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Introduction
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01.Hardware
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02.Design & Layout
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03.Modes
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04.Controls
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05.Conclusion
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06.Specs & Ratings
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07.Comments
Samsung TL500
Previous: Page 2
Design & LayoutNext: Page 4
Controls
Modes
Auto Mode
There are a couple of automatic modes on offer: a standard program mode and the Smart mode. The Smart mode is a fully automatic mode; all the user can do there is to set the size of the image. The program mode offers more control, allowing the user to go in and tweak most of the cameras settings, such as white balance, ISO, etc.
Movie Mode
The movie mode of this camera is a huge disappointment; it is limited to shooting standard definition video at a resolution of 640 by 480 pixels. The reasoning behind this escapes us; other cheaper cameras from Samsung can capture high def video (the TL350 can capture 1080p video), but this flagship model is limited to standard definition. That's a big limitation for anyone looking for a do-it-all camera.
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| The two control dials of the TL500: the left one controls the self-timer, the drive mode and the bracketing |
Drive/Burst Mode
The TL500 is unusual in putting the burst mode control on one of the top control dials on the camera body; most relegate it to an on-screen menu or a secondary button feature. Samsung didn't give any figures for the speed of the burst mode, but we found it to to be around 2-3 frames a second. However, the model that we looked at was not running the final software, so that will probably change before the camera is finally released.
Playback Mode
A dedicated button on the back of the camera body puts it into playback mode, and photos look great on the big, bright screen. The usual suspects for playing back photos are present: you cancreate slideshows, zoom in up to 10x and sort photos based on what mode they were shot in.
Scene Modes
A good selection of scene modes are available by turning the mode dial to the SCN setting. There are modes called beauty shot, night, portrait, children, landscape, close up, text, sunset, dawn, backlight, fireworks and beach & snow. It seems a little odd that there are separate modes for sunset and sunrise, but that Samsung combined beach & snow mode. But that selection of scene modes should cover most eventualities.
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Samsung TL500 Manual
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