Samsung Digital Imaging has provided the author of this article with the mentioned digital imaging device.
Most of the compact digital cameras have great mobility to be used anywhere. However, it’s still inconvenient to use it when it’s raining or in river or sea. (Shooting in water is just impossible and when taking shots on a rainy day, users are very careful not to have rain.) @ Recently, due to the increased number of people enjoying leisure, more waterproofing products have been sold and it’s still steadily increasing. As you can see by the name WP (Water Proof), this product from Samsung supports waterproofing function and can take perfect movies and pictures under any circumstances. (It has been designed for waterproof, but it also has great functions and mobility.) I’m wondering the performance of this camera. Let’s take a look at the waterproofing performance, design, and quality through the review.
It has 93.8 x 61 x 18.5 mm of size and 121g of weight. Like most other compact cameras, it has good mobility. (Even though for perfect waterproofing, there have been a lot of things added, I like that it has this good mobility. When using it in a swimming pool or sea, you should hang this on your neck, because there’s no pocket, so I think its light weight would be no burden to you.) The WP10 has focused on waterproofing function, but I like the design more. It has totally different style from previous products and the colors and great finishing were very satisfactory. @ Like the PL150 I recently reviewed, it has 7 degree slanted design, so without a tripod, self shot is available.
It’s the front of the body and different from other cameras having a protruding lens, it has an inner zoom lens for waterproofing. (It worked smoothly and there was no vibration or noise.) it supports 5x optical zoom (on 35mm, 35-175mm AOV), so users can easily take photos and videos. It also has flash and AF assist light & Self Timer lamp.
It’s the top of the product and there’s a speaker, power, and shutter button.
It’s the bottom of the product and a mount hole for tripod connection is located and memory and battery slot is installed on the side. (It supports up to 32GB SDHC. You will not experience shortage of memory.) @ Like the picture, a rubber pad is attached on the cover for perfect waterproofing and dustproof..
It’s the back of the body and 230K pixels 2.7” TFT LCD is located. By adopting Intelligent LCD automatically adjusting the brightness of the LCD, you can save the battery with great visibility. (While shooting in water, you can vividly see the LCD.) Zoom button, Menu&mode button, direction key, and play button are attached on the side to control the camera. And Status LED is also located.
It’s the left side of the body and a strap ring for handstrap or neck strap is located. And on the top, 20 pin port for recharge and data transfer is located. (Like the battery cover, a rubber pad is attached for waterproof and dustproof.) It’s the right side of the body and a microphone is located.
The WP10 supports more perfect waterproof function. It supports IP8X of IEC standard, so the camera can be used under 3m of water for an hour and its dustproof function prevents the camera from malfunctioning caused by dusts. (Unlike other digital instruments weak to water, it’s not afraid of water at all.)
Like I mentioned earlier, it has good mobility. (It’s as big as a palm and not burden at all.)
We’ve looked the design and feature. Let’s take a look at functions supported through UI interface.
Like other expensive cameras, it has quite fast operating time. Like the picture, mode icon is displayed as a main on the left top and various information is displayed around. (It consists of intuitive user interface to easily confirm the current shooting condition.)
Unlike other products supporting mode dial, by using a mode button, users can select the mode. It supports 4 modes basically and by supporting Smart Auto, there’s no inconvenient to take pictures and videos. (Unlike other high level cameras, it only supports core modes.)
Without entering the setting menu, by using a direction key on the back, users can set frequently used settings. Various information displayed on the LCD can be hid and by setting self timer, flash, and macro more conveniently, users can take the pictures they want more quickly.
It supports Smart Auto mode which is an automatic scene recognition function. Once setting the resolution, the camera automatically optimizes the camera settings, so it will be great to those who want to take great shots with simple settings or for beginners. (17 modes for still images and 4 modes for movies such as Landscape, Natural Green, Blue Sky, and Sunset.)
It’s the scene mode and as you can see from the picture, it supports various settings. As a waterproof camera, it supports Aqua mode for better shooting in water. (Battery and USB cover has to be securely locked. Otherwise, it will be damaged by water.)
It also suppots Beauty Shot which is a great function of Samsung cameras. (The above picture was taken with Beauty Shot and skin brightness and correction setting with 3 levels is provided.)
It’s a movie recording mode. Like other high level products, it supports 1280HQ resolution in 30fps. That means this camera can record smooth movies. Image Stabilization and Smart Scene Recognition are also supported.
Let’s take a look at the various functions. (Setting it to Program mode, like the above picture, you can use various functions.)
Like the picture, various size settings are available and 3 level of resolution setting is also possible. (The bigger the photo size or the higher the quality, the bigger the file size. Please set it properly depending on its usage.) It also supports exposure correction and up to ISO 3200.
As a Samsung camera supporting perfect portrait shots, it supports various functions about portrait shots. Not only Face Recognition, but also Self Guide, Smile Shot, Blink Detection, and Smart Face Recognition are supported.
My Start function registering frequently taken faces and priotizing them to set the focus and exposure is provided and registered face list is also offered. (I think you can easily see what this function is by looking at the photo.) @ Those who take a lot of portrait shots will be satisfied with this function.
Not only Center, Multi, and Tracking AF, but also Selection AF which focuses on selected area are supported and metering light is also available. In order to take emotional pictures, photo style function is also offered.
When it comes to Smart Filter, Vignetting filter making lomo camera effect and Fish eye filter are provided. Image correction function adjusting contrast, sharpness, and saturation is provided and ACB correcting the contrast and DIS (Digital Image Stabilization) are also included.
It also supports continuous shooting, motion capture taking 5 shots per sec, and AEB taking 3 shots with different exposures.
Like other products, voice memo and recording are supported.
It’s the sound setting and volume can be adjusted (3 levels with off). Various booting, shutter, and operating sounds can be selected. AF operation sound can be turned off or on.
It’s screen menu and various languages are supported and function description is also provided. (It’s useful for beginners to get used to functions.) And when booting, the starting image on the LCD can be selected (Users can register the image.), and brightness, quick view time, and power saving time can be set.
It’s the Setting menu and supports format and initialization function and date, time, and time zone can also be set. File number (Set it to Continuous, if you keep managing image files.) and date recording can also be set.
Through Auto power off function, you can manage the battery more efficiently. Not only NTSC, but also PAL is supported, and USB setting is also provided.
By pushing the play button on the back, you can play pictures, videos, and voices. (You can even run it when it’s off by pushing the play button, and through the button on the back, shooting information can easily be checked.)
Taken images can be zoomed and cut. (It’s a crop tool in Photoshop. When playing a movie, captureing image is also available.) Preview up to 20 pictures not only 9 pictures is supported, so pictures can be searched and selected more quickly.
It’s Smart Album and it can be sorted by date, color, and face, so users can easily search and watch pictures and movies they want. (With the preview of 20 pictures and Smart Album, it’s very easy to find pictures.)
It’s Play setting menu and in edit menu, the size of pictures can be changed. (Not only the size, but also start image setting are possible.) Picture rotation is also supported. Even after taking pictures, style can be applied and various retouching functions are supported. Like I mentioned earlier, by using Smart Filter, images can be edited. @ It might be not that convenient for those who are used to Photoshop, but very convenient for those who are not used to it.
It supports Multi Slide show. Picture selection, effects, interval, and BGM can be set. (Please check through the video.)
It’s file management. File delete and protection are supported with voice memo. (Selecting pictures you want and then you can delete or protect them with the preview.) DPOF (Picture output information is stored in MIDC folder in the memory card and users can select pictures to print out and the number of pictures to print.) and copy function are provided.
We’ve checked various functions. Now, let’s take a look at how great the results it takes through the test and try to take shots in water.
As you can see from a picture, the WP10 supports perfect waterproof function and Aqua mode can be set from Scene mode. (It can be used for leisure, education, and work, I think. It can take shots for up to 1 hour to 3m in depth, so there will be no inconvenient to take shots in water.)
It’s the shot taken in water. It wasn’t easy to secure the shutter speed, but it was very good. By supporting wide angle and Macro, it will take great results under any circumstances.
Unlike other cameras to be wiped by smooth towel when corrupt, the WP10 can be washed like the picture. (After taking shots in water, please wash the camera like the picture with clean water. Especially, shooting in the sea, it’s necessary, because it might be corroded.)
It’s AOV test. In wide angle, its 35mm wasn’t good enough compared to other cameras starting from 30mm. However, because it supports 5x optical zoom, it was much better in telephoto angle. (If you don’t need ultra wide angle, it will be useful, it hink.)
Like other high level cameras released in 2010, it supports Smart Filter. Vignetting filter making lomo camera effect and Fish-eye filter making ultra wide angle shot allowed me to experience more unique shooting.
It supports vairous White Balance settings and by adjusting it depending on the situation, you can set the accurate colors.
It’s testing the quality by ISO and in up to ISO 800, there was no big difference in image details. However, from ISO 1600, pixels got rough and there was some loss of detail. (Was it because of the inner zoom lens? In ISO test, it’s wasn’t good enough compared to previous cameras.)
TV-OUT function is also supported for users to enjoy pictures and videos in a big screen. The above picture is that the WP10 was connected to a TV via AV cable and it worked perfectly. (Because the connection is very simple, users don’t have to worry about, even if you are not familiar it.)
It’s playing pictures and videos taken. When it comes to videos, it allowed vivid and smooth movies in HD quality and 30 fps. (It’s good enough to be used for snap shots and UCC sites.) @ When recording a move in water, it was also vivid without any dark or grey feeling. With Smart Auto function for movies, users will comfortably record movies, I think.
[Design and Operation video of Samsung WP10]
There were some distinguished products such as the NX10 or ST550(TL225) from Samsung, but a lot of cameras seemed similar to me. However, I really enjoyed this review, because the WP10(AQ100) was so different from other cameras in its design and features. The biggest advantage of the WP10(AQ100) is its waterproof function. Because it supports perfect waterproof function, users can take shots in a rainy day without worrying about the camera and when in river or a sea, more dynamic pictures can be taken in water. Moreover, it can actually take the world under the water, so it’s very educational and useful for a lot of workers and students. (Image and video quality in water was also very good.) I would also like to mention its great design consisting of magnificent colors and simple front. I think it’s good to appeal to those who want more elegant design. (Design is Samsung cameras’ weak point. I hope there will be their own feeling in each camera from the WP10(AQ100).) However, considering that the shutter speed inevitably decreases in water, OIS should have been supported. (I’m hoping the next model will support OIS.) I think this camera will be very popular with it’s shooting in water, wide angle, and elegant design. When it comes to waterproof cameras, there were not a lot of products to choose. From the WP10(AQ100), I think there will be more cameras hopefully.
This review represents the sole opinion of their individual authors and Noteforum and don’t express the opinion of Samsung Digital Imaging Co., Ltd., Samsungimaging.net or the opinion of any affiliates unless specifically marked as such. For any further questions, or feedback, please visit Noteforum.
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