Samsung HZ15W

portability, size, lens, flash, low-light

price

100% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

usability, image quality, portability, lens, performance

viewfinder

91% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Though it is beginner friendly, Samsung's WB550 fortunately doesn't look cheap and cheerful and neither should it for £299. While, OK, it may not be the most svelte compact around, compensation comes in the form of its broader-than-average focal range...

Good color and exposure; no redeye or purple fringing ; Compact, stylish metal body packs a 10X zoom ; Useful 24 - 240 mm zoom range ; Optical image stabilization ; Large and sharp 3-inch LCD display ; Good set of manual controls (though see below) ;...

Heavy noise reduction smudges fine and low contrast details and gives images a soft, fuzzy look, even at low ISOs ; Poor low light focusing; LCD difficult to see in those situations, as well ; Only two apertures to choose from in manual mode; manual...

If you want a smallish camera with a great zoom range, large LCD, and useful set of features -- and you'll be taking photos in good light and not making large prints -- then the Samsung HZ15W is certainly worth checking out. Those of you who want...

One feature we really enjoyed about the HZ15W was the amount of manual control on offer. In addition to program mode, and a truckload of scene modes, it has fully manual exposure controls. However, you can only set the aperture in this mode to maximum...

Sharp images; Fairly accurate color

High noise at ISO 800 and up; An overwrought menu system

Samsung HZ15W is part of the relatively new division of the point-and-shoot market, the compact ultrazoom. These squeeze significant zoom lenses into bodies only marginally bigger than a standard camera.

Stylish exterior; Construction is strong; Fast startup and close; Image stabilization works wonders; Autofocus is quick and generally accurate; Video recording quality excels; Good image quality

23.MB - MP4 format; 36.5MB - MP4 format; Zoom motor can be heard in video; Too basic, even in manual mode; Middle finger can cover internal flash; Buttons are a little too small; Noise in images remove detail - means Samsung can improve.; ISO 3200 is...

The Samsung WB550 is a good ‘high-end’ mega-zoom offering. It does video recording at 720p very well, capturing very good detail and natural looking colors. Its image quality is good but not the best and some may find the WB550 too basic for their...

The Samsung WB550 is an excellent all-rounder, and the ideal camera for holidays. Build quality, design and handling are all up to a very high standard, performance is equal to anything else on the market, and the results are very good, although it...

Small if chunky form factor, broad zoom range gives rise to more creative framing and compositional options than usual, HD movies with stereo sound

Narrow and painful to use command lever at rear of camera, positioning of the built-in flash at front means that stray fingers can sometimes get in the way

In terms of image performance, it’s the colours delivered by the Samsung WB550 even when left on its default settings that jump off the review screen, being mostly warm and well saturated. On occasion this can almost make scenes resemble pages torn...

Rich set of features ; 24mm wide angle lens ; HD(720p) video recording ; Above average image quality ; Manual mode ; Mini HDMI-out

Slight over-sharpening ; Oversaturated colors

A versatile camera with 24mm wide angle and HD video recording capability. The Samsung captured impressive images but is pricey for the features it offers.

Good feature set; miniHDMI out; 24mm-equivalent wide-angle lens with 10x zoom.

Subpar photo quality; menu system too spread out.

The Samsung HZ15W has good parts and features, but it ultimately disappoints on the whole.