PhotoTech: Delilah's true love.. Samsung TL 500

Another breed of high-caliber compact digital camera was seen enticing tech-geeks and photo-enthusiasts at PMA 2010 held at Anaheim Convention Center last month. A worthy LX3 contender I must say, as it sports a wide angle and ultra bright lens @ f/1.8 (Canon and Panasonic are probably raising their eyebrows now since both their products, S90 and LX3 respectively, can only go as fast as f/2.0 aperture). The new Samsung TL 500 is a high-end digital compact camera with PSAM modes -- the functionality that you'd normally find in SLR cameras. It'll be officially out in the market second quarter of this year ('got this release timing info from Samsung's website).

So how is it compared with the tough pocket-able rivals? ..the prevailing & dynamic LX3 and the undaunted S90, that is.

Okay, allow me to pull the tech specs of these two from my previous blog and line up this new TL500 with 'em.

Effective Pixels
LX3 : 10.1 megapixel
S90 : 10.0 megapixel
TL500: 10.0 megapixel

Sensor Size
LX3 : 1/1.63" CCD
S90 : 1/1.70" CCD
TL500: 1/1.70” CCD

Lens Type/Build
LX3 : Leica DC Vario-Summicron Lens
S90 : Canon Lens-Shift System
TL500: Schneider-Kreuznach Varioplan Lens

Aperture
LX3 : f/2.0 (Wide); f/2.8 (Tele)
S90 : f/2.0 (Wide); f/4.9 (Tele)
TL500: f/1.8 (Wide); f/2.4 (Tele)

Focal Length
LX3 : 5.1-12.8mm (35mm equivalent: 24-60mm)
S90 : 6.0-22.5mm (35mm equivalent: 28-105mm)
TL500: 5.2-15.6mm (35mm equivalent: 24-72mm)

Optical Zoom Factor
LX3 : 2.5x
S90 : 3.8x
TL500: 3.0x

Continuous Shooting Speed (in FramesPerSecond)
LX3 : 2.5 FPS
S90 : 0.9 FPS
TL500: not mentioned

Image Stabilization Tech
LX3 : MEGA Optical Image Stabilization System
S90 : Optical Image Stabilizer System
TL500: Dual Image Stabilization System (Optical and Software)

Macro Focusing Range
LX3 : Wide 1cm
S90 : Wide 5-50cm
TL500: not mentioned

Built-in Flash
S90 : Yes
LX3 : Yes
TL500: Yes

External Flash Compatibility
LX3 : Yes, via standard hotshoe
S90 : Nil
TL500: Yes, via standard hotshoe

ISO Sensitivity
LX3 : Auto / 80 - 3200
S90 : Auto / 80 - 3200
TL500: Auto / 80 - 3200

Shutter Speed
LX3 : 60 - 1/2000 sec. (for Manual Mode, while PSA Modes varies)
S90 : 15 - 1/1600 sec. (only for Shutter Priority and Manual Mode)
TL500: not mentioned

Image Recording format
LX3 : JPG, RAW
S90 : JPG, RAW
TL500: JPG, RAW

Video Recording
LX3 : HD 1280x720p
S90 : Standard VGA
TL500: Standard VGA

Basing on the TL500 specs, apart from those details which are not mentioned anywhere yet, i.e burst speed and macro focusing range, I think this digital snapper will be very snappy in terms of delivering good quality image. It is slimmer than LX3 and almost the same size as S90. And it's in black! So what if it's black? Well, you know, black-colored devices have that professional look and they're more elegant. Anyhow, let's see if the numbers and all other features up there will translate to what we should be expecting from this newcomer.






TGIF! God bless y'all.

Ciao! c",)