Go IT World: Samsung ST10, Everyone on earth has different face

Following is a review about Samsung ST10 digital camera.

A: Heavy camera for professional use

B: Small and stylish portable camera for you to be able to take pictures anytime you want

What kind of camera do you need?

If your answer is B. This review can help you.

If you like to have some fun operating a camera, and want to take pictures easily with a stylish camera, Samsung compact digital camera, ST10 will be appealing to you.

Especially, since many users are sharing pictures with others by uploading them on their internet homepage or blog, compact camera users are increasing. And they usually want to carry a camera everywhere.

Now taking pictures have become a popular habit. Lots of users are female, and they want a small camera that fits into a petite purse. But so far, the compact cameras with high portability have been not so good in its functions.

However, thanks to development of digital technology, recently released digital cameras have improved a lot in its functions and features. Samsung’s series also have introduced a variety of cameras to meet users’ diverse demand.

In the preview of ST10, we’ve looked at its design and functions. So now I want to focus on its functions in detail and how well they work.

My personal impression of it after I’ve taken a few shots was that I could definitely see the improvement from the compact digital cameras form several years ago.

ST10_02PARKJIHWAN ST10’s appearance looks similar to other compact digital cameras in that it’s quite small in size.

ST10 comes in several colors, and the one I got was metal silver/white two-toned product.

This color is good for both men and women compared to other colors. (not that it’s different in its specification)

I’ll go over in detail below.

I saw silver, red, and black ST10, and personally I liked silver. Red and black are also attractive, but I like silver because you don’t get easily bored with the color. And it’s not simple silver but more of metal grey color, and the rotating cover on the front is made with chrome like mirror. The backside with LCD is white tone which matches well with small compact camera. It’s just my personal opinion, though. :)

What comes to your mind when you look at the chrome rotating cover on the front?

Beeping sound notifies you when the face locates on the center of the screen. (On/Off available)

Self guide is useful when you take self-shots. When the subject’s face is placed on the center of the screen, the beeping sound gets faster. From now on, there’ll be no failed pictures with half of your face or only one person’s face out of two.

The chrome rotating cover on the front can also work as a mirror. If you use it well, it can help take better self-shots. If you turn this rotating cover, the lens of ST10 comes out, and you can check your facial expressions or background on this mirror-like cover while looking at the lens. Its main target is young people, who enjoy taking self pictures daily or when traveling. In those cases, it’ll be the functional bonus for you.

Operation of ST10 is simple but unique. Power turns on when you turn the lens cover to open, and it turns off when you turn the lens cover back. Normally, it protects the lens, and when you turn on the camera, it works like a power button. It is efficient, but this ON/OFF type can be strange to some people.

Basically, when you open the lens cover, it takes about a second to get ready for shooting. Getting into the shooting mode is also pretty fast, so it has good responding time when you quickly want to capture a moment with your digital camera.

If opening and closing the lens cover is troublesome for you, you may use the power button on the top for ON/OFF while the lens cover is opened.

I’ve talked about the design and noticeable ON/OFF with rotating lens cover of ST10 first. But if we only know about this, it is still far from actually getting ready to use it. So from now on, we’ll take a look at the various functions and capability of ST10. If you know more, you can do better. More functions you know, the easier you can take pictures with your digital camera.

Explanation about each part of ST10 digital camera can be redundant since its basic interface is very simple. In my opinion, if you’re older than elementary school students, you can operate it without reading manual. You can see that there’s a ON/OFF button separate from lens cover. I mentioned this before, but since turning the lens cover every time can bother you, so be aware that you can also ON/OFF the camera with power button.

You can record size 800×600 video, so there’s a speaker on the front, and AF assist light ad self-timer lamp on the upper left side. You need to be careful not to block the lights with your finger when you soot in dark places. Multi-functional connecter is used for charging, and connecting USB or A/V. Since you can connect everything with one connector, you don’t need complex connectors. Battery and SD memory holder is combined at the bottom of ST10. You can stick in the SD memory by slight pushing, and when you remove it, push it one more time so it smoothly pops out. To put in the battery, you can turn the supporting clip to the side and put it in. And you can also take it out by slightly turning the clip. Personally, I like its neat design and interface but wish that battery holder was metal, not plastic.

Basic composition touch pen/ Hanging the camera by its hand strap

What is noticeable is the operation part on the back. It is extremely simple even as a compact digital camera, but it is because it contains touch (Haptic) function on the 3 inch LCD monitor. Only the basic buttons are placed outside, and other settings are operated through touching on the screen by a touch pen or finger. It has recently popular Haptic function which has been used in cell phones and PMPs. Also, minute vibration is offered to each touch. It gives you the feedback, so you don’t have to depend on the touch sound in noisy places.

Since you can touch it with a pen or finger, so if you want to take a quick photo, just touch it to select functions and setting.

ST10_12PARKJIHWAN ST10’s 3 inch hvGA LCD allows touch and drag. On the marked part, every menu for functional setting locates. For the additional functions other than quick function selection, hidden menu appears when you press Fn▲ at the bottom of LCD. This 3 inch wide LCD is well structured for the efficient use. It leaves some afterimage on LCD when touching. It doesn’t affect the image, but it’s a little disappointing.

Function menu comes up from the bottom, and other detailed setting can be done.

Let’s take a look at ST10’s various functions in the actual practice. It would be better if Haptic function on LCD is used every time.

If we look at ST10’s specification, it has as high as 9,000,000 pixels, and supports ISO 80-3200 and various shooting modes. Also, shooting distance can be as close as 1cm in super macro function. (1-5cm close-up available) The shutter speed can be 16 seconds for night scene shots. Even though it is popularized compact camera, it supports various functions. One of ST10’s goals is a photo shot with no failure. So it offers Digital Image Stabilization (DIS) function, and Smart Face, Face detection AF, and touch AF for good portrait shots. You can give focus on the people you want, and it can automatically change settings for the detected faces.

Also, you can use touch AF function to easily focus on particular point when it’s hard to focus due to phase or brightness difference. It is related to the strength of touch LCD; the user can touch the desired point for focusing on LCD. Its weaknesses are less than 10,000,000 pixels, somewhat dark lens, and x3 optical zoom (plus x5 digital zoom). But considering ST10’s style and price, it cannot have everything. And since its plenty of strengths can compensate them, it can be said a good product. Let’s keep learning about ST10. It’ll be fun to assess efficiency of functions like Beauty shot that applies blur effect, Smile shot that shoots smiley faces, Blink detection that prevents shooting blinking moment, and Frame guide that helps get desired angle when you ask the third person to take a picture.

Anyone can capture children’s abrupt movement and smile through ST10’s SCENE mode.

It has all the face detection functions. Improved Smart Face detection function is ST10’s exclusive specialty.

Everyone on earth has different face. But overall face structures are similar. Everyone has two eyes, a nose, lip, and forehead. Then Smart Face detects those faces.

If you take a look at the marked area, you can see it detects faces and gives focus on them. Comparatively, the front face, where eyes, nose, and lip are seen well, is more easily detected. And if the facial looks different, for example if you wear a cap, it can’t detect faces well. This is what many other recently released digital cameras also offer.

When the subject is one person, only face detection function is enough. But what about two people or three? If you want people you like to stand out of the ten people? It’s not an easy thing to do. Many users must have desired for you or your loved ones to be the main subject in the group shots.

ST10’s Smart Face function saves up to 10 faces in data when you save the portrait shots in Play mode. Then when you take a picture later, focus and exposure is controlled depending on the condition of those detected faces.

If you’re an expert at taking pictures, you can control the conditions with DSLRs, but you cannot control everything on compact digital camera. But thanks to this function, you can take good pictures for each moment so conveniently.

For me, it is not only inconvenient but embarrassing to change focus and angle for my family or lover in group pictures. But ST10’s Smart Face makes it possible to focus on your special person without others noticing it.

Let’s take a picture of her with no makeup on. Result?

I don’t like normal portrait shots, but Photoshop is so hard…How can I create brightening face shots? The answer is ST10’s Beauty shot.

OK! This doesn’t mean that this photo looks ok. This is what my wife, the model in the photo, said when I asked her if I can use this picture in the review. She hates her face disclosed, but ST10’s Beauty shot made her say OK. Actually, I didn’t expect her to say yes before I asked. Many pictures on youngsters’, especially women’s, homepages are edited to clarify their skin tone. In order to make more beautiful and satisfying pictures, people use Photoshop on PC after taking the photos.

But only the people who are good at using the program can do it, and it is a troublesome job even to them. But if you use Beauty shot function of ST10, you don’t need face retouch afterwards. The camera itself makes clear skin tone. My wife in the above picture didn’t put any makeup on purposely to test Beauty shot effect. As a result, her skin looks even clearer than her actual skin with makeup on. It proves how effective and fun it is to get pictures without separate editing.

Other then Beauty shot, Blink detection and Smile shot are also useful. Sometimes you feel bad because you blink or don’t smile in the picture. You usually don’t; feel like taking pictures again when this happens. But ST10 helps you avoid this situation.

If you press the button at the bottom of touch LCD in shooting mode and select icons in order, you can activate them.

If your eyes are closed when shooting, it takes two shots successively.

If it detects the subject smiling, it automatically takes a shot.

It is not easy to capture subject’s smiling. If you set Smile shot, it automatically takes a picture when the subject is smiling widely. How to set up is the same as above, pressing the button at the bottom and selecting the order.

I don’t like the same feeling. I want unique color…Then color your image with Color Style mode.

You can take a picture in a color tone you want using Style effect mode. There’re 8 basic styles for diverse moods, but it may not be enough for some people. If the color tone you want is not one of them, control color balance in RGB mode so you can create your own Style effect.

Using Style effect mode, you can create unique feelings like warm picture, cool picture, or negative style picture.

Keep it in your pocket when you’re not taking pictures? No time to rest due to its PMP & MP3 function. ST10

Camera function is added to cell phones. Navigation includes TV reception. Cars fly in the sky. Then why should digital camera be used only for taking photos? When traveling or commuting by bus or subway, there’s lots of free time. But if you have to carry a digital camera, camcorder, MP3 player, and PMP all together, it’s too much. But ST10 includes all of it. Since it has PMP and MP3 function, you can listen to music, watch movies, or take internet lecture when time allows. Playing video clips or operating MP3 can be easily done with touch LCD. Another request here is to provide a spare battery to cover for this multi-use.

1. Could you take a picture for me?

2. Click!

3. Thank you. :)

4. But it is not in an angle I wanted.

ST10’s Frame Guide can guide to take a picture in my desired angle.

The picture I want looks like above. Suppose it is a portrait shot, and you have to ask someone to take a picture for you. It is hard to demand things in detail. You usually just ask them, “Could you take a picture for me?” But many times, it looks far from the image you expected. It is a shortcoming of asking others to take a shot instead. In that case, if you set the angle in advance with Frame Guide, it leaves frame with those background image on the LCD, so anyone can take a picture with the preset angle, though not exact. Take a look at the actual sample above. (It’s not a portrait shot, but just for the reference.)

If Frame guide is set, image frame is left in the borderline of 3 inch LCD. Then the third person who gets the camera can try his/her best to overlap the frame with the actual scene and take a shot. Simply speaking, it’s like doing puzzle. Once you try to fit the frame with central area, it’s done. When you use Frame Guide, you can induce the desired angle by simply asking, “Please try to fit the frame with the scene.” You’ll feel much better when you have to ask someone.

I feel impatient. I really like to take a picture. Then just go out with ST10 in your pocket!

The focal length of ST10 is 38mm-114mm in 35mm film equivalent. It is not wide angle but rather normal. If you use it for shooting landscape or portrait, it is fairly good as a compact digital camera. Using x3 optical, x5 digital inner zoom type lens is not satisfying, but it works fine for regular compact digital camera users.

While I used Samsung compact digital camera ST10, I felt that it fulfills its duties. We shouldn’t expect the capability of DSLR from a compact digital camera. Biggest strengths of compact digital camera are its portability, easy operation, and convenience to take a picture under any situation. In those aspects, ST10 is slim, portable, and quick to enter shooting mode. It also supports various new modes that can respond to any circumstance, any time. Besides, it offers useful functions for portrait shots like Smart Face, Smile shot, and Beauty shot. ST10’s concept, no failed pictures, is persuasive in some degree. In addition, it has Haptic touch function on 3 inch wide LCD, which is so fun. I’ve sometimes experienced some delayed responses probably because of too many functions there. So I think it’ll be useful if there’s a one-touch icon for setting frequently used functions for quick use. I think ST10 is a compact digital camera that offers fun to take pictures and to operate.