Digital Camera News

January 07, 2007

Samsung Announces L73 and L700

January 7, 2007 – Samsung Camera added two new digital cameras to its "premium" L-series today: the L73 and L700. The Samsung L73 boasts lots of trendy technologies including face detection, optical image stabilization, and the Smart Touch interface introduced on some of the NV-series cameras last year. The Samsung L700 has many of the same basic features of the L73 such as 7 megapixels and a host of automatic and scene modes. Both digital cameras will be available this spring; the L73 for $299 and the L700 for $249.

The Samsung L73 "boasts many of the features typically reserved for cameras that cost twice as much," stated today’s press release. This is true; the L73’s specifications promise plenty of trendy technology. The 7-megapixel digital camera has optical image stabilization on its 3x lens and pairs it with a high ISO sensitivity of 1600 to reduce blur. A face detection system can recognize up to 9 faces at a time, and the camera adjusts the exposure accordingly to snap perfect portraits. This system sounds similar to Canon’s face detection technology released on its newest models, as well as Fujifilm’s cameras tagged with "fd" at the end of the model name.

The Samsung L73 has other similarities to gadget-laden digital cameras. The Samsung L73 has a "Wise Shot" mode that snaps two pictures in a burst – one with image stabilization and the other with the flash, and then allows users to compare the pictures side-by-side. This feature is very similar to Fujifilm’s Natural Light & With Flash mode on the F-series models.

Like many of the NV-series cameras, the Samsung L73 has the Smart Touch interface that consists of buttons below and to the right of the LCD screen. These buttons are very sensitive to touch and act much like scrolling on a mouse-pad or Apple's iPod interface. Other features on the L73 include a movie mode with four resolutions up to 800 x 592 pixels and 30 fps, in-camera picture and video editing. It also includes a sensor that detects motion in the self-timer mode and delays the exposure for 2 seconds when a subject moves.

The camera has a 2.5-inch LCD screen and comes in silver or black metal casings. The L73 also comes with a camera cradle so it can connect to televisions, computers, or PictBridge compatible printers. 20 MB of internal memory is included, and SD cards up to 4 GB are accepted.

The Samsung L700 is much like the L73 – except without all the frills. Strip the face detection, optical stabilization, Smart Touch interface, and fancy movie mode, and the L700 is a simple 7-megapixel digital camera. The L700 has the same automatic and scene modes, 2.5-inch LCD screen, 3x lens, and ISO options to 1600. Its movie mode isn’t as strong since its top resolution is 640 x 480 pixels. It has a digital image stabilization system like the older Samsung L60.

Both the Samsung L73 and L700 fit between the L60 and L80 in the Digimax lineup. The Samsung L80 has 8.1 megapixels, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, widescreen movie capture, and ISO sensitivity up to 800 but it doesn’t have the technology package or interface of the L73. The Samsung L60 has 6 megapixels and a 2.4-inch LCD screen.