Product Listing

Samsung ST550 - Double Delight

By Seow Tein Hee - 9 Sep 2009

Performance

Two Strikes

Let's review what the ST550 brings to the table on the specification front. As laid out earlier, the ST550 utilizes a 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor, capable of imaging resolutions of up to 12.2-megapixels. Wide-angle shots are also possible with its 27mm lens, which also comes with a 4.6x optical zoom.

Our earlier launch coverage of the ST550 gave us a quick peek at some of its imaging capability. In this round, we subjected it to a more detailed analysis, which includes our usual ISO test on the color charts, and a close examination of its imaging quality under Auto settings.

ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400
ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO 3200

As expected, image noise becomes visible when we reach the ISO800 range. Nonetheless, below that value, the returned colors
were well-balanced and didn't look too saturated on the three primary colors (red, green and blue) areas.

Under the often used Auto settings, we took a few sample shots under a strong tungsten light to test its auto white balance and selected the best out of the lot. The white balance is reasonably good, though one might find a slight disparity in colors between the live view and the resulting image.

1 cropped image as seen here, aren't very prominent. This could mean some loss in sharpness for images, and would be more of an issue at higher ISO values.

Barrel distortion is quite prominent on the edges of the ST550's images. Taken under Auto settings, F/3.5, 1/500 sec at ISO80. Macro shots rendered great details, colors and focus. Taken under Auto settings, F/3.5, 1/125 sec at ISO80.

Imaging quality aside, we also took note of the ST550's performance in terms of speed and stamina. This includes the start-up time, image processing and how long it managed to sustain itself under one charge. The ST550 takes a substantially long time to start up,up to almost 3 seconds that could cost you the image when you least expect it. Image processing speed varies, depending on which mode the ST550 is currently set at. This isn't an issue under its Auto, Smart Auto, Program or Scene modes, but it is still relatively slow with nearly two seconds taken to process the image. With the Dual IS mode option, up to three seconds is required for the processor to go through the digital image stabilization algorithm.

If you're looking for prolonged usage with a single charge, the ST550 is probably good for up to no more than 200 shots with its limited 720mAh battery. This quantity will take a dip once the secondary LCD is utilized on a more frequent basis. Over time, we've also noticed that the device does heat up significantly on both LCD screens.

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.