Electronics giant Samsung today took the wraps off for new digital cameras: three new entries in the company’s NV line, and the i85, the company’s third attempt to combine a high-quality point-and-shoot camera with a personal media player.
The new NV8, NV15, and NV20 point-and-shoot cameras will sport stainless steel cases, resolutions of 8, 10, and 12 megapixels respectively, and Samsung’s Smart Touch interface of soft-touch buttons positioned around the cameras’ 2.5-inch LCD displays: users just slide a finger to navigate the devices’ interface and settings. The new NV shooters also feature a 3× optical zoom, sensitivity down to ISO 3200, along with shake reduction, auto contrast balance features, noise reduction, and Samsung’s face detection technology. The cameras store images to SD/SDHC cards and feature 20 MB of internal memory; the cameras can also shoot VGA resolution video at 30 frames per second.
“At Samsung, we take great pride in the NV series because of the firsts that it brings to market, including our revolutionary Smart Touch interface, as well as the “wow” factor that makes the cameras stand out from the crowd,” said Stewart Henderson, Vice President Marketing, Samsung Opto-Electronics America, in a statement. “Packed to the brim with advanced, innovative features, the NV8, NV15 and NV20 are targeted towards the experienced digital camera owner looking for a step up model that breaks free of the ‘me-too’ look and feel that many manufacturers often follow.”
The NV15 and NV20 are due in “Fall” 2007 (we assume they’re referring to the northern hemisphere) at suggested prices of $299 and $399, respectively. No pricing or availability information was released for the 8 megapixel NV8.
But if you’re looking for an 8 megapixel camera, Samsung hopes you’ll consider the new i85, which combined point-and-shoot features with the capabilities of a personal media player, so you can take your music and video with you without needing a separate device. At least, if you’re willing to do some work to shoehorn your content into the camera.
As a camera, the i85 offers a 3-inch LCD display, a non-protruding 5× optical zoom, shake reduction, face detection, and sensitivity down to ISO 1600; the camera also sports a “Wise Shot” feature which takes two pictures in rapid succession, one with share reduction and one with flash, then lets the user review and keep the shot that came out the best. There’s also a “Fun” feature which enables picture-takers to create composite photos from up to four separate images: handy for combining images for use on auction sites. The camera stores images to SD/SDHC cards, offers 256 MB of internal memory.
For folks who need to take their digital media with them wherever they go, the i85 cam function as a personal media player—the camera even offers stereo speakers with SRS 3D acoustic technology. The trick, however, is that users must convert their MP3, AVI, MOV, WMV, or ASF files for use on the camera using “several simple steps” in Samsung’s Digimax Converter software. If keeping a separate set of media for use on your camera seems practical, the i85 might solve some problems for you.
Samsung says the i85 will be available this “Fall”—yeah, we know—for a suggested price of $349.
