Samsung TL225

Resolution (10.24)

Our resolution tests focus on three areas of performance: distortion, sharpness and chromatic aberration. Distortion is where straight lines in images become curved because of the poor optics of a lens, while sharpness is the ability of the camera to capture fine details. Chromatic aberration is a problem also caused by poor lens optics: the lens refracts colors of light in different amounts, causing a slight color fringe on images. More on how we test resolution.

Distortion (18.07)

We found that the zoom lens of the TL225 introduced only a very small amount of distortion into the images the camera captured: less than 0.7 percent at the wide end and less than 0.5 per cent at the telephoto end of the zoom range. As the examples below show, that’s barely noticeable, and is significantly less than other cameras.

Overall, the TL225 has only middling performance here. Although there was very little distortion, the images were rather soft at the edges and had some issues with aberration.

Distortion Examples
Wide (4.9mm): 0.64% Barrel Distortion
Mid (13.7mm): 0.44% Barrel Distortion
Tele (22.5mm): 0.31% Pincushion Distortion

Sharpness (7.8)

We were less impressed with the sharpness of the images that the TL225 captured: we found that although the images were acceptably sharp in the center of the frame, they were rather soft at the edge, at both the wide and telephoto end of the zoom range. At both ends of the zoom range, we found that details at the edge of the frame became extremely soft. This also happened in the middle of the zoom range, but to a lesser degree.

Chromatic Aberration (4.61)

We also found a lot of chromatic aberration in the images at the wide and telephoto ends of the zoom range, although this was more pronounced at the wide end of the zoom range.

Quality & Size Options (6.57)

The TL225 has a wide range of image quality and size options. There are three different levels of image quality (Super Fine, Fine and Normal) and 8 options for image size. Missing, though, is any way to capture RAW images, which contain the raw data captured by the image sensor.

Image Stabilization (1.76)

Two image stabilization modes are included on the TL225: an optical one (which moves an element of the lens) and an electronic one, which increases the shutter speed to try and remove shake. We found that the optical system did a reasonable job of minimizing shake, with our test images shot at 1/30 of a second coming out slightly sharper with it enabled. It didn’t do miracles, though; many of the images were still somewhat blurry. More on how we test image stabilization.

Stabilization Comparisons
Samsung TL225	Sony DSC-T900	Canon SD780 IS	Fujifilm F200EXR
Stabilization Off
Stabilization On