Samsung TL500 Review Discussion

[Howard Creech]

Samsung's TL500 (EX-1 in Europe) is not your typical compact digital camera. The TL500 can function nicely as a point and shoot camera, but it was designed for photo enthusiasts. The very compact TL500 is attractive in an understated way, feels solid and stable in your hands, and features a robustly constructed all metal body with a genuine handgrip.

Read the full content of this Article: Samsung TL500 Review

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[KCook]

In line with reviews by other sites, the sample images show very dull contrast. A couple of shots with the Image Adjust control set to high contrast would be useful.

Kelly

[kelsci]

I agree with Kelly. I just saw pics from another test of this camera on another site that were clear and undistorted. I would think that the VGA video would look better considering the quality that this camera appears to have. It should have had 720P at the very least.

[Howard Creech]

In line with reviews by other sites, the sample images show very dull contrast. A couple of shots with the Image Adjust control set to high contrast would be useful.

Kelly

With regard to the images displayed with this review I believe the dull contrast you note is more a product of the flat gray overcast winter light that we've been cursed with here in the Ohio Valley for the past month. If you are a fan of bold oversaturated consumer colors then you may also be associating the tl500's neutral color rendition with flat colors and dull contrast - especially since even bright colors look pretty blah under overcast winter light.

[KCook]

Very good point about overcast skies. A persistant problem for the UK sites, often their samples are useless. But the indoor TL500 shots were also not peppy. For that matter, even the ISO series from the lab show less contrast -

TL500


Canon S95


Kelly

[Howard Creech]

Very good point about overcast skies. A persistant problem for the UK sites, often their samples are useless. But the indoor TL500 shots were also not peppy. For that matter, even the ISO series from the lab show less contrast -

TL500


Canon S95


Kelly

As Arte Johnson used to say, "Verrry Interesting" - I tested both cameras (and liked both of them) and I didn't notice any significant contrast difference in my real world shots - certainly not the substantial difference in default contrast rendition shown by the two images you provided from the DCR lab. What were the ISO numbers on those two shots?

Howard

[KCook]

Both cases were ISO 200. But the same difference shows across the board, except for the very highest ISO.

Kelly

[ccs-digital]

"This single misstep is, in my opinion, the TL500's greatest fault. Here's a note to camera designers everywhere - the exposure compensation function should at best have its own dedicated button (or a place on the compass switch) and at worst, be available quickly via the function button."

Click the front wheel, rotate to selected EV compensation value, click again to set. How much easier could it be?