Last update 09 October’09 – Review and Sample Photos @ TrustedReviews
Samsung WB500 announced on January 7, 2009 and is a dual image stabilized 10.2 megapixel 24mm ultra wide compact digital camera that features a 10x optical zoom (35mm film equivalent : 24~240 mm), 2.7 inch LCD, ISO range from 80 to 3200, and camera dimension are Dimensions (WxHxD) 105 x 61.4 x 36.5 mm and it Weights 219g (without battery and card).
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Review Index – (updated 09 October’09)
TrustedReviews
“The new Samsung WB500 is an extremely impressive camera for the price. It looks good, has superb build quality, a huge list of features, and its performance measures up to cameras costing £100 more. It does have one or two foibles, but when it comes down to value for money it’s hard to beat.”
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CNET Australia
“So is the WB500 worth buying, especially if you’re considering an ultra-wide-angle long-zoom shooter? We think it is if you can forgive its slow focusing speed and limited manual exposure mode. If you intend to shoot in program mode most of the time, this point-and-shoot is worth some consideration. Also, the handy editing options and clever playback mode make up for some of the WB500’s flaws.”
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PCWorld Canada
“One of my favourite features is Smart Auto, which automatically detects one of the camera’s 11 scene modes (like Portrait, Night, Backlight and Landscape). This is particularly handy when you don’t have time to fumble around with your camera to find the right scene setting – or the moment will pass and you’ll miss the shot.”
Pocket-lint
“In terms of image performance, it’s the colours delivered by the Samsung WB550 even when left on its default settings that jump off the review screen, being mostly warm and well saturated. On occasion this can almost make scenes resemble pages torn from a Japanese comic, though there’s no doubt that it lends punch to the blues and greens of landscapes and puts a healthy glow in the cheeks of human subjects.”
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ePhotozine
“Despite its flaws, in the right conditions this camera gives some seriously good images. They’re sharp, well exposed and have a good colour rendition. What lets it down is the noise which is present at all levels but becomes a problem at mid to high settings which is no good for low light photography. There’s also the slow response of the continuous shutter which means this camera is no good for fast moving objects in the dark.”
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LetsGoDigital
“If you settle for an average image quality, excellent operation, fine color reproduction and a large optical zoom range, you will certainly have fun with this mega zoom camera. Yet, we simply expected more from Samsung,”
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PhotographyBlog
“With ideal shooting conditions the WB550 impresses with its vivid, colour-rich imagery – with the caveat that this can veer towards looking slightly unrealistic on occasion. Keep an eye on the LCD and simply re-compose or stop down if everything looks a tad too bright and breezy.”
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DPExpert
“Samsung have tried too hard to satisfy the customer who buys by numbers. Gosh! A 10X zoom – that has to be better than a 3X, doesn’t it? And count the pixels – more than 12 million of the things. Terrific! And where will it all end? This camera has 43 million pixels on every square centimeter of sensor. The superb Nikon D700 has 1.4 million pixels per square centimeter of its sensor. Who do the camera companies think they are fooling? Everyone, apparently.”
YugaTech
“There might be cheaper competing models out there that’s similarly spec’d but I personally prefer the design and construction of this one. The Samsung WB500 gives you a good mix of form and function but on the higher end of the price spectrum (the wider angle and manual mode could have bumped it up).”
Shutterbug
“The camera uses a strong noise filtering. Due to this filtering color noise is smoothed, but this filtering will yield acceptable images even in low light situations. The camera offers an additional ISO 3200 setting in 3 MP resolution.”
RegHardware
“Performance is good if not outstanding and the inclusion of HD video is a bonus, although it’s a shame Samsung makes it hard to view on a HD Ready set. If you you’re looking for a budget compact that will deliver decent results and aren’t too bothered about size, then the WB500 is certainly worth taking a look at.”
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GoodGearGuide
“All up, the image quality of the Samsung WB500 is average for a camera in this price range — it’s neither bad, nor exceptionally good. However, the wide-angle lens and ultra-powerful zoom go some way to make up for any shortcomings.”
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Buy-n-Shoot
“If you’re after a super slim, lightweight compact that looks better than it performs, the WB500 is not for you. If, on the other hand, you can handle a little extra build in exchange for some great image quality and an impressive list of intuitive technologies, this unit from Samsung is highly recommended.”
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Cameras.co.uk
“The Samsung WB500 has plenty going for it. I like the idea of offering a long lens in a smaller body. Picture quality is very good indeed. You also have access to a basic manual exposure mode and High Definition movies.”
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PhotoReview
“Dynamic range in outdoor shots was better than average for a small-sensor digicam – regardless of the shooting mode selected. However, it was important to match the exposure settings to the subject in order to obtain shots in which details were visible in both highlights and shadows. Incorrectly-exposed shots were no better than similar shots from less-capable digicams.”
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Owner Feedback
Well, after using the camera for a few days, I’m going to return it! I was so excited about this camera – I thought it could be “the one”! But alas, unfortunately it wasn’t. I had been watching this camera ever since it was announced, the day I finally saw it in stock on Amazon – I jumped. Actually, I was a bit upset when I paid over $33.00 for “expedited” shipping (just couldn’t wait for regular shipping) and it was not shipped for a week from the vendor.
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I’m a delivery driver and like to stop and take pictures of trains on my route so I was looking for a good travel cam with a wide angle and large zoom, and I thought this cam was going to fit the bill perfectly but it just didn’t work out for me.
I must have read every review on the web about this cam and wanted to over look what most of the reviews said and hope they were wrong, but they weren’t. First off let me say that the build quality of the camera is excellent and felt solid and comfortable in my large hands, but unfortunately that didn’t help it take good pictures. I really wanted to like this camera but I just couldn’t over look some of the problems.
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Sample Photos
[ISO Performance Photos @ TrustedReviews]
[Sample Photos @ Pocket-lint]
[Test Images @ LetsGoDigital]
[Sample Photos @ PhotographyBlog]
[Sample Photos @ RegHardware]
[Sample Photos @ Cameras.co.uk]
Press Release
LAS VEGAS, N.V., January 7, 2009 – Samsung’s new WB500 (USA : HZ10W) is a compact, 10.2 mega?pixel digital camera that takes wide-angle to a new level. Featuring an ultra-wide angle 24mm Schneider lens, the WB500 (USA : HZ10W) goes beyond the 28mm wide?angle focal length offered by other manufacturers while adding a powerful 10x optical zoom with telephoto capabilities of 240mm (35mm film equivalent).
Opportunities to enhance one’s creativity thrive thanks to the wider focal length offered by the WB500 (USA : HZ10W)’s ultra-wide angle, 24mm lens. With the ability to fit more of a desired scene into the shot, users no longer have to worry about asking a group of people to stand closer together to make sure everyone is in the photo. Users can also capture even more impressive landscape images, communicating the full beauty of a mountain range or even cityscape, as they see it, without having to decide what to exclude when pressing the shutter button.
The WB500 (USA : HZ10W)’s 240mm (35mm film equivalent) telephoto zoom also allows users to be more creative and flexible when they shoot, adding peace of mind knowing that they can rely on the camera to help them capture the image they want, at any distance. Such a long zoom is ideal for sporting events, especially when far away from the action, or travel, when unable to determine what shooting scenario you may find yourself in. For added stability and blur-free images, especially when using the WB500 (USA : HZ10W) at its maximum zoom, Samsung has incorporated both Optical and Digital Image Stabilization. The shooter has the option of simply using Optical Image Stabilization to help reduce blur caused by hand shake, ideal for well?lit environments, or choosing Dual Image Stabilization and combining the strengths of Optical and Digital Image Stabilization. Dual Image Stabilization is ideal for low-light environments where the use of a flash is not desired as it activates both forms of stabilization simultaneously.
For shooters who wish to be in more control when it comes to taking digital images, the WB500 (USA : HZ10W) offers a host of manual controls. Users can manually configure shutter speed, from 16 ~ 1/1,500 seconds, as well as adjust focus and aperture settings. Users can also dial in exposure in 1/3EV steps at a maximum of ±2EV and select a desired ISO value with options of 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, and even 3200 at a reduced resolution of three mega-pixels.
The WB500 (USA : HZ10W) also incorporates Samsung’s proprietary Smart Album program. Smart Album is useful tool which allows users to search through the various files they have saved on their memory card for a specific image. Smart Album automatically organizes the user’s digital images and gives them the ability to narrow their search based on the date or month the image was taken, the file type, whether it’s a photo, video, or voice memo, and the overall color tone.
“The mega-zoom WB500 (USA : HZ10W) is one of the most feature-rich digital cameras in Samsung’s wide?ranging family of digital imaging products,” said SeungSoo Park, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Digital Imaging, at Samsung Electronics America. “The camera addresses demands in the marketplace, not only for longer zooms, but for wider focal lengths as well. Such powerful optics, combined with other advanced features like the ability to record HD video, will undoubtedly make the WB500 (USA : HZ10W) an attractive model for anyone in the market for a new digital camera.”
The WB500 (USA : HZ10W) gives shooters the ability to capture video in 720p high-definition at 30 frames-per-second (fps). Thanks to H.264 compression, users can record video for longer periods of time, allowing them to better utilize the remaining memory capacity on their SD or SDHC memory card. Shooters can utilize Optical Image Stabilization and the camera’s 10x optical zoom while recording video, as well as Samsung’s Successive Recording mode, which allows the user to pause and then resume filming without having to save the clips as individual files.
Designed to help capture better images, specifically portraits and group shots of family and friends, the WB500 (USA : HZ10W)’s Face Detection technology detects up to nine faces and automatically adjusts focus and exposure to ensure better composition and image quality. Smile Shot automatically triggers the WB500 (USA : HZ10W) to take a photo only when the camera detects smiles on the subjects’ faces, and Blink Detection will automatically fire three consecutive shots if the camera detects that a subject’s eyes are closed – a useful feature as it’s often difficult to distinguish closed eyes when composing a shot on an LCD screen. Another unique, automatic functionality of the WB500 (USA : HZ10W) is Beauty Shot, which will automatically brighten and even out skin tones as well as remove blemishes. The WB500 (USA : HZ10W)’s comprehensive suite of automatic controls also includes 13 scene modes, which give users the ability to effortlessly adjust the camera and capture the best image possible in any situation.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I purchased the Samsung WB500 6 weeks ago, and now the lense cover won’t open completely on its own. I contacted the store I purchased it from and unless you purchase there expensive service plan, they won’t deal with the defect. I contacted Samsung and still awaiting results if they are to fix it or not.
Overall I would give this camera 9 out of 10 for sharpness. It has impressed me in all my outdoor shots. In this one the brickwork on the building stands out. When the picture is blown up you have no problem making out the individual bricks.