Compact, light, and more importantly very quick, the Samsung
L700 is a discreet companion on outings and walks as it allows
capturing fleeting images.
Offering technical specs that seem to be the current standard
for small compact cameras, the L700 has the advantage that
it does not skimp on some critical items: for instance, it
provides a 2.5-inch monitor with a high resolution —
230,000 pixels — which results in a sharp and precise
image.
Although it does not offer a Manual
mode, the Program mode still provides a good level of control
to the user. Moreover, it always indicates aperture and shutter
speed, helpful in determining how the image will turn out when
the subject is moving.
The short zoom of the L700 has
a focal length range that covers the equivalent of a 35 to
105 mm on a 35 mm camera. Yet, although the wide angle end
is only an average wide angle, images reveal some barrel distortion,
particularly when the shot contains linear elements that are
close to the edges of the frame. Telephoto shots, on the other
hand, reveal no pincushion distortion. Sharpness is even across
images, and throughout the focal length range of the zoom,
and there is no visible chromatic aberration, even when the
subject contains strong contrasts.
Generally, the L700 produces excellent
colours. The auto white balance is reliable, and consistent.
The one occasional exception is when the camera is used under
a mix of light sources and with the flash. Then, colours can
vary slightly, depending on the overall amount of light available
to the camera.
Another advantage of the
L700 is that its sensitivity range can be used up to 400 ISO
outdoors in broad daylight and even up to 800 ISO if
necessary. Indeed, noise is effectively absent at 80 and 100
ISO, and only increases marginally in dark or slightly underexposed
areas up to 400 ISO.
At 800 ISO, noise becomes visible in areas of uniform colour,
but when printed, these images are acceptable up to 10.2 x
7.6 inches (26 x 19.5 cm) at 300 dpi.
At 1600 ISO, noise is very visible,
and the sharpness of the image is so limited that it can not
produce large size prints. Still, the fact remains that the
sensitivity can be increased, without too much of a penalty
in noise, to boost the shutter speed when required.
Another area where the L700
stands out in relation to many other compacts is in the choice
of compression the user is given: the L700 allows saving all
image sizes at any of three compression settings, a rare
feature nowadays.
The highest image quality, and the most suitable for large
prints, is 7M Super Fine. And, if images are to be printed
at a smaller size or used for the web or e-mail only, the
other sizes — at the Super Fine quality setting —
are quite sufficient.
Regrettably, in our opinion, the
compression applied at the Super Fine setting is still a bit
too strong as it tends to hover in the 6:1 range with most
photos. And, when these photos are inspected on a monitor
at 100%, the compression seems to reduce the sharpness of
the smaller detail in images.
Aperture: f4, shutter speed: 1/200 sec., 50 ISO.
However, once the images are reduced in size, or printed, the
softness in the details that can be seen on a monitor disappears.
As with all compact digital cameras, the L700 is equipped
with a small built-in flash. Since the camera has a tendency
to select the lowest sensitivity when set to Auto ISO, increasing
the effect of the flash by augmenting the sensitivity is best
done manually. Nevertheless, the flash is primarily useful
to provide fill-in light, and cannot be relied on as the major
source of light.
Overall, the Samsung L700 yields
very good images, particularly if these are destined to be
printed. The L700 reacts quickly to its controls, including
its shutter release, and its photos can be printed out to
10.2 x 7.6 inches (26 x 19.5 cm) at 300 dpi easily and with
excellent results, placing it on the same footing as most
expensive cameras. In fact, the L700 probably has one of the
best cost-to-value ratios for cameras currently on the market.
Image Quality
