 7/6/2007 - has reviewed the Samsung Digimax L74 Wide and they write, “If you really want a touch screen camera, this is one of three models that I can think of (the other two being the Pentax Optio T30 and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N2). If you’re concerned about image quality (instead of having a touch screen), then there are plenty of other cameras out there that would do a better job. My biggest complaint with the images is that they lack crisp details and look over-processed. The Samsung L74W is built-well, operates as expected, and is easy enough to use, once you get used to a touch-screen. Battery life was not amazing and the camera speed (shutter lag, shot to shot times) was nothing to write home about. Bottom line, if you want a touch screen camera, consider the Samsung L74W. If not, then look elsewhere.”
Consumers Electronics - 6/28/2007 - has reviewed the Samsung Digimax L74 Wide and they write, “I understand what Samsung is trying to do by going the touch screen route with the L74, but it is so finicky that you often don’t get what you are trying to press. Touch screens are cool if implemented correctly. The next model L74 can use some refinement to get it to work more reliably. People will have to learn how to use the touch screen, because there is no way around it, and right now, it isn’t all there function wise. It is just too difficult to get to work the way you want it to work. The images in my opinion are good to very good, though image quality is subjective so I will leave it up to you to take a look at the images supplied in the article, all taken in Auto Mode, unless noted in the caption. Image quality is always subjective. Video is acceptably good. It is nice to have the option to record to three different file sizes.”
LapTop Magazine - 6/28/2007 - has reviewed the Samsung Digimax L74 Wide and they write, “We were equally disappointed with video clips produced by the L74 Wide. Although it records at 30 fps and has a stabilizer for video, our test footage was a blurry mess. What looked fine when viewed on the digicam’s LCD was distorted on our PC. The Samsung L74 Wide sounds promising on paper, but after spending some time with this digicam, we can’t recommend it.”
CNET - 5/31/2007 - has reviewed the Samsung Digimax L74 Wide and they write, “Despite the fringing and noise, the camera’s photos have one redeeming feature: they aren’t very distorted. With both wide-angle and high-zoom lenses we often see distortion on at least one end of the zoom range. The L74 Wide’s lens barely distorted zoomed shots, and wide-angle shots suffered from only modest barrel distortion.
Though its wide lens and World Tour Guide are very useful features, the Samsung L74 Wide simply has too many flaws to ignore. An irritating touch screen interface, painfully slow performance, and noise-filled photos make this a camera we simply can’t recommend.”
Sample Test Photos - (updated 13 October ‘07)
[Sample Test Photos at PhotoReview]
[Sample Test Photos at Cameras.co.uk]
[Sample Photos at DCResource]
[Samsung Digimax L74 Wide Sample Photos taken at Megapixel]
Firmware Updates - (Updated 7 July ‘07)
[Firmware Update 706221 Download Page]
Specifications
[Official Samsung Specifications]
Owners Manual
Press Release
January 30, 2007 Samsung today announced the launch of the compact 7 mega pixel L74 Wide digital camera, equipped with a 3.6x optical zoom and 28mm wide-angle lens support for wider images, its ideal for tech savvy consumers looking for a high quality easy to use camera to take with them on their travels. The L74 Wide is equipped with a convenient Tour Guide function which provides travel information covering 4,500 regions in 30 countries– helping users to plan trips and find their way while on the road. Equipped with 450 MB of internal memory, the L74 Wide can store all the information travelers need to get them where they’re going safely and on time.
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