Oh man, a stylish compact that will slip in a pocket or purse, packed with 10.2 million pixels and a 3.6x optical zoom that starts at the deliciously wide 24mm. Samsung’s new NV24HD has all that and a wee bit more.

Samsung has jumped on the HD bandwagon, offering high definition video at 1280 x 720 at 30fps. Drop the image quality down and you can gain 60fps, but who’d want to when you have HD on offer? Now I just have to convince the editor that I need a high definition TV for testing (preferably 50 inches, and throw in a well-stocked bar while you’re about it, ed).

As face detection is almost mandatory on compacts it makes sense that Samsung has expanded this feature, and it now offers blink detection too. Not everyone stares aimlessly into your lens waiting for you to snap the moment; some get nervous or just blink uncontrollably. In this situation the camera rattles off three frames to ensure you get one clean image.

The NV24HD has a screen that uses active matrix and organic light emitting diodes (AMOLED). That gives you a viewing surface that is not only better to view in bright light but also gives brilliant colour reproduction. This could be the best screen development this year.

It’s interesting the reaction this camera got. Blokes liked its industrial feel and quickly grasped the idea of the numerous navigation buttons, while almost every female I asked to try the camera found the multitude of buttons confusing. Everyone liked the AMOLED screen that is noticeably brighter and viewable at almost any angle, no matter how sunny the day is. Once you get the feel of the menu system it’s an easy camera to operate. The main menu dial on the top right is easily read and the left-hand dial lets you alter photo style. Give yourself a couple of days of playing with this model and you too will fall for its ease of use.

What they said

“[The 24mm wide-angle lens] puts the point-and-shoot in the lead of wide-angle digicams that could soon be a standard for others to follow.” – www.cnet.com

“Aesthetically this is a pretty suave camera… It is one of the better designed units on the market right now.” – Good Gear Guide

Specifications

Effective Pixels: 10.2 million

Lens: 4.3 – 15.5mm (24 – 86.5mm in 35mm terms)

LCD Monitor: 2.5-inch AMOLED (230,000 pixels)

Shutter: 16sec – 1/2000 sec

Aperture: f2.8 – f5.9

ISO: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (image size at 3200 is 3M)

Shooting Modes: Auto, Program, Manual, Dual IS, Night Portrait

Scene modes: Smile shot, Blink detection, Children, Landscape, Close-up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Self shot, Food, Café.

Media: 16MB internal memory, SD, SDHC

File Formats: Jpeg, MPEG-4, WAV

Batteries: Lithium-ion rechargeable

Dimensions: 98.5 x 61 x 18.95mm

Weight: 145g

Pros

• Blink detect as well as face detect
• 24mm wide angle zoom
• Innovative AMOLED screen
• Beautiful leather case

Cons

• Confusing amount of buttons

• Next to useless handbook

Verdict

The Samsung NV24HD is yet another camera that is touching on HD video as well as sublime stills. The 24mm wide angle is a bonus

Fraser Kitt

What do you think?