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Samsung i85

Reviewed May 2008

Ergonomics

Introduction
Ergonomics
Characteristics
Image Quality
Interface & Software
Camera Views
Test Photos
Specifications
Our Opinion

The Samsung i85 is a slim digital camera with a twist. Not only does it capture 8.2 megapixel images and high quality video at 800 x 592 pixels, but it's also an MP3 music player. At 3.8-by-2.44-by-0.81 inches, the unit fits comfortably in a shirt pocket and at 5.6 ounces, it does so with very little sag.

At the front of the camera, there's a microphone, the autofocus/self-timer lamp and a built-in flat flash unit. With the self-timer set for 10 seconds, its lamp will blink at one second intervals for eight seconds and for the last two seconds, it will blink quickly at quarter-second intervals. When the timer is set for two seconds, it will blink for the entire time period at quarter-second intervals. In duplicate mode, the DSC will take one picture in about 10 seconds and

automatically take another about two seconds after that. Beside the flash is the unit's Samsung NV lens. The 5x optical zoom lens is flat and doesn't protrude from the camera. A built-in lens cover closes when you turn off the camera and opens when you turn it on.

On top of the unit, there’s a speaker, power button and shutter release. The power button is slightly recessed to prevent the camera from being accidentally turned on or off. Moreover, the button has to be held down for a fraction of a second before the snapper will power up. The shutter release is shaped like a small lozenge making it easy to distinguish from the power button by touch alone.

At the top of the camera's back, there's a bevel with controls for toggling face recognition mode;

accessing the DSC's scene, shooting and multimedia modes; and entering playback mode. Icons are stamped on the buttons to identify their function.

Below the bevel at the back of the camera, is its three-inch LCD monitor with a resolution of 230,000 pixels. The display is sharp and is bright enough to be used outdoors in direct sunlight. At low temperatures, Samsung cautions, it may take longer than normal to power up and its colors may be different from the subjects in the shot. In addition, when changing the composition of a shot some "ghosting" may appear on the screen.

Beside the top right of the LCD display, is a bar for controlling the unit's zoom lens. Depressing the left end of the bar zooms in on the subject; depressing the right end zooms out. Most of the time the zoom was responsive to its controls, but on a number of occasions when attempting to zoom in on a subject nothing happened. On those occasions, the zoom started working again after a brief time lapse--five to 15 seconds. I couldn't determine the source of these delays.

Below the zoom control, there are two side-by-side buttons. One of the tabs, Fn, gives you quick access to commonly used settings such as photo size, quality, sequential shooting options, metering, ISO values, white balance settings and exposure compensation values. In playback mode, the Fn key permits you to delete a single images from the camera.

Beside the Fn button is an effects key. It lets you change the color of images, create color masks for black-and-white photos, alter the color saturation of a snapshot or apply "fun" effects to a photo, such as picture frames or cartoon speech bubbles.

Below the Fn and E keys is the circular arrow pad. It's used for navigating on the camera's LCD screen. In addition to performing cursor key functions, each arrow button provides quick access to commonly used tasks in shooting mode. For example, the button at 12 o'clock toggles between displaying and hiding information on the DSC's display. The button at three o'clock pages to the unit's self timer options; the one at six o'clock pages through macro options; and the one at nine o'clock moves through the snapper's flash choices.

In playback mode, the nine o'clock and three o'clock keys are used to move forward and backward through photos stored in the camera, and the 12 o'clock key toggles between showing and hiding information about a photo appearing on the LCD.

When playing multimedia, the six o'clock key will toggle between playing and pausing the media.

At the center of the arrow pad is a Menu/OK key. Pressing the key in either playback or shooting mode will transport you into the camera's menu system. When you select a menu item, pressing the key will activate it.

On the right side of the DSC is a mount for the camera strap included with the unit and a compartment for its earphone jack.

A quarter-inch tripod mount can be found at the bottom of the camera along with a proprietary input/output port and a compartment for the battery and memory card. The unit comes with 190 megabytes of internal memory which can be supplemented with optional SD/SDHC or MMC Plus cards.

Insertion of the camera's lithium ion rechargeable battery is less than intuitive. Without referring to the product's documentation, it took me several tries to get the battery properly seated in the camera. The battery can be recharged through a proprietary USB cable included with the unit. The cable can be plugged into the USB port of a computer or into a custom AC adapter packaged with the product.

As is characteristics of cameras that are this size, its controls are small, but the generous spacing between the buttons makes them easy to access even with meaty masculine fingers.

Compare Prices for
Samsung Digimax i85 8.2 MP Digital Camera - Red
StoreSeller RatingsDescriptionPrice
NextWarehousein stock$277.55
BPAV.comin stock$264.47
newcomputergenin stock$244.99
PC Connectionin stock$283.82
Introduction
Ergonomics
Characteristics
Image Quality
Interface & Software
Camera Views
Test Photos
Specifications
Our Opinion



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