Samsung goes big with 8-megapixel 15x-zoom Pro815
posted June 3rd 2005 9:48AM
Samsung — better known to digicam users as a producer of compacts — has upped the ante and formally launched its first "prosumer" camera. The new Pro815, which was first spotted back in April, has a lot of heavyweight features, including a couple of industry firsts: the first 15x optical zoom lens, a mammoth 3.5-inch LCD, and what Samsung says is the world's highest-capacity Li-Ion battery (1900mAh, 7.4V). The 8-megapixel cam also features Schneider-Kreuznach optics, a second LCD on the top for waist-level shooting, a 2.5 fps burst mode and 640x480 movies. One thing that seems to be missing is image stabilization, which is crucial for an ultra-zoom lens, unless you want to haul a tripod around with you. Still, sounds like a lot of camera, though the expected price of about $1,089 is more than double that of competing ultra-zoom prosumer cams like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 and Konica-Minolta Dimage Z5 (of course, both of those are 5-megapixel cams, but both also offer image stabilization).
[Thanks, Paul]
Looks impressive... too bad for the stabilizer.. :-/
holy crap! I read 3.5" lcd, but it didn't click until I saw the back. Now that is an lcd...they better have the highest capacity battery. I'm a sucker for cameras with big lcd
Love 3.5-inch LCD, but w/o image stabilization and damage me at $1,089. I'd rather go with Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5.
There must be image stabilization, maybe under some guise we dont know yet, like panasonic says OIS...
hopefully the image quality is up to par, cos it looks like one nice camera! and oh my good lord, the lens...
I don't see this being a big success in the US. Samsung lacks any track record to reassure people. From talking to co-workers, most people are starting to understand that more pixels isn't always better. If the target is a serious enthusiasts, they won't trust the name, they won't want a non-stabalized camera and the price is pushing SLR ground. The top level LCD is probably too small to be useful. From the article, the manual control rings (not described in detail unfortunately) are the most interesting bit.
Scheider lens (they make lenses that even put Zeiss to shame at times on Rollei medium format SLRs) is really good. And Samsung is gaining lots of street credibility - see a recent article in WIRED on Samsung. They're out Sony'ing Sony these days. :-P
Wow, you can get an EOS 20D sans lens for that price (and a rebel XT for much cheaper).
For this price, how can you not have interchangeable lenses? You don't buy a prosumer camera only to upgrade when you need a new lens.
Nice camera, I like the design and the big LCD, but the lack of image stabilization pretty much kills it. For that money you're better off with a DSLR, even a refurbished one - or spend half that to pick up Panasonic's Lumix ultrazooms!
That's a thing of beauty. I wish I was ignorant...I'd buy it in a minute.
1. The lens is extremely fast and may sustain F2.2 at full zoom. This means a higher shutter speed, less time for shake.
2. A side picture shows a button called HS, believed to be "High Speed" Mode, an electronic stabilizer. Canon calls it IS, Panasonic Mega OIS, Minolta Anti-Shake, and Nikon Vibration Reduction. So Samsung says HS. So there's your "IS".
It also has a much larger 2/3" sensor vs the tiny 1/2.5" ones in the Lumix DMC-FZ5 and Dimage Z5.
All Samsung says about the high-speed mode is that it "ensures steady shooting." That's kind of vague, and would seem to suggest that the HS mode is some kind of high-speed shutter-priority mode, as opposed to actual image stabilization circuitry. Other camera makers that include image stabilization make a big deal of it in their specs, so the fact that there's nothing about it in the Samsung specs would lead me to believe that there's nothing there.
Image stabilization at 108mm zoom? Are you kidding? The only people having an issue holding this thing still at 108mm with a shutter speed of 1/250th or less would be 90 year olds. Even using 300-400mm on a dSLR you wont have much of an issue so long as you have good lighting to keep the shutter speed up. IS gets you mostly just an extra f stop anyways, it isn't that much of a difference and you can still easily get image shake in the image.
Image stabilization at 108mm zoom? Are you kidding? The only people having an issue holding this thing still at 108mm with a shutter speed of 1/250th or less would be 90 year olds.
This is equivalent to 420mm on a SLR. So, yeah, image stabilization. DPReview reports that it's f2.2 at the wide end and f4.6 zoomed in, which is not bad; better than the Konica Minolta's on the wide end, but a little slower zoomed in.
Without Image Stabilization, and twice the price of the FZ5 (which is a fantastic camera) this thing is deader than a doornail, and completely useless.
It's amusing that, sight unseen, the lack of IS causes folks to assume the zoom lens is unusable.
The fixed zoom lens prosumer design is an increasingly popular step between consumer and professional cameras. Why spend the same amount of money on a body that is, for most people, overkill, as they will 85% of the time use the kit lens? You can instead spend that money on a camera with one fixed lens (read: no dust issues unless you have an Olympus DSL) that covers 28-420mm? A FAST fixed lens (F2.2), a WIDE (28mm) lens. Just how much more coverage do you think you will need that would warrant ANOTHER lens? If your needs go beyond this, then you essentially consider the entire fixed lens prosumer line useless, and whatever you have to say concerning this model also concerns such cameras as the excellent Sony DSC-F717 and Olympus C-8080.
Image stabilisation is not an absolute necessity. The general rule of thumb in photography is that you can avoid camera-shake if the shutter speed is faster than the recipricol of the focal length. If you do not zoom past 125mm (and I rarely do when I am being a "tourist"), then the lack of image stabilisation is not a problem. At 420mm, you will need a shutter speed faster than 1/420 second. On a sunny day, this will not be an issue. If it is somewhat dark, either open up your aperture or increase the ISO.
Despite the size of this camera, still not a D-SLR sized CCD. Notice that the lense is 7mm-108mm which they say translates to 28mm equivalent. This means that the size compared to film is a factor of 4 (as opposed to the Nikon DX format which is 1.5x off). I also don't understand why companies try to make a camera look like a SLR, and then use a EVF and a non removable lense. Oh well, It's not like I'd really use any large digicam I couldn't put my lenses on.
What is a DSLR-sized CCD? Having one does not impose a requirement for the other.
The Olympus E-system first started out with fixed lens, 2/3" CCD, leaf-shutter DSLR in the E-10 and E-20, and these were used (and still are) by professional photographers.
So really, a DSLR-sized CDD is any CCD used by a DSLR.
Claiming that a certain sized CCD, say APS-C or 4/3", is the requirement to consider a camera a DSLR, by which you really mean professional, will amus future consumers when, for all we know, a 2/3" imaging sensor is considered ridiculously large.
Also, a camera with a fixed lens does not look like an SLR, it is an SLR if it utilizes a single-lens reflex mechanism. If it doesn't, it is not an SLR.
Basically, you are misinterpreting terminology.
What you probably want to say is: "I do not consider any camera that does not use interchangeable lenses with a single-lens reflex mechanism and a pentaprism a real camera worthy of my notice."
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0506/05060202samsung_pro815.asp
nice specs above,
sounds nice.. i got the c8080wz and am hoping this unit's bigger 2/3" ccd will be as good as the rebel xt's 8mp ccd unit.. if the pix are as good as the c8080's then your laughing.. but for the price i'll be upgrading to a dslr.. which I am guessing is why Oly wont be releasing a replacement for the now discontinued c8080 cos the price is too near to the pricing of the cheapest dslrs like a d50, rebels, *istDL or olys e300... so bumma - great idea killed by no IS and too high a price, otherwise would of made a great backup camera for some pro's on the cheap haha.
paultakeda: Neither the E-10 or E-20 were DSLRs - they did offer a through-the-lens view, but that was accomplished using a prism, not a reflex mirror. If you want to continue to claim them to be DSLRs, however, then you'll need to acknowledge the fact that Sony's DSC-D700, DSC-D770 and DKC-FP3 were there years beforehand, using the exact same prism-based system as the E-10 and E-20.
I also highly doubt that any pro photographer is continuing to use the E-10 or E-20. Any pro photographer will already have a collection of lenses, and a superior body with interchangeable lens capability, far better image quality, and far better noise characteristics can be had very cheaply indeed now. Those pro photographers that used to use the E-10 and E-20 some years ago will almost certainly have switched to real DSLRs, and those early E-series cameras will have been sold or will be languishing on a shelf somewhere by now.
Provided image quality stacks up, this will potentially be the kind of non-DSLR camera that those of us who do travel/street photography dream of. DSLR shutter is too loud, they lack the ability to do waist-level shooting, and dust is an issue. I'll gladly pay $1,100 or more to find a non-DSLR that improves on the image quality of the current crop of prosumer zoom cameras - so I hope that the Samsung meets my expectations...
Have been rsearching similar cam's for possible purchase including Panasonic FZ5 & 20. Several sources now say Samsung's price for the Pro815 is $849. Not sure if this is list or street but Popular Photography mag calls it list. This may make the 815 more palitable even without IS. IS seems to be the only spec in which it is not superior. Would need to view some test shots before buying.
I've been waiting for something to replace both my F60 and Digimax V4. I very nearly bought the new JVC MZ500 camcorder but it's still pics are apparently very ordinary. So this looks like it. But I really need to know what format the movie capability is because if it's still mpeg1 I'm not interested and I really hope it takes SD as well as CF cards because I've just bought a LifeDrive to download to when we're on holidays and it takes SD. Does anyone know?
I have been a photofessional sports photographer for only a few years. I have only used Olympus C750 then Panasonic FZ20 snd FZ5.
I cann't wait to try a Pro 815. I figure Samsung will hve to sell it cheep to lure away the " I didn't know samsung built cameras". I am having trouble finding anyone selling them.
For nature photography and sporting events I've been looking for a long-lensed fixed lens digicam. The 28mm wide angle, and the 3.5in LCD round out the package, theoretically.
I've been monitoring the Samsung camera homepage, and internet retailers, and so far can't find anyone who's selling this camera.
Has anyone found examples of image quality taken with this camera, and has anyone found a place to purchase it?
You can pre-order the Pro815 at
http://www.bestcameras.co.uk/shop/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Samsung_Digimax_Pro815_197.html?ref=kelkoo
However, it appears that Samsung don't know when it will launch the best I got was sometime in September. I was really keen but the possible lack of stabilisation and the fact that there have been no pre-production reviews has tempered by enthuasiasm!
I have to say the Panasonic DMCFZ30BB offers 12x zoom and stabilisation and I think must be a contender ( also launched september) - its just that 3.5" screen keeps calling me back!
Time will tell once the reviews come out hopefully they will put these two head to head and clarify which is best.
The NIKON Cool Pix 8800 is a better option to go for as compared to this. Perfect Image Stabalization in that as well along with ultra kool resolution of effective 8mp.
Regards,
Raj.
Just bought one the Pro815. Hot camera. In low light conditions it needs a little help (just turn on a flash or use a tripod). The HS mode drops the ISO to 100. Takes reasonable pictures.
THE SCREEN! Great quality, takes up most of the back of the camera, bright. You can switch from large sceen to LCD veiw finder to top screen with one button. Easy to use menues and anyone can see them (large fonts on large sceen :). Tons of languages to choose from.
In full manual mode you have FULL control of the camera. The rings do all they are supposed to do. And the lens... Clear. And for the same price (in my neck of the woods) as the Panasonic DMCFZ30BB if gives you wide angle (28 equivalent) without adding anything else. You can, even, tweek focus in auto-focus mode.
Memory. It comes with 64Meg Compact Flash card. A bit of a joke. At 8 megapixels and maximum quality (TIFF) - 2 pictures :). At least CF format has the largest amount of memory available. I will be getting a 4Gig shortly.
So far, I am impressed. Will see as the time goes on.
One more note. If you are getting older and/or your eyesite is not as good as could be, this camera makes a big difference.
Keep clicking,
Ilya.
Claiming that a certain sized CCD, say APS-C or 4/3", is the requirement to consider a camera a DSLR, by which you really mean professional, will amus future consumers when, for all we know, a 2/3" imaging sensor is considered ridiculously large.Also, a camera with a fixed lens does not look like an SLR, it is an SLR if it utilizes a single-lens reflex mechanism. If it doesn't, it is not an SLR. Basically, you are misinterpreting terminology.
What you probably want to say is; I do not consider any camera that does not use interchangeable lenses with a single-lens reflex mechanism and a pentaprism a real camera worthy of my notice.