
Review Summary
2012-01-29T19:00:00
I bought this camera to have a compact I could carry everywhere. However I'm accustomed to pro-quality and features like RAW file capture and very high image quality. This camera delivers: It provides full manual exposure control. It saves RAW files and in conjunction with it's superb lens the image quality meets my standards. The lens on this camera is alone worth the purchase price. It's one of the best zoom lenses I've every used. I have to believe that Samsung made this camera with a professional photographer standing over the engineer's shoulders; they listened and they got it right.
Joe
2011-09-29T21:00:00
Very sturdy camera. Keep it in a large pocket all the time, especially when bicycling. Been using it 8 months, it is an excellent camera. Takes excellent images for a small, economical camera. It is a much better camera than I expected.
CHARLES F.
2010-11-21T19:00:00
This camera is amazing. The Schneider Kreuznach lens performs beyond my expectations. All my pictures are very detailed, clear and extremely sharp. Bokah is excellent. Color is great, right on the money. This will be great back-up camera. I consider the pictures on a par with my Hasselblad C500 w/ Plannar T* 80mm 1978 SL view camera. I'm very pleased with the results the TL500 delivers.
William B.
2010-11-06T21:00:00
[...] the photos I took of landscapes and people looked very good on the LCD. There might have been some distortion around the edges. The color was right . The IQ was probably going to be good. I loved the movable LCD as this allowed me to hold the camera lower and still see the subject.The short cable and charging the battery in the camera weren't going to work for me.I am an arthitic senior who can't bend easily and plugging in the camera ( in other homes, hotels, etc.was going to be a problem.)[...]
Texas M.
2010-10-13T21:00:00
Very useful camera as a back-up to an SLR or medium format camera. Great build and design- it can fit in a jeans pocket although tightly ;) Still learning the controls but well designed and some nice presets- miniature, square format capture etc.
Fluukk
2010-08-05T21:00:00
Better than all of the LX's and G's I have owned. Incredibly fast lens, and rarely needed the flash. Great OLED display easy to see in all lighting. Slightly larger than comparables, but significantly smaller than E-PL1. Lens similar to GX200 and LX3 but much brighter. No viewfinder and limited zoom range are the only (minor) negatives. Photos appear as good as an entry level DLSR, with JPEG and Raw outputs available, but Raw is not elements 8 compatible yet.
CS
Best P&S to date
By CS
Better than all of the LX's and G's I have owned. Incredibly fast lens, and rarely needed the flash. Great OLED display easy to see in all lighting. Slightly larger than comparables, but significantly smaller than E-PL1. Lens similar to GX200 and LX3 but much brighter. No viewfinder and limited zoom range are the only (minor) negatives. Photos appear as good as an entry level DLSR, with JPEG and Raw outputs available, but Raw is not elements 8 compatible yet.
Keep this camera on-hand
By William B.
This camera is amazing. The Schneider Kreuznach lens performs beyond my expectations. All my pictures are very detailed, clear and extremely sharp. Bokah is excellent. Color is great, right on the money. This will be great back-up camera. I consider the pictures on a par with my Hasselblad C500 w/ Plannar T* 80mm 1978 SL view camera. I'm very pleased with the results the TL500 delivers.
Whether or not you're looking to go pro, you're going to look like a pro with the Samsung TL500. Not only will its ultra-wide 24mm F1.8 Schneider KREUZNACH lens with 3x zoom turn heads, but so will the photos you take, guaranteeing you'll get the most out of every moment-including light. With the TL500's high-performance 1/1.7" CCD sensor, you'll be taking the best possible photos in the darkest conditions. And with a 3" rotating AMOLED screen designed to give you control of your framing no matter what crazy angle you want to shoot from, your photos will come out both incredibly creative and astonishingly professional.
Optically advanced, anatomically inspired
When designing the TL500, Samsung's engineers looked to the human eye for inspiration. And as far as compact cameras go, it's the closest thing to the anatomical wonder on the market. With an impressive F1.8 lens - one of the brightest available - the TL500 delivers a wider range of aperture steps and shallow depth-of-field, giving you the ability to blur out the background of your images while keeping the focus on your subjects.
The high-end Schneider KREUZNACH lens offers a 24mm, ultra-wide focal length and 3xoptical zoom so you're capturing as much of the landscape and as many of your friends as possible.
High sensitivity. Low noise. Amazing photos.
Trying to capture high-quality, low-noise images with lots of pixels and excellent light? The TL500 was engineered to do that exactly. With sensors larger than those typically found in compact digital cameras, the TL500's 1/1.7" CCD offers unrivaled sensitivity (max ISO 3200/full-resolution), making it possible to capture ultra-vivid, natural-looking, professional photos, regardless of lighting conditions.
Get creative from any angle with rotating AMOLED.
With the TL500's 3" swiveling AMOLED screen, composing and reviewing images is easier - and more fun - than ever. The display rotates so you can frame your images exactly the way you want as well as shoot from just about any angle, including those tricky overhead and low-to-the-ground shots, giving you the freedom to take more artistic, expressive photos. And, compared to the usual TFT-LCD typically found on digital cameras, the TL500's AMOLED provides a higher contrast ratio, deeper blacks and more
Embrace both light and dark in one frame
Don't let your photos be dominated by the dark or the light. The TL500's Smart Range (High Dynamic Range) feature lets you vividly express both bright areas and dark areas of your subject in the same frame. So bright spots aren't oversaturated and dark spots aren't too dark. Together with Samsung's super-fast DRIMeIII imaging processor, the TL500 helps you capture high-quality images in avariety of settings and extreme lighting conditions.
Edit RAW files and express yourself.
The TL500 was engineered to help you express yourself. Its Samsung converter program gives you the freedom to edit RAW files - files that contain uncompressed original data and are not yet processed any way you want. Normally, images are processed and compressed into JPEG files using settings in the camera. But RAW file support gives you free reign. So whether its color, exposure difference or resolution, you can manipulate your images to your heart's content.
Conveniently change settings without missing a beat.
Great shots have to be caught in a split second. That's why the TL500 is equipped with a Front Wheel Key and Dual Dial. It lets you adjust your settings instantly so you don't miss the moment. Just rotate the dial to set the aperture and shutter speed or tune the white balance and color temperature. It's this convenient spin on manual control that will help you capture some of your most professional-looking images.
Take control. Seize the moment
When it comes to capturing life's greatest moments on film, hit-or-miss just isn't good enough. That's why Samsung's Full Manual Control lets you capture those moments you might otherwise miss out on in auto mode. Aperture Priority makes sure your main subject stands out from its surroundings, Sutter Priority captures fast movements, and Manual Mode grants you complete control of the exposure.
Smart Filter
Samsung's Smart Filter, lens effect, delivers an artistic edge to your still shots and videos. The Miniature filter gives your subjects a miniaturized look, the Vignetting filter delivers a strikingly strong compositional contrast, and our Fish-eye filter gives your video that cool distorted feel. So get creative and get Samsung.
Smart Auto 2.0 (Still & Movie)
Turn any moment into a perfect memory. And a professional-looking photo. Whether it's a few friends from last night's party or the moon reflecting off the lake, Smart Auto 2.0 (Still & Movie) instantly analyzes key elements of your composition then automatically adjusts to capture the perfect shot with multitude of different photo modes and movie modes. And since life isn't a still life, the camera's object tracking feature captures those subjects that just don't, or won't, stand still.
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