Samsung introduces trio of digicams
- — 13 January, 2004 09:24
Samsung Electronics is showing three new digital cameras in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show, including two inexpensive, high-megapixel models and one bundled with a program that lets you create a custom animated avatar to display on the camera, a cell phone, or a Web site.
The 3.2-megapixel U-CA 3 comes bundled with DigiStudio software. With it, you can take a picture of a friend, then paste the image onto a ready-made animated avatar and add music. You can change the hairstyle, outfits, and background scenes, and even make the avatar dance. You can e-mail the avatar to friends, or set the camera to display the animation when it starts up.
Samsung says the U-CA 3 is aimed at the youth market, and the demonstration avatars here at CES support that: One pictures a model in bright, groovy colors, doing a dance that looks nothing like the polka (unless you can envision Christina Aguilera dancing the polka).
The U-CA 3 uses MPEG-4 video compression, rare on a digital still camera. It allows 320-by-240-resolution video at 24 frames per second, which is good but not unmatched. Some cameras, such as Sony's DSC-T1, use Motion JPEG compression and allow 640 by 480 resolution at 30 frames per second. However, MPEG-4 compression allows five times the recording capacity of MJPEG, according to Samsung.
Other features include a 3X zoom lens, a 32MB Memory Stick Duo card, and a bundle of either MGI PhotoSuite or Adobe Photoshop Elements. Samsung says the U-CA 3 will cost US$230.
Entry-Level Digimax Units
The most expensive camera Samsung announced, the Digimax V50, costs only US$380. However, it has 5-megapixel resolution, a larger-than-average 2-inch LCD screen, and USB 2.0 connectivity. The Digimax V50 also provides a 3X optical zoom lens, includes eight scene modes, and accepts Secure Digital and Memory Stick Duo media.
Also on display is the Digimax V40, which is similar to the V50 but with the lower price tag of US$330 and fewer features. The Digimax V40 offers 4 megapixels of image resolution and lacks aperture- and shutter-priority modes and full manual controls.
