Camera for an intelligent dreamer!

Samsung Galaxy Camera… a review

There was a time when photography was seeped in a complex universe that the uninitiated was afraid to step into. Then came a phase when despite the complexities remaining the same, people dared to get into photography because the cameras had suddenly become affordable. The digital camera era demolished whatever boundaries there were left and photography finally became something that almost everyone in every household did.

This world is changing again… convergence in technology is fast becoming a reality. The cameras need to be faster, better, and smarter! The smartest camera that is there in the market today is the Samsung Galaxy Camera.

This camera weighs 305 gms (with batteries) and the dimensions are a sleek 129 (W) x 71 (H) x 19 (D) mm. An LCD screen size of 4.77 inch with the HD Super Clear Touch display and a video display resolution of 1920 x 1080 with 30 fps, and a Focal Length of 35 mm Equivalent to 23 – 481 mm makes it quite an attractive proposition.

As it happens so often, Specky was standing right next to me as I was writing this and appeared restless. ‘What’s it now?’ I asked.

She said, ‘You’re just making the review sound too complex and too technical for a layman. Just write that that the camera has a zoom of nearly 21x and a massive inbuilt memory of 8 GB and see how it fascinates people.’

‘You’re right,’ I said, ‘and what about the fact that one can go upto 3200 in ISO rating?’ Specky looked at me as if thinking, ‘This man will never learn.’

So I decided to write about the things that impressed me most. I have been using this camera now for a few weeks and I can tell you that this one has a smart mode that lets me take panoramic photos, macro photos, freeze action, take continuous photos and more. Hey wait… did I tell you that camera isn’t just one of those digital cameras that have just a lens and a shutter and well, that is just a camera? This camera is an android-based camera… which makes it as smart as the Galaxy Note II… yes, you can insert a SIM in it and even send messages. You can play games, send emails, navigate through cities, browse the net, initiate your planner, use a calculator, play music, see movies, chat, store files… well, do about everything that any smartphone today can do.

‘Now this is the sort of information that makes this camera sing!’ said Specky, who was back to her position behind me. She helpfully asked, ‘Can I add apps from the playstore, add widgets, set my favourite picture as wallpaper, and keep my pictures neatly in different folders?’

‘Yes,’ I replied tersely and went back to my review, but soon enough turned to her and said, ‘you can get all the smartphone features in this camera, though not calling… well, not right now.’

I then told her that besides these phone-like features, the Galaxy camera had some unique and unbeatable camera-like features too. For instance, you can Instagram without having to transfer your images, you can use modes like the Best Face and Continuous shot, both of which I’ve used on the Galaxy Note 2 and other Samsung phones. Best face captures multiple photos and lets users pick faces from multiple shots to make sure everyone has their eyes open and is smiling. Continuous mode takes multiple photos so it’s easy to get the shot with just the right moment.

Now Specky was genuinely impressed and said, ‘Wow! But can I edit my pictures on the camera?’

‘Yes, you can. There is a photo wizard in the camera apps. Why just stills, you can also edit videos and really create fancy pictures with the paper artist that is there.’

What is vital to know here is that this camera allows you to toggle between the camera and the apps screen. Once you’re in the camera mode, you have a choice between the Expert mode, the Auto mode, and the Smart mode. The Expert mode makes you feel like you’re handling a real DSLR that you’re unafraid of. Yes, you can opt for the shutter mode or the aperture mode or even the manual mode here and have an experience of a lifetime changing shutter speeds or aperture settings with your touch! No other camera gives you this pleasure… and I fell in love with this gadget the first time I touched the screen and made it do what I wanted it to.

The smart mode gives you the easy way to click all sorts of pictures including the night mode, sunsets, waterfalls, fireworks, and even panorama besides a list of other styles to choose from. Yes, before I forget, you can start shooting superb videos at a mere touch!

I loved the results during the day… but for night shots you do need a tripod or a very steady hand. The biggest advantage I could see was of getting smart features in a size that doesn’t need a huge bag! A price tag of around 29K isn’t bad considering the sort of features this camera has, but I certainly wish a full-fledged phone was built into it! Thus if phones want to evolve into gizmos that want to be as good as a camera, why can’t cameras too dream of wanting to be as good as a phone? This one is surely a device, a gadget for the dreamer!