Digital Camera News
Samsung debuts WiFi-enabled WB850F and WB150F compact superzooms
Samsung announced two new WiFi-equipped compact superzooms at CES today, including one that sets (for now) the record for the longest zoom range in a compact camera.
The WB850F tops the Samsung compact lineup for 2012. The centerpiece is an f/2.8-5.9 Schneider-Kreuznach lens with a massive, class-leading (for now) 21x zoom range. It’s built around a 16 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, which enables 1080p HD video, usually improves low-light quality, and should add some pep to burst modes and overall shot-to-shot times.
The WB850F replaces last year’s WB750, which earned a decent score in our full review, but not an outstanding one. The WB850F adds a 3-inch AMOLED screen and GPS capability, but otherwise they seem very similar, based on the limited spec sheet we’ve seen. It’ll be available in black this April for $379.
Wanna-be long-zoomers on a stricter budget can look to the WB150F. Its sensor is a ho-hum 14-megapixel CCD, so it’ll be slower than its big brother. But the 18x zoom range is still enormous, and it’ll hit shelves for a much more affordable $229 when it debuts at the end of this month.
Both models come equipped with built-in SMART WiFi, which Samsung claims is vastly improved over their first-gen implementation. This time around, users will be able to easily sign in at public and password-protected WiFi hotspots, thanks to a proprietary log-in browser. Remote viewfinder with Android phones will be supported (with an iOS version on the way, we’re told). Users can enable Microsoft Sky Drive cloud storage and PC Auto Backup, and all the typical sharing features—Facebook, YouTube, Picasa, and email—are included.
For more information, head to http://www.samsung.com/us/photography/digital-cameras.
Photo Gallery
Latest News
& Reviews
-
15-May-2012
Head to Head: Olympus OM-D E-M5 Vs. Olympus PEN E-P3
We’ve finished our review of the Olympus OM-D E-M5. See here how it stacks up against the Olympus PEN E-P3, our 2011 mirrorless camera of the year. Read More...
-
14-May-2012
Photo App of the Week: Flixel for iOS
Easy cinemagraph app is rough around the edges. Read More...
Top Rated Digital Cameras
-
Digital SLRs
Point & Shoots
-
$3,499.001Canon EOS 5D Mark III
We have finally put the Canon 5D Mark III through a full, rigorous performance test and it sits among the best DSLRs we've ever tested. Read our full review to see how Canon has improved in all the areas the 5D Mark II struggled. Read full 7-part review
$3,499.00
$499.001Panasonic Lumix FZ150
Excellent image quality, speedy performance, and a great design add up to the best superzoom that has ever graced our labs. That distinction seems to change hands every week, but trust us when we say that the FZ150 is a truly great camera. Read full 16-part review
$499.00 -
$1,700.002Fujifilm X-Pro1
Fuji's bold new mirrorless rangefinder throwback brings the successful X series into the realm of interchangeable lenses. Read full 9-part review
$1,700.00
$449.992Sony Cyber-shot HX100V
This professionally-geared ultrazoom offers some of the best color accuracy we've ever seen. It's a shame the other scores weren't quite so strong. Read full 16-part review
$449.99 -
$799.003Nikon D5100
The D5100 is the latest entry-level DSLR from Nikon, with full 1080/30p video, an articulated LCD, and the same image sensor as the D7000. It lacks an internal focus motor, but we found it produced some of the most accurate colors we've seen yet. Read full 7-part review
$799.00
$799.993Canon PowerShot G1 X
Canon's new G1 X features a giant 1.5-inch CMOS sensor and the same manual control that we loved on the G12. Read full 7-part review
$799.99 -
$1,349.994Sony Alpha NEX-7
We've put the 24.3-megapixel Sony NEX-7 through our full battery of tests, and the writing's on the wall: the NEX-7 is the best mirrorless camera yet. Read full 7-part review
$1,349.99
$429.994Canon PowerShot SX40 HS
Canon's SX30 got a CMOS makeover that resulted in the SX40 HS, an impressive ultrazoom that captures beautiful shots in almost any scenario. Read full 16-part review
$429.99 -
$699.995Sony Alpha NEX-5N
We put the Sony NEX-5N through a battery of performance tests and stack it up against the competition to see how well it fairs. The 5N's large DSLR-size image sensor produced great images, with a selection of lenses that is vastly improved in just the past year. Read full 7-part review
$699.99
$399.995Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ47
Panasonic resists the urge to cram more megapixels and more focal length into their latest ultrazoom. The FZ47 instead focuses on image quality and features, resulting in an incredibly strong camera that we loved shooting with. Read full 16-part review
$399.99
Find the right digital camera for you.
