Samsung ST10 - Responding to your touch, Haptic digital camera ST10

New lineup to Samsung camera, Haptic.

In 2009, Samsung Digital Imaging released a new lineup starting with WB500 and then a variety of series have followed. Recently, new lineup such as PL series, ES series, and ST series have been introduced to meet rapidly changing digital camera market and consumers. Especially, ST series is a multimedia digital camera exclusive form Samsung; there’re two kinds, ST50 and ST10. ST10 is a digital convergence camera like NV9 and has multimedia functions like MP3, PMP, text viewer, voice recorder, and portable disc. And it is a new digital camera with unique Haptic effect which was popular in Samsung cell phones.

Image Sensor	Type	1/2.5″ (Approx. 1.02cm) CCD
	Effective Pixel	Approx. 9.0 Mega-pixels
	Total Pixel	Approx. 9.2 Mega-pixel
Lens	Focal Length	Samsung Lens f = 6.3 ~ 18.9mm (35mm film equivalent : 38~114 mm)
	F No.	F3.5(W) ~ 4.5(T)
	Digital Zoom	Still Image mode : 1.0X ~ 5.0X Play mode : 1.0X ~ 10.8X (depends on image size)
Image Stabilization	Image Stabilization	DIS (Digital Image Stabilization)
Display	Type	h.VGA TSP (Registive)
	Feature	3.0" (7.62cm, 460,000 pixels)
Viewfinder	Viewfinder	N/A
Focusing	Type	TTL auto focus (Multi AF, Center AF, Face Recognition AF, Face Detection AF, Touch AF)
	Range	Normal : 80cm ~ infinity Macro :5cm ~ 80cm (Wide), 50cm ~ 80cm (Tele) Super Macro : 1cm ~ 5cm (Wide) Auto Macro : 5cm ~ Infinity (Wide), 50cm ~ Infinity (Tele)
Shutter Speed	Shutter Speed	1 ~ 1/2,000 sec (Night : 16 ~ 1/2,000 sec.  AEB, Continuous 1/4 ~ 1/2,000sec)
Exposure	Control	Program AE
	Metering	Multi, Spot, Center-weighted, Face Detection AE, Touch AE
	Compensation	±2EV (1/3EV steps)
	ISO Equivalent	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Flash	Modes	Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, Red-eye Fix
	Range	Wide : 0.3m ~ 4.2m, Tele : 0.5m ~ 3.3m (ISO auto)
	Recharging Time	Approx. 5 sec.
Multimedia functions	MP3	Frequency : 20Hz~20KHz Earphone Port : 20 Pin Port (Stereo Type) Output Maximum Volume : Left 40mW + Right 40mW (16Ω) Noise Ratio : 88 dB with 20 KHz LPF File Format : MP3 (MPEG-1/2/2.5 Layer 3), Bit Rate : 48 ~ 320kbps (Including VBR) Sound Effect :SRS
	PMP	Movie : Xvid MPEG4  (Using Samsung Converter S/W) Audio : MPEG Layer 2  (Using Samsung Converter S/W) Play Mode : Seeking in Play (Max 32X), Skipping in Play, Auto skipping after one file played, Remember                     last played frame.
	Text Viewer	File : Text file (TXT extension name,10MBytes and up to 99999 ) File Format : Window ANSI (Windows 98 or later), Unicode/Unicode(Big-Endian)/UTF-8 (Windows 2000/XP)                    Mac ANSI, Unicode(UTF-16) Function : Auto Scroll (1,2,3,4,5 level),  by 1 page/10pages
Sharpness	Sharpness Contrast Saturation	-2 ~ +2 (5 steps)
White Balance	White Balance	Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten, Custom
Still Image	Shooting	Modes : Smart Auto(Portrait, Night Portrait, Backlight Portrait, Backlight, Landscape, White, Motion, Tripod, Night, Macro, Macro Text), Auto, Program, DIS, Movie, Scene(Night Scene, Portrait, Beauty shot, Children, Landscape, Text, Close-up, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Frame Guide) Drive : Single, Continuous, Motion Capture, AEB Self-timer : 2 sec, 10 sec, Double, Motion Timer
	Effect	Photo Style Selector : Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative, Custom RGB Image Adjust : ACB, Red-eye Fix, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation
	Edit	Resize, Rotate, Photo Style Selector
Image Play	Image Play	Single image, Thumbnails, Multi Slide show, Smart Album, Movie Clip * Slide show : Slide show with Effect & Music
Voice Recording	Voice Recording	Voice Recording (max. 10 hours) Voice Memo in Still Image (max. 10 sec.)
Date Imprinting	Date Imprinting	Date&Time, Date, Off (user selectable)
Movie Clip	Recording	Format : MPEG-4 With audio (recording time : memory capacity dependent) Size : 800X592, 640x480, 320x240 (3X Optical Zoom with sound recording) Frame rate : ((800X600- 20fps ))/ ((640x480, 320x240 - 30 fps, 15 fps))
	Effect	Color Style : Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative, Custom
	Edit	Movie Stabilization, Pause during recording, Still Image Capture, Time Trimming
Storage	Media	Internal Memory : About 70MB External Memory(Optional) : MMCplus(up to 2GB guaranteed 4bit 20MHz) SD (up to 4GB guaranteed) SDHC (up to 8GB guaranteed) * Internal memory capacity is subject to change without prior notice.
	File Format	Still Image : JPEG (DCF), EXIF 2.21, DPOF 1.1, PictBridge 1.0 Movie Clip :AVI (MPEG-4) Audio : WAV
	Image Size	9M : 3456X2592 pixels   8MP : 3456X2304pixels 7MW : 3456X1944 pixels 5M : 2592x1944 pixels 3M : 2048x1536 pixels 1M : 1024x768 pixels
Interface	Digital output connector	USB 2.0
	Audio	Microphone : Mono Internal Speaker : Mono
	Video Out	NTSC, PAL (user selectable)
	DC power input Connector	20 pin
	Cradle	N/A
Power Source	Power Source	Rechargeable battery : SLB-0937(900mAh) Adaptor : SAC-47,  SUC-C7H * Included battery may vary depending on sales region.
Physical Specification	Dimensions (WxHxD)	91x 60 x 19 mm
	Weight	124.2 g (without battery and card)
	Operating Temperature	0 ~ 40°C
	Operating Humidity	5 ~ 85%
Software	Software	Samsung Master
System Requirement	For Windows	PC with processor better than PentiumⅢ 500MHz (Pentiumlll 800MHz recommended) Windows 2000/XP/Vista 250 MB of available hard-disk space (Over 1GB recommend) Minimum 256MB RAM (Over 512MB recommended) USB port CD-ROM drive 1024×768 pixels, 16-bit color display compatible monitor (24-bit color display recommended) Microsoft DirectX 9.0C or later
	For Macintosh	Power Mac G3 or later Mac OS 10.3 or higher Minimum 256MB RAM 110MB of available hard-disk space USB port CD-ROM drive

　

Haptic effect that pleases eyes and ears

ST10, a new camera with Haptic effect, offers touch operation and vibration and sound when you move in the menu. Samsung’s touch type was formerly introduced in 100HD, but ST10 chose a different way to deliver touch using static electricity. And it uses newly equipped hTSP LCD, so it is clearer than regular TSP. But it leaves afterimage for 2-3 seconds, and in order to prevent this phenomenon, you’d better use touch pen in the packet rather than finger.

Rotating lens cover

Using hidden inner zoom

Samsung ST10 is equipped with Samsung lens. It is x3 inner zoom lens with 6.3-18.9mm focal length, 38-114mm in 35mm film equivalent, and F3.5-4.5 brightness. Shooting distance is fairly ok, but lens brightness is somewhat low. However, close-up shot (Marco) can be effectively done as close as 1cm. And you can easily open and close the lens cover since it is a rotation type.

Smart Face for perfect portrait shot

Smart Face effect in Samsung St10 is an upgraded version of face detection function. It not only detects people’s faces but also distinguishes faces and automatically controls focus and exposure. Smart Face can save up to 10 faces and prioritize them over others when shooting group shots. The closest face is displayed in white, and others in grey focus frame. Other than Smart Face effect, there’re regular face detection function, Self guide, Smile shot, and Blink detection functions for portrait shots.

※ Smart Face shooting screen (left) and image (right)

▲ MP3 and PMP screen /  MP3 equalizer

Continuing history of convergence cameras

What is a convergence camera? It means a compound multimedia camera that can be also used as MP3, PMP, text viewer, video recording, voice recording, and portable disc. Samsung already has introduced three convergence cameras, starting from NV3, and NV9, now ST10.

Unlike former convergence cameras, ST10 added equalizer to MP3, so you can enjoy high-quality music in SRS system, LIVE, classic, jazz, dance, or rock sound. Also, as before, you may enjoy watching videos on PMP after converting files into SDC files using Samsung converter. But, it may take a little long time depending on the capability of conversancy computer.

Smart Auto that automatically detects 11 scenes

The camera analyzes shooting environment such as portrait, landscape, night scene, or macro and it automatically selects a scene mode out of 11 options. So the user doesn’t have to change modes every time.

Depending on the brightness or background or focus length, the green part displays shooting environment, and the user only needs to press the shutter. And most of the time, it works pretty accurately. Especially, it works very effectively in close-up, portrait, and night scene, but the it is a bit inaccurate in sports or text.

Slim design and 30.0 inch touch LCD

Samsung ST10 has 91(W) X 60(H) X 19(D)mm body, and it is very portable. Also, it is as light as 124.2g. Since it has touch type LCD, the backside is composed with very simple functions, looking simple and clear overall. Haptic 3.0 inch LCD is hVGA TSP touch type that expresses clear image, and it has 460,000 pixels, almost twice as much as regular digital cameras. Touch operation is pretty accurate, but it leaves afterimage for 2-3 seconds as I mentioned before. But, it doesn’t bother much, and using a touch pen in the packet can solve the problem. In addition, rotating lens cover is coated for reflection, so it can be useful when you take self-shots.

Haptic’s various functions, then what about its performance?

Samsung ST10 has Haptic function for the first time for Samsung cameras, and Smart Face, Smart Auto, and Convergence system. Then what about its performance and quality? Is it better than the former models? In my comparison of it with other digital cameras, its image quality, close-up ability, and shutter speed was satisfying. But compared to today’s over 10,000,000-pixel cameras, it has 9,000,000 pixels, and the lens is somewhat dark and AF accuracy is a bit low. There’re three kinds of AF: central, multi-split, and Smart Multi. Especially, in Smart multi AF, if you choose where you want to give focus with your finger or pen, it focuses on that part.

This is what I cropped 100% of the picture I took with ST10. If you see the image, you cans see the clarity of central area is pretty good, considering it is popularized digital camera. I can say it’s almost as good as the high-end models. But the clarity of peripheral area is somewhat low like other popularized models.

ISO ranges from 80 to 3200. Especially, unlike other popularized digital cameras, the image size doesn’t change much when you take high-sensitivity shots, and you can take it in 9M best quality. The noise and color change seem to appear form ISO 800. If you want clear image, IS) lower than 400 is recommended. Of course, if it is for web-use, up to ISO 800 is fine, but image gets mashed a little. So if you want detailed image, you’d better not to use ISO higher than 800. In fact, noise restraint doesn’t seem to be improved compared to former models, and color change and image mash still appear in high-sensitivity shots.

ST10 has 9 color settings same as other digital cameras, plus three custom setting. Color settings work similarly with former models, so there’s no difficulty using it.

In white balance, there’re auto, sunlight, Fluorescent-H(orange), Fluorescent-L(white),  Incandescent, and custom. The accuracy of white balance is pretty good. In addition, exposure can set within -2~+2, and it can be used only in P mode.

View editing menu

ST10’s 460,000-pixel 3 inch hVGA LCD makes it possible to display clear image and support various functions including editing functions. You can also appreciate images in the category of file names, dates, or colors.

ST10, full of fun and pleasure

ST10, which has interesting functions and convergence system, is not only for shooting pictures. It satisfies your sight, hearing, and touching. Compared to former convergence cameras, it has better multimedia functions and image quality, solving some of the problems before. Especially, I’d like to give high credit for its improved functions and features as a popularized camera. But its 9,000,000 pixels, inaccuracy of AF, insufficiency of battery capacity, and design that appeals only to youngsters can be its weaknesses. However, ST10 Haptic offers many fun functions, and you can feel it with your senses. It is one of the best newly released cameras.