Samsung EC-PL210 Digital Camera with 14 MP and 10x Optical Zoom (Silver)
- 10x Long Zoom in Slim Body(19.7mm)
- 3.0″ Large LCD for “Easy of use”
- 720 HD Movie
- 14 Megapixel
High zoom slim line
List Price: $ 199.00
Price: $ 199.00
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OUTSTANDING compact for the price — with POWERFUL zoom!,
I did NOT buy the Samsung PL210 on Amazon, but rather Best Buy. I bought it to take to an outdoor music festival. I go to these every Memorial Day weekend and I love shooting photos of the bands. Previously I would bring my trusty Minolta Maxxum 5000 with a zoom lens for some awesome “rock shots”.
Two things have happened lately to put a damper on that fun: 1) whereas previously I was able to stand right at the foot of the stage, in recent years the concert promoters have hit on the idea of placing a VIP seating area in front of the stage and charge for up-font seating at what is supposed to be a ‘free’ event. 2) Security staff have become more & more oppressive about using “professional cameras with detachable lenses”.
That said, I went shopping for a compact, reasonably priced digital camera with the best zoom rating for the money. The Samsung was the ONLY one of the 20 or so compact cameras with a 10x optical zoom, the rest being between 3x to 5x. The price was right too… around $150 on sale.
After familiarizing myself briefly with the manual, I took it out to the show. My usual ‘spot’ about 50-60 ft from the stage and dead center.
The 10X optical zoom is great, but the camera ALSO has a 20x “Intelli Zoom” which practically brought me right up to the front of the stage again. After looking at the photos on my computer later, It looked like there was no appreciable loss of quality (or graininess) in the photos. I have not yet used the advertized (“up tp 50x digital zoom feature yet).
I shot most of the day using the camera’s automatic setting where it selects the best setting for the situation. I also had the photo size set to “5m – 2592×1944”, and the quality set to “fine”. With the 2 Gig memory card I was using, I tiil about 350 photos and the card was only about 1/4 full. From what I could see from the LCD display, I was getting come incredible shots. As I said previously, looking at them on the computer bore this out.
Later in the day, I noticed that as the daylight faded, it became harder to take clearly focused pictures without motion blurring. I took the camera off the automatic setting and switched to “manual” mode which basically turns off the auto flash (flashes when camera deems necessary), and the ‘smart’ focus and just gave me a non-flash camera with a single focusing reticle in the viewfinder. I did not touch any of the other settings that day (ISO speed, shutter speed, motion stabilization, etc…). In this configuration, I found I was able to get some clearer photos in the lower light (late afternoon, overcast).
Once the sun set and only the stage lights providing illumination, all bets were off. I had not read enough on the camera’s operation to set it for night shots, although I believe if I had I would have had great success. As is was, only the wide angle shots were really any good. When I tried to zoom in (in either auto or ‘factory default’ manual) the motion blur was just too much to give clarity. Again, this is not the fault of the camera… just the operator who needs to learn to use the features.
Something else to be aware of is holding the camera steady when squeezing the shutter button. I tended to get excited about capturing a particular scene, and hurriedly “jerked the trigger” before making sure the camera had time to focus properly. A smooth press of the button will also prevent motion blur from your own movement.
This is something to especially keep in mind as the camera is small, about the size of a deck of cards, very light, and very sensitive to hand movement. That’s just physics, not a design flaw. A larger DSLR is more stable because it is heavier.
If I could change ONE thing about this camera it would be the zoom switch. I prefer a thumb-operated rocker switch to zoom in/out with. The Samsung has a ring around the shutter button with a little ‘nub’ on the edge which you use your index finger to move left/right to operate the zoom (you can see this on the product photo). To me, that little nub does not feel like I’m in very positive control of the zoom, and it can get a little irritating on the fingertip… but such is the price you pay for GREAT photos. I can live with the tradeoff.
I also would have preferred a regular-size SD card vs. the Micro SD for storage.
A word on battery life: I used the camera frequently throughout a 10-hour event with & without flash, using the zoom often, turning the camera on/off frequently. The battery finally died on me near the end of the event. If you are going to be shooting several hundred photos throughout the day, bring a spare. Otherwise, you will be fine with one.
One great plus is the charging cord can either be plugged into a USP port OR a wall socket with the adapter included!.
I recommend this camera to ANYONE looking for an inexpensive,…
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|Great Camera,
Here is a snippet of my experience with the Samsung PL210 Camera that I only just received.
Pros: I tore open the package and was excited to finally have it in my hand. It takes high quality pictures. The video recording feature is one of the best i’ve seen for a camera in this price range and the speed is faster than my previous camera. Its a pretty decent camera for your buck.
Cons: Samsung has decided to not go with the traditional and larger SDHC memory card but instead, the micro sd card is used in this one. I had one from another camera that I had planned to swap it from but when I opened the battery door i was surprised to see a tiny hole there instead of a regular sized one. Now I have to do something else with the SD card. Make sure that you know this before you purchase.
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