Samsung EX2F Digital Camera Review

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Ease of Use

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Sections:
Automatic Features
Buttons & Dials
Effects, Filters, and Scene Modes
Menu
Instruction Manual

Automatic Features

We spent most of our time in Program Auto, which unfortunately lacks program shift functionality, however most beginners will stick to Smart Auto, a scene-detecting automatic mode that adjusts camera settings based on your subject. This can be handy since the camera becomes capable of swapping in and out of macro focus mode on its own, but a few unlocked options might be confusing for newbies, such as the neutral density filter. The camera is also incapable of deploying the flash on its own, and will not prompt the user to do so unless they press the appropriate key.

Buttons & Dials

The rear button layout is fairly traditional. There's a combination directional pad / rotating dial, with shortcuts at all four directions and a central "OK" key. This is flanked by four additional shortcut buttons for the main menu, function menu, playback menu, and delete. Above that, you'll find a dedicated video record button, as well as a handy exposure lock button too.

Effects, Filters, and Scene Modes

Many of Samsung's cameras have some of the best picture effects around, including this one. Whether they're appealing on an enthusiast camera is debatable, but they're in there if you want them. Our favorites include Cartoon and Sketch, as well as the ever-popular Magic Frame mode.

Samsung's main menu is a high-contrast, vertical list-based system that is operated chiefly with the directional pad. Settings are divided into three tabs, which can be selected either by navigating over to them or by moving the control dial on the front panel. The lists themselves are quite long, so a much faster option is the quick Function menu, accessed by a button directly beside the main menu button. This is a familiar single-screen interface, which can be used to change the most common shooting options via a combination of the directional pad and front control dial. We like this interface, and found it useful in the field when reaction time was important.

Instruction Manual

The camera ships with a useless Quick Start Guide, and you'll really want to copy a digital version of the full manual from the included CD-ROM. This document still lacks important information, but was at least far more helpful than the printed guide.

Chris was born and raised less than ten miles from our editorial office, and even graduated from nearby Merrimack College. He came to Reviewed after covering the telecommunications industry, and has been moonlighting as a Boston area dining critic since 2008.

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