4.3The Samsung HZ15W is a relatively minor upgrade to the HZ10W introduced just a month ago. The principal upgrades are an increase in resolution from 10.2 to 12.2 megapixels, a larger LCD display and built-in HDMI output. Both cameras sport an impressive 10x zoom, packed into a compact body. This positions the HZ15W to compete with other compact ultra zooms from the likes of Panasonic, Canon and Kodak.
Like most point and shoot cameras the Samsung HZ15W does not have a viewfinder.
LCD
The LCD on the HZ15W is one place where Samsung has seen fit to upgrade the camera over its predecessor by increasing the size form 2.7 inches to a full 3 inches. This puts it on par with other competitors in this space. Unfortunately Samsung has not seen fit to share information about the screen resolution, the HZ10W had 230,000 dots.
The 3-inch LCD display is a significant step up.
Flash
The small flash on the Samsung HZ15W is located just above and to the left of the lens on the front of the camera. This positioning, rather close to the lens, means you can probably expect to run into some red-eye issues. There's also support for flash compensation between +/- 1.
The flash is small and probably too close to the lens.
Lens
The heart of the Samsung HZ15W is its 10x Schneider-Kreuznach lens, with a focal range that runs the gamut from an impressive wide angle of 24mm to a 240mm telephoto (35mm equivalent). This range offers users an enormous amount of flexibility in composing their shots. Although it's a bit less than the 12x zoom range found on some competitors, the 24mm wide angle is currently tops in this category, albeit Panasonic comes close with the 25mm lens on the ZS3. Less impressive is the maximum aperture of the lens at f/3.3 at the wide end and f/5.8 at the tele end. This is par for the course with ultra zooms like the HZ15W; packing that much range into such a small body you do have to make some sacrifices.
The 24-240mm lens is the signature feature here.
Jacks, Ports & Plugs
Like most Samsung cameras the HZ15W uses their proprietary port for data connection, found on the left side of the camera. A new addition on the HZ15W, however, is the presence of a mini HDMI port found on the opposite side, which allows you to output the high definition video the camera is able to capture directly to your television.
The addition of min HDMI out will help you get the HD video from
the camera to your television.
Battery
The HZ15W's battery is found under a cover on the bottom of the camera, right next to the memory card slot. Samsung hasn't provided any information about how long they expect the battery to last.
The battery and memory card slots sit side by side.
Memory
The Samsung HZ15W handles standard SD and high capacity SDHC cards. The latter are currently available in sizes up to 32GB. the memory card slot is found on the bottom of the camera right next to the battery underneath a plastic cover.
