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Samsung HZ15W 12MP Digital Camera with 10x Schneider Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 3 0 inch LCD Grey

The Samsung HZ15W includes a world first 10x optical zoom and 24mm ultra wide angle Schneider lens and cements Samsung’s position as an innovator in the new and important High-zoom category – compact cameras equipped with the sort of advanced zoom lens technology traditionally seen only in SLR cameras. This new technology gives people even greater control and helps them take better, professional standard photos; enhancing the entire photography experience, from shooting to sharing images with friends and family. The 12-megapixel HZ15W also includes HD movie capture so people can “Pause and Re-record” high definition videos and super sharp movie-quality recordings in one movie clip – a Samsung patented function. The cameras also include “Smart Auto” (Scene Recognition) technology: 11 optimized picture pre-settings such as Portrait, Night portrait, Macro and Macro Color, to help people take the perfect shot regardless of the conditions.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Good Camera
Item arrived ahead of promised date in good condition. Charged battery and plugged in the sdhc memory card. Started taking picures and short videos. Happy with the quality of both. The HD video clips are pretty good. Love the wide angle lens. Did not use any advanced features. But the basic stuff is pretty good and that is what I do mostly. Yes, there is minor problem with the zoom induced noise with video, but not a big deal for me.

5 Stars Purchased Oct 2009
I spent a lot of time researching cameras and reading reviews. This is a good camera. The only downside is the location of the capture button. It causes you to reach a little and you tend to put you hand in the way of the flash. The picture quality and settings are great. The battery takes about 3hrs to charge, but lasted us the entire day.

3 Stars Takes nice pics but…..
I bought this camera simply because of past experiences with Samsung and the price point. The camera is beautiful but the rechargeable battery option is a pain in the butt. If you like to follow your kids around throughout the day or use it for 50 pics throughout the day…you will need to recharge the battery before the day is done. The PHD (push here dummy) button is not in the typical place, so it makes taking pics a little awkward because you are reaching past the button you would typically use and when you do hit the right button, it doesn’t take pics consistently causing you to lose shots, it has to be some sort of timing/focusing thing. The menus are intense and probably do a lot for you but I don’t have time to read it all. Standard pic files are over 3Mb. I returned my camera within a week and I am still using the A560 that I have had for a year or so.

5 Stars Amazing Camera!
This is an amazing, top of the line camera!

PRO’s:

DESIGN

The design is sleek and sophisticated, and although the camera is a bit bulky, it can still fit in my pocket. LCD screen does not scratch, which is great!

BEAUTY SHOT MODE:

I haven’t seen this kind of retouching on a digital camera before. The camera processes the image you just took and smooths the faces it detects, removing blemishes/wrinkles, etc. A great mode to make your skin look clearer, but make sure you’re taking photos in natural lighting (i.e. don’t rely only on the camera’s flash) when using this mode.

LENS

Wonderful wide angle lens, 10x zoom. Lens does not collect much dust, and the lens itself seems scratch resistant, but the rings around the lens can scratch easily.

VIDEO AND SOUND QUALITY

I was most impressed by the crisp HD video and sound quality when recording in VIDEO mode. The video quality rivals that of entry-level camcorders.

CONS

MANUAL MODE

Like other digital cameras, you can’t do too much in the “Manual” mode on this camera. Aperture can’t be changed much, but shutter speed goes to 1/1500.

USB CABLE / BATTERY CHARGER

A huge disadvantage for me is that you must actually connect the camera (via USB cable) to an outlet to charge the battery — there is no separate, plug in charger for the battery alone. Also, the USB port on the camera is a very strange shape, which can lead to some confusion as to how to plug in the cable.

Overall, probably the best camera you can get for the price!

4 Stars Everything you could ask for…
I must admit I was rather skeptical about this camera at first despite the positive reviews on Amazon. After careful exam of the spec sheet, I decided to give it a try and took it to a recent family trip to Europe. So far, the Samsung has been able to handle everything I throw at it.

I’m a dSLR shooter and consider myself savvy and accomplished. The primary reason I picked this camera was due to its valuable optical range and HD video capability, and this camera really shines in both areas. From about 10′ away on my 52″ Samsung LCD screen, it is pretty hard to detect any difference between broadcasted HD programming and the video clips I shot.

Here is my brief impression on Samsung HZ15W:

Pros:

Extremely useful zoom range at 24-240mm

HD video (720p) with zooming capability

True plug-n’-play via mini HDMI connection to HDTV

Dual Image Stabilizer works as advertised in low lighting

Three aspect ratios: 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9

PAUSE feature in video mode provides one continuous clip up to 30-min

Good 3″ LCD screen (460k)

Intuitive manual system

Cons:

Relatively slow handling

Below average battery life

Bulky and heavy

Long flash recycle time

Average image quality

Default setting produces under-saturated colors

In my opinion, if someone only wants to carry one camera on any trip or event, this is the one to get. It is not an outstanding camera by any means but it does anything relative well with no major shortcomings. However, there’re reviews posted online questioning the durability of this camera which I think any potential buyer should to be aware of.

Buy/More Info