2.4 The TL34HD from Samsung is their new touch-screen, 14.7-megapixel point-and-shoot camera. Housed in a sleek metal case, it wowed us with good to excellent results in almost every test we could throw at it, especially white balance and automatic noise. While it didn't fare as well in low light or in video mode as could be desired, the TL34HD delivered an all around excellent performance, a solid feature set with some degree of manual control, in an attractive package. It retails at $299 and seems to us to be good value for a strong camera. Full details follow.
Conclusion Samsung is showing itself to be a major up-and-comer with this and the NV40. We found the TL34HD a pleasure to use. Its interface was excellent, the touch-screen functioned far better than most of the competition, and it scored very well in the majority of our tests, especially white balance. Retailing at $299 makes it quite a bargain for a touch-screen camera. Of course, it isn't without its down sides. There are some design problems, like the difficult-to-reach zoom control, the propensity for the flash unit to get blocked, the proprietary port, and the very poor video result. However, even taking these into consideration, we give this camera our thumbs up.
Likes
- Solid, handsome construction
- Excellent touch-screen - Good results in our testing, especially white balance
Dislikes
- Poor video quality - Proprietary port
- In-camera battery charging - Poorly placed zoom controls and flash
Samsung is showing itself to be a major up-and-comer with this and the NV40. We found the TL34HD a pleasure to use. Its interface was excellent, the touch-screen functioned far better than most of the competition, and it scored very well in the majority of our tests, especially white balance. Retailing at $299 makes it quite a bargain for a touch-screen camera. Of course, it isn't without its down sides. There are some design problems, like the difficult-to-reach zoom control, the propensity for the flash unit to get blocked, the proprietary port, and the very poor video result. However, even taking these into consideration, we give this camera our thumbs up.