Samsung’s latest compact camera, the MV800, is squarely aimed at people who love taking self-portraits. Its biggest selling point is its “MultiView” 3-inch touch display that rotates 180 degrees so it can be viewed while simultaneously looking into the lens. But even without the screen, the MV800 would be a stylish, capable and intuitive camera that produces consistently good images.
The MV800 boasts 16,1 megapixels on a CCD sensor with an ISO range of 100 to 3 200. In fairness, however, like most compacts, even ISO 800 is only barely useable and results in images that are too soft due to the camera’s handling of JPG compression.
The 5x optical zoom is fairly standard for its class and offers a 35mm equivalent range of 26-130mm. It also offers Samsung’s OIS (optical image stabilisation) technology to reduce the effects of camera shake.
A fold-out LCD on a camera seems like a gimmick, until you’ve used one, after which you’ll wonder why it isn’t a standard feature on all cameras. The MV800 screen only moves on one axis, but even that makes it infinitely more fun than using any compact with a fixed display.
The MV800 is aimed at those who like hold a camera at arm’s length and take pictures of themselves with their friends or family or the random guy at the bar. The display can be rotated 180 degrees so that it faces the same direction as the lens, and there’s a secondary shutter release on the rear as the normal one is obscured when the screen is rotated.
When folded out, the screen flips its contents vertically so the user doesn’t have to compose the image or video upside down. It also allows the user to fiddle with settings easily and makes those put-the-camera-on-the-floor-and-huddle-over-it shots far easier to get right.
Where mobile phones used to incorporate an increasing number of compact camera features, the reverse is now happening. The MV800 features a smartphone-like touch interface for fiddling with settings and viewing images, and on the whole it’s intuitive and sensibly arranged, making changing settings far easier than on many similar cameras in its class.
One of the most striking aspects of the MV800 is its understated styling. Clad in a black steel housing with a slightly textured and faintly rubberised rear panel, the only buttons are the on/off switch and shutter release/zoom wheel at the top, a home and preview button next to the screen, and a secondary shutter release beneath the screen.
The buttons have the same high-quality feel as the home button on an iPhone or similar, and the entire device feels extremely well made and durable. From the interface to the resultant images, there’s nothing budget about the MV800.
The MV800 shoots video at 720p, but doesn’t offer audio input for sound recording, which is a pity. Like most recent compact cameras, it takes microSD cards and offers an HDMI port for connecting it to a television and inflicting slideshows or videos on unsuspecting friends.
Geared, as it is, towards fun and frivolity, the MV800 offers various filters and a nifty feature called Magic Frame that allows you to insert one image into a portion of another — for example, putting yourself on a screen or a poster you’ve snapped a shot of — or into some of Samsung’s supplied frames.
Ultimately, the biggest selling point of the MV800 is how easy, and fun, it is to use. Most people buying compact cameras will never even use the manual options it offers and, although the MV800 offers plenty of control, its automatic settings are superb and seldom require manual override.
Really, the only thing missing from the MV800 is a Wi-Fi connection and social media integration, something its target market would value. Otherwise, it’s a superb little camera that produces images that look as good as it does.
The MV800 is available now for R2 699. — Craig Wilson, TechCentral
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