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The 5x optical zoom gives
this camera an edge over many of its 3x rivals in this category. However,
the wide end of the zoom, which is the equivalent focal length of 36mm
in a 35mm camera, may feel restrictive to some shutterbugs. That narrowness
of view can be offset, however, by using the camera's wider quality settings--3264
x 2176 and 3264 x 1836.
The unit's LCD is very sharp and bright and can be used outdoors in bright
sunlight. It accurately renders what's being shot with the camera so there
are no surprises when images reach the "big screen"--whether
it be a computer monitor or a TV screen. It also performs well when showing
video that's been converted for play on the i85. While text is crisp and
legible on the display, reading long documents on the device is a chore
because of its size.
The quality of the LCD enables Samsung to have some fun with the camera's
interface. Menus can appear over a transparent background so you can see
what you're pointing the camera at as you make menu choices. And menus
can be animated. As you move from item to item in some menus, the selector
has a rolling motion. Other menus have animated icons.
Controls on the digcam are intuitive to use and relatively easy to poke
for a camera this size. Turning the camera on can be irksome, though,
because the power button has to be held down until the LCD fires up before
you start shooting. No doubt this design move is calculated to guard against
the unit being powered up accidently when jostled in a pocket or purse,
but it can still irritate at times. Another design decision that may grate
some imagesmiths is the absence of a dedicated button to enter video mode.
Samsung felt that activating face-recognition was more deserving of that
treatment than video.
Video shot with the DSC was good and sound better than average. In additon
to the typical video sizes, the unit has a wide format option, 800 x 592
pixels.
With its emphasis on fun, you'd expect the camera to be geek-resistant
and, for the most part, it is. However, setting up the unit to play multimedia
and text files from a storage card may be a little troublesome for the
technically challenged. That's because it requires the creation of special
root folders on the card for those file types.
Two Windows software applications are packaged with the camera. One can
be used to convert multimedia files into a form that can be played in
the unit. It's a no-frills program that gets the job done. The other software
offering is for managing and editing photos and video. It's a mediocre
program that will encourage anyone who tries to use it to look for something
to replace it with fast.
What's appealing about the i85 is that its non-photographic extras aren't
packed into the unit at the expense of its primary function--taking pictures.
Overall, images captured by the DSC were very good. After all, the most
fun you can have with any digital camera--even one that's an MP3 and video
player--is shoot memorable snapshots.
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Introduction
