-
Introduction
-
01.Physical Tour
-
02.Components
-
03.Design / Layout
-
04.Modes
-
05.Control Options
-
06.Conclusion
-
07.Specs
-
08.Comments
Samsung TL34HD
Previous: Page 4
ModesNext: Page 6
ConclusionManual Control Options
The TL34HD has a limited, but usable set of manual controls. To use this, you rotate the mode dial to M, then set the shutter and aperture directly. However, you cannot alter both easily; you have to do one, then the other. There is no shutter or aperture priority mode; you just get the choice of program, a scene mode or full manual
Focus
Auto Focus
We found the auto focus of the TL34HD to be generally responsive in our tests; the camera quickly found the right focus point in the well-lit conference hall at Photokina. However, it did seem to have some issues when we tried to focus on the darker parts of the hall, hunting for the focus but sometimes failing. We'll need to do more tests before we can decide if this is a real issue or just a quirk of the lighting.
ISO
The ISO range goes from 80 at the low end up to 1600. An option for 3200 is available, but the resolution is then restricted to 3 megapixels. That's a decent range which should allow for shooting in most lighting situations, and there is also an Auto mode, where the camera makes the call.
White Balance
A limited number of white balance settings is available; daylight, cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten and a custom setting that comes from a photo of a white object. Again, that should be more than enough for most users; most will simply set this on auto and not worry about it.
Metering
Options for multi, spot and center-weighted metering are available. If the face detection mode is enabled, the camera will use the detected faces to meter against.
Shutter Speed
In the auto mode, the shutter speed can range from 1/2000 of a second down to 1 second. This gets slightly expanded to 4 seconds in the firework scene mode. That's a pretty typical spread for a point-and-shoot camera like this.
Aperture
The aperture of the zoom lens goes from f/2.8 at the wide setting to f/5.9 at the telephoto end. The telephoto end is a little too small; you might have difficulty taking low-light shots with the zoom extended, as it won't gather as much light. Samsung did not specify the minimum aperture.
Image Stabilization
The TL34HD offers two image stabilization modes; an electronic mode that boosts the ISO and shutter speed, and an optical stabilization mode that moves an element of the lens to compensate for camera shake. Both of these modes can be enabled by setting the mode dial to the Dual setting, or one or the other can be enabled from the on-screen menu in most other modes. We were not able to test the efficacy of this, but we generally find that optical image stabilization produces better results.
Picture Quality / Size Options
The TL34HD offers three options for image quality; Super Fine, Fine or Normal. The options for image size range from the maximum of 4384 x 3266 pixels down to 1024 x 7688. At the highest quality and size, Samsung estimates that a 1GB memory card will hold 136 images.
Picture Effects Mode
A number of picture effects modes are on offer; you can set a number of photo styles (Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm or Classic) or shoot in any one of seven color modes (Normal, B & W, Sepia, Blue, Red, Green or Negative). The sharpness, contrast and saturation of any of these modes can be tweaked by the user as well.
Shop for the Samsung TL34HD
Latest News
& Reviews
-
11-Feb-2012
Canon PowerShot 320 HS First Impressions Review
Canon fleshes out the ELPH series with a somewhat plain touchscreen ultracompact. We’re just not sure how well this model will sell without the travel zoom barrel of its more expensive cousins. Read More...
-
11-Feb-2012
Canon PowerShot 530 HS First Impressions Review
Canon guts their 500 HS and creates a tiny travel zoom from the leftovers. This could be a cool little camera, if the company can sort out some hardware issues. Read More...
Top Rated Point & Shoots
-
$459.991Panasonic 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
$459.99TypesAny Zoom3,5.13.1x to 5x Zoom5.1,105.1x to 9.9x Zoom10,10x & Larger ZoomAny Megapixels0,8< 8 Megapixels8,108 to 10 Megapixels10,> 10 Megapixels -
$378.992Canon 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
$378.99TypesAny Zoom3,5.13.1x to 5x Zoom5.1,105.1x to 9.9x Zoom10,10x & Larger ZoomAny Megapixels0,8< 8 Megapixels8,108 to 10 Megapixels10,> 10 Megapixels -
$427.953Sony 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
$427.95TypesUltra-ZoomAny Zoom3,5.13.1x to 5x Zoom5.1,105.1x to 9.9x Zoom10,10x & Larger ZoomAny Megapixels0,8< 8 Megapixels8,108 to 10 Megapixels10,> 10 Megapixels16.8 MP -
$314.954Panasonic 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
$314.95TypesAny Zoom3,5.13.1x to 5x Zoom5.1,105.1x to 9.9x Zoom10,10x & Larger ZoomAny Megapixels0,8< 8 Megapixels8,108 to 10 Megapixels10,> 10 Megapixels -
$417.005Canon PowerShot S100
Canon's PowerShot S100 improves on the popular S95 and takes its place at the top of the point-and-shoot food chain. Read full 16-part review
$417.00TypesAny Zoom3,5.13.1x to 5x Zoom5.1,105.1x to 9.9x Zoom10,10x & Larger ZoomAny Megapixels0,8< 8 Megapixels8,108 to 10 Megapixels10,> 10 Megapixels
Features
-
DigitalCameraInfo New Year's Giveaway
Check back every day for the rest of 2011 to see what we’re adding to the grand prize package. It all starts with the Sony NEX-5N and ends with over $4000 in prizes! Read More...
-
DigitalCameraInfo.com 2011 Select Awards
After a year of tireless testing and deliberation, we’ve made our selections for the very best cameras of 2011. Read More...
(add your own)