Samsung HZ15W Digital Camera – An Excellent Compact Digital
The Samsung HZ15W is a compact, ultra zoom camera that’s designed to compete with the likes of the Canon PowerShot SX200 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3. It features a 12 Megapixel CCD, a 24 – 240 mm lens, optical image stabilization, a 3-inch LCD, and HD movie recording. The camera also has the usual point-and-shoot features, plus a nice selection of manual controls.
The Samsung HZ15W has as little brother, known as the HZ10W ($279). That camera has a 10 Megapixel sensor, a smaller LCD, and no HDMI port.
While recent Samsung cameras have all been well designed, they’ve disappointed in the image quality department. Will the HZ15W change that trend? Find out now in our review!
The HZ15W is known as the WB550 in some countries.
The Samsung HZ15W has quite an average bundle. Inside the box, you’ll find the following:
* The 12.2 effective Megapixel HZ15W camera
* SLB-10A rechargeable lithium-ion battery
* Wrist strap
* USB-to-AC adapter
* USB cable
* A/V cable
* CD-ROM featuring Samsung Master software
* 17 page Quick Start manual (printed) + full manual on CD-ROM
Like most cameras these days, the Samsung HZ15W Camera has built-in memory, instead of having a memory card included in the box. Samsung put relatively little memory into the HZ15 (21MB to be exact), which holds just three photos at the highest quality setting. Thus, you’ll want to purchase a memory card, and fast. The HZ15 supports SD, SDHC, and MMCplus cards, though I’d stick to the first two for best results. I’d recommend a 2GB or greater card for use with the HZ15, and it wouldn’t hurt if you spent a little extra on a high speed model.
The HZ15W uses the SLB-10A rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power. This battery has 3.8 Wh of energy, which is pretty typical for a compact camera.
The HZ15′s battery is charged inside the camera via the USB cable. You can connect it to a computer, or you can plug into a power outlet using an included USB-to-A/C adapter (which you can also use to power the camera instead of using a battery). It takes a rather lengthy 3 hours to fully charge the battery. While Samsung doesn’t sell an external charger, I found some third-party types available online.
Focusing speeds are in the average realm as well, at least in good light. Expect wide angle focus times of 0.3 – 0.5 seconds, with delays twice as long for telephoto shooting. The HZ15 struggled to focus in low light, despite its AF-assist lamp. Thus, it’s probably not quite a great choice for those taking a lot of photos in dim lighting conditions.
I didn’t find shutter lag to be any problem, even at the slower shutter speeds where it sometimes crops up.
Shot-to-shot delays range from two seconds without the flash, to a sluggish four seconds with it.
You cannot delete a photo right after it’s taken — you must enter playback mode to do that.
The Samsung HZ15W has an attractive, easy to navigate menu system. You can use the rear command lever to move through the four tabs in the menu system, with the four-way controller handling everything else. Keeping in mind that not all of these options will be available in every shooting mode, here’s what you’ll find in the record menu:
* Recording options
o Command lever (EV, ISO, white balance) – what this button does
o Flash intensity (-1EV to +1EV, in 1/2EV increments)
o Quality (Super fine, fine, normal)
o ACB (on/off) – I have no idea what this stands for, but it essentially brightens shadows when your subject is backlit
o OIS (on/off) – you’ll want to turn the image stabilizer off while using a tripod
o Voice memo (on/off) – add a 10 sec sound clip to a photo
o Voice recording – record up to 10 hours of audio, saved in WAV format
* Sound options
o Volume (Off, low, medium, high)
o Start sound (Off, sound 1/2/3)
o Shutter sound (Off, sound 1/2/3)
o Beep sound (Off, sound 1/2/3)
o AF sound (on/off)
o Self portrait (on/off) – turn the audio feedback for this feature on or off
* Display options
o Language
o Grid line (2 x 2, 3 x 3, X, cross hairs)
o Date & time
o Start image (Off, logo, user image)
o Display brightness (Auto, dark, normal, bright)
o Quick view (Off, 0.5, 1, 3 secs)
o Display save (on/off) – whether the LCD turns off when camera is idle
* Setup options
o Format
o Reset
o Recycle bin (Off, on, recycle folder) – see below
o File name (Reset, series)
o Imprint (Off, date, date & time)
o Power off (Off, 1, 3, 5, 10 mins)
o Video output (NTSC, PAL)
o AF lamp (on/off)
o Anynet + (on/off) – allows you to control the camera with your Samsung TV remote, when connected via HDMI cable
o HDMI size (1080i, 720p, 480p, 576p)
o USB (Auto, computer, printer)
Believe it or not, I only want to discuss one of the options above. That option is the “recycle bin”, which is a good idea in theory, but not as useful as one would like in practice. When the feature is on, the camera uses 10MB of the internal memory to store recently deleted pictures. So, if you delete a photo accidentally, you can get it back. The catch is that 10MB of memory only holds around two images are the highest quality setting, so don’t expect to get back a photo that you took last week.
For the most part, the HZ15 scored average across the board in terms of actual performance. It takes around 1.5 seconds to start up, and focus speeds ranged from 0.3 seconds at wide-angle to close to a full second at telephoto. The HZ15 struggled to focus in low light, and the fact that the LCD doesn’t brighten a whole lot doesn’t make things any easier. Shutter lag wasn’t a problem, and without the flash, shot to shot delays weren’t too bad. The HZ15′s flash is slow to charge, though, so be prepared to wait around 4 seconds between flash shots. The HZ15 has two continuous shooting modes: one is slow (0.7 fps) but lets you see what’s going on, while the other is twice as fast, but the LCD is blacked out the entire time (what’s the point?). Battery life was about average for this type of camera. Do note that the battery is charged internally (via a proprietary cable), which some folks may not like.
Photo quality has always been a weak spot on Samsung’s cameras, and that hasn’t changed here. On the positive side, color and exposure were both very good, though don’t be surprised if you see some highlight clipping here and there. Purple fringing was minimal as well, and redeye was well-controlled thanks to the camera’s digital removal system. The bad news is that images are quite soft and fuzzy, and fine or low contrast details appear mottled due to heavy noise reduction — even at the lowest ISO. The HZ15W doesn’t compete with the best cameras in its class at higher ISOs, either. The small print crowd probably won’t notice, but if you’re making larger prints, viewing images on your computer screen at 100%, or planning on using high ISOs, you’ll probably want to consider another camera.
The only other things I wanted to mention relate to the bundle. The Samsung HZ15W Digital Camera doesn’t come with much in the line of internal memory, which not only restricts how many photos it can hold, but it also holds back the well-intentioned Recycle Bin feature. There’s also no Mac software included, though iPhoto is arguably better than what would’ve been supplied anyway. Finally, the full manual is only available in digital format on a CD-ROM, and its quality is pretty lacking.
If you want a smallish camera with a great zoom range, large LCD, and useful set of features — and you’ll be taking photos in good light and not making large prints — then the Samsung HZ15W is certainly worth checking out. Those of you who want better image quality and low light performance will probably want to consider one of the HZ15′s competitors.
Digital Video Production : What Is the Difference Between NTSC & PAL?
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LIVE STREAMING PACK MULTI CAMERA SWITCHER NTSC/PAL HD $29,900.00 |
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SONY BVP-550 Camera, WLL-CA55 SDI Wireless (NTSC + PAL System) $24,999.99 |
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Used TriCaster XD850 Multi-Standard supports NTSC and PAL perfect condition $22,500.00 |
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Sony HDW-730S HDCAM camera 50i/60i PAL/NTSC ***LOADED*** A+ $9,500.00 |
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SONY DNW-A225 Betacam SX Editor/Recorder NTSC/PAL $8,000.00 |
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Sony PDW-F350 Full HD XDCAM Camera Low Hrs with Extras! F350 NTSC/PAL $6,999.00 |
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Tektronix VM700T w/ opt’s 01, 11, 41 Video Measurement Set NTSC/PAL/6 CH AUDIO $6,500.00 |
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JVC GY-HM700 ProHD Camcorder SxS NTSC / PAL $5,349.00 |
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Panasonic AG-HPX250 P2HD 10Bit Camcorder, 22x Lens, HD-SDI, HDMI Out, NTSC & PAL $5,275.00 |
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Infocus In5110 Lcd Projector Ntsc, Pal, Secam – Hdtv – 1080p – 1920 X 1200 - $4,706.26 |
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JVC GY-HM700 ProHD Camcorder SxS NTSC / PAL – PLEASE READ $4,499.00 |
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InFocus IN5300 DLP Projector – 1080p – HDTV – 16:10 – NTSC, PAL, SECAM – 1920 x $4,027.49 |
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Avid Airspeed Digital Video Recorder (NTSC & PAL) $3,999.99 |
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SONY PDW-F70 XDCAM HD RECORDER Player NTSC/PAL W/PDBK-104 SD Up-conversion board $3,899.00 |
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InFocus IN5316HD DLP Projector – 1080p – HDTV – 16:9 – NTSC, SECAM, PAL – 1920 x $3,781.12 |
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Tandberg Edge 95 HD, SEC Camera, Remote, Mic, Cables, F8.0 NTSC or PAL Warranty $3,499.00 |
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Tandberg 1700 MXP w/ MS, NPP, SEC, 9.0, PAL or NTSC $3,490.00 |
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Sony BKDS-2010 + DVS-2000C Digital Video Switcher SET (SDI+Component) (PAL/NTSC) $2,999.99 |
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Sony BKDS-2010 + DVS-2000C Digital Video Switcher SET (SDI) (PAL/NTSC) $2,999.99 |
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Kenwood V-1000 Video Signal Analyzer NTSC & PAL V1000 $2,997.00 |
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Mitsubishi WL7200U LCD Projector – 720p – F/1.8 – 2.6 – NTSC, PAL, SECAM – 1280 $2,919.31 |
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*NEW* Datavideo TLM-170HM 17.3″ LCD Monitor (1U) Resolution 1600 x 900 NTSC/PAL $2,699.00 |
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Panasonic AG-MX70 Pro Mixer MX 70 AG-MX70P NTSC/PAL $2,599.00 |
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Promax GV698+ PAL/NTSC/SECAM TV PATTERN GENERATOR $2,499.00 |
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Analog Way VIO 1600 HD Switcher/Converter, Analog/Digital, HD YUV, DVI, NTSC/PAL $2,495.95 |