Customer Reviews

Samsung WB650 Digital Camera - Black (12MP, 15x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch AMOLED Screen

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have had this little gem for about a month now and have been blown away by it's quality. The styling is very understated but the build quality, size and weight is just perfect for my large man hands. The amoled screen is crystal clear and a vast improvement over the old lcd screen of my previous camera.

Now I am not a professional photographer, but the images taken of my children thus far, have been utterly superb and the extra wide lens and 15x zoom allows breathtaking, detailed shots. I have used the video feature several times at the school and nursery fairs and again the quality is fantastic. The video recording is limited to 20minutes per session, which is a tad annoying, as you have to keep an eye on the time bar before recommencing recording. I was standing 20ft away from the stage at my daughters concert and the sound recording was fantastic for an inbuilt camera mic. The only problem is that the sound is lost momentarily whilst zooming, but I think this is the case with most of this type of camera including Panasonic's TZ series.

The gps function is not something I thought I would use and to be honest it was a hell of a job to set it up because of the lack of clear info on the disc and Samsung's own website. However after much trial and error I got the memory card loaded up with the correct and specific files for the UK and it works well. It generally takes 80seconds to get a fix and even displays Cardiff in Welsh which I was most impressed with! The maps are very detailed and up to date and I have not experienced problems with it not recognising where I am in the UK so far.

I use the Samsung 8GB SDHC PLUS High Speed Class 6 memory card in the camera and it is just perfect for holding all the map info, pictures and detailed HD video files. The battery life is about 3 hours on seriously heavy usage so I cannot complain there although I would have liked a separate charger for the battery rather than having to charge it 'in camera' only- perhaps there is a separate charger sold by Samsung but it isn't included in the bundle nor is a camera case which always annoys me!!! Saying that, I cannot complain too much as my old Lowepro Rezo 40 fits it like a glove.

In summary if you are a proud parent who just wants to take great pics and HD vids of their kids without too much hassle, then this is the camera of choice. You will always get photography geeks (no offence intended ;o)) posting uber-detailed reviews in the specialist magazines and online, but in my experience there is no substitute for trying the product out for yourself and seeing how it suits your functional demands and style. I have long since given up reading the so called 'independent' reviews as there is a lot of 'behind the scenes shenanigans' going on with the major players like Sony, Panny and Canon greasing their palms.

Buy it, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

I used to own a Panasonic Lumix LX1. It was a great camera and quite portable but not quite small enough for a shirt pocket. So I sold it and bought Casio Exilim EX-Z77. It didn't have quite the zoom of the LX1 but image quality was acceptable and it fitted beautifully into any pocket you care to think of. But it wasn't really up to the job I wanted it for. Then I bought a Nikon D60 DSLR. The D60 rapidly expanded into a D60 with Sigma 10-20mm ultrawide, Nikon 18-200mm VRII and Tamron SP 500mm telephoto. A great combination but now I am back to the feeling I used to have lugging my 35mm gear around - it's hard work and gets in the way of my day out or holiday when I'm with family or friends. What to do? How do I get everything I've now got in my ever expanding camera bag and shove it once more, unobtrusively and conveniently into my shirt pocket? No, this isn't a fairy tale; the simple answer is, it can't be done. But read on.

Compact zooms got bigger and bigger (zoomwise) and better and better. Then Panasonic brought out the Lumix DMC-TZ7 and even professional snappers started going weak at the knees. I resisted the urge (easy since I was broke at the time) and waited for the price to come down. It didn't (not as significantly as I'd hoped for anyway) and, unless you want a US model or Asian grey import you STILL won't get one for much under £200. Then they brought out the DMC-TZ10 which looked great but inexplicably didn't get such good reviews as the TZ7 - having already owned the LX1 I was aware that Lumix cameras aren't exactly great in low light OR high contrast situations. But I was tempted. THEN Samsung brought out the WB650. The widest and longest ever compact zoom (24-360mm equivalent) with dual image stabilisation and OLED viewing screen into the bargain AND small enough to fit into a shirt pocket (significantly slimmer than the TZ7/TZ10). My temptation overcame me. I bought one and I'm so pleased with it that I thought I'd submit my own review - I took a shot by shot comparison with the Nikon D60 (with 18-200m VRII attached - equivalent to 27-300mm) and the Casio Exilim EX-Z77 (38-114mm equivalent) and a further comparison with archive shots (taken on walks in my village) from my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1.

In comparison with the D60 the WB650 performed surprisingly well: colour and colour balance appeared to be virtually identical. The D60 had marginally better contrast than the WB650 - but that could relate to camera setup. All shots were taken on "Auto" with factory default settings for each camera. The D60 had the edge in sharpness at the telephoto end, but not by much and bear in mind that this result could have been influenced by the steadiness (or not) of my 58 year old hands. The BIG surprise was that, whilst the Nikon 18-200mm lens suffers significant barrel distortion at the wide (27mm equivalent) end, such distortion was barely noticeable at the 24mm end of the WB650. Having read many reviews of Samsung cameras I was worried about the colour balance of the WB650 but was please to find no grounds for these worries - as stated it compared VERY favourably to the D60 in that area. Neither did I find any evidence of purple fringing - with the caveat that the pictures have only been viewed at 17" monitor size and have not been enlarged beyond that.

Now the comparison with the Casio Exilim. No comparison - the WB650 had significantly better colour balance and more natural colour than the Exilim and the Exilim displayed a little purple fringing at telephoto end. It had significantly better contrast and vastly superior sharpness. The Exilim suffered noticeable wide angle barrel distortion which the Samsung did not. The Exilim has a 2 1/2" screen and the Samsung has a 3" OLED screen - strangely the Samsung didn't strike me as very much visible than the Exilim in the mixed morning light - a disappointment as I was expecting great things, but when reviewing pictures the Samsung screen is far clearer than the Exilim with superior colour. Overall the WB650 is in a totally different class to the Exilim EX-Z77.

Now for the Panasonic. Bear in mind that this is not quite so "like for like" as the last two comparisons. The Panasonic photos weren't taken at the same time, although the subject matter was very similar. The LX1 was a 4X zoom whereas the WB650 is a 15X zoom. Colourwise the LX1 and WB650 were close - also NO purple fringing on either. Contrast was similar. The WB650 took significantly sharper photos than the Lumix LX1 - the image stabilisation is two generations better. Panasonic Lumix cameras are built to, at least visually, a very high engineering standard. I have held a Lumix DMC-TZ10 and can state that it "feels" similar to a DMC-LX1 - that is, very solid and metallic. I have to say that the Samsung WB650 feels more plasticky but still very solid - I could not say that it is built to a lower standard though different materials are used and it is consequently lighter and easier to carry and hold than the Panasonics - only time and use will tell whether it will take the knocks as well as a Panasonic.

It does not have any software packaged on the included CD-ROM (this only contains the manual) but this camera does, unusually, have a built in processing suite (IntelliView) that starts up in the PC when the camera is connected via the USB lead. The USB lead is also the method by which the battery is charged "in camera", either from the PC or from the included 3-pin adapter. Also, when accessing the GPS map data, you will find that Samsung provide registered users with "Samsung Master" - a very good photo processing program that does a lot more than any other manufacturers packaged software.

GPS initially caused me problems - I failed to download it and install it correctly. Once I had read the instructions on the samsungimaging.com site VERY carefully and correctly built and populated the file structure on the SD card it worked very well. Initial acquisition of a satellite takes several minutes but then the camera zeroes in within seconds each time the camera is switched back shortly afterwards. The MapView facility will come in very handy for finding my bearings during "City Breaks".

To summarise, the Samsung WB650 is an apparently well built camera. It has a wider and longer zoom than any of the competition. It takes very good photos, better than my Exilim and at least as good as my Lumix DMC-LX1, though not QUITE as good as a Nikon D60 DSLR and certainly better than you might have been led to believe on reading other Samsung reviews. The fanfared OLED rear sceen is good, but not as good as I'd hoped in bright light - but it's better than the competition. Well, that's it then; this is a great new camera which I suspect will prove to be better than the Lumix DMC-TZ10. It does a lot of what my DSLR does, almost as well, including a significantly wider zoom than the Nikon 18-200mm VRII and it DOES fit into a shirt pocket! It will not replace my DSLR with its raft of lenses and ancilliary equipment but it WILL be a great camera for when I want to travel light - I strongly recommend it.

Having used this camera for a little over a year (current date 2/7/11) let me update my review. I'm still very impressed with outdoor photos - a little saturated (especially predominantly green scenes) but any over-saturations are easily corrected. Indoor photography is hit and miss and I usually take several shots with and without flash for scenes I don't want to miss. Whilst I accept what another reviewer says about OIS only working on optical zoom, I find the OIS at 15X to be nigh on perfect. Throughout the past year in many city, town and rural locations I have found the GPS to be pretty well worthless - it takes 15 mins to lock on if it locks on at all (quite a rare occurrence!), but a friend with a TZ20 has similar problems, so I think GPS is one of those thing that ALL manufacturers are going to have to work on if it is to be of real value. Overall, I'm still very satisfied with my WB650 (although I'd be equally happy with a WB600) - last thing, my frienf with the TZ20 has only had it 3 months and he's got dust specks either in the lens or on the sensor - a quick Google shows that quite a few people have the same problem with the TZ20. So you pays your money and takes your choice - I'm happy with mine.

I spent hours of my life that I will never get back reviewing cameras for my year-long trip across Africa. Given that I would be spending sometime on safari and that I would need to video interviews for consultancy work I wanted a camera with excellent zoom and HD video as well as vibrant colours and GPS to mark locations in the many countries I would be visiting. It came down to the Panasonic TZ10 vs WB650. Given the many reviews I saw detailing the WB650's poor battery life (would have been a nightmare in many of the countries I am visiting), the WB650's superior zoom and also because many comparison views of the two had the WB650 come out on top I went for this one. I now wish I hadn't.

When the camera first arrived, in mid-October just before I set off, I was shocked at the lack of detail in the manual. Furthermore the GPS system immediately revealed itself to be far too cumbersome to be any use. You have to download GPS maps and data from the Samsung website onto your SD card. The website only has maps for a very limited number of countries- there were no maps for the majority of countries I am visiting. For the countries it DOES have maps for, everytime you move countries you have to reload the maps onto your cameras to set the "default" country, i.e. the country which you are travelling round, otherwise the map information does not work. I cannot believe that a more simplistic, logical way of organising the GPS. A lot of people who be buying this camera will be doing so for the GSP, so they can remember where they took a photo and mark it. They will be doing this a number of different countries, many of which may not have the facilities (i.e. a decent internet cafe) to reload the data each time.

Now I am three months into the trip and I am disappointed to say the photo quality is not what I anticipated either. I am travelling with a friend who purchased the Panasonic TZ8 (like the TZ10 but without the GPS) and her photos are absolutely incredible. Many look professional, DSLR quality and the colours are very rich and striking. We take a photo of the same scene and there is no mistaking how dull, and even grainy, my pictures look compared to hers. I have fallen out with the camera and I have come to use the internet to buy the TZ8 (given up on GPS so not risking the TZ10) so my boyfriend can bring it out for me when he comes to visit in a few weeks.

Opt for the TZ8 or TZ10 instead.

I just had to have a long zoom pocket cam for when ny DSLR isn't practical and narrowed the choice down to the Panasonic TZ10 and Samsung WB650 as all the competition had either lens issues, lousy colours or poor LCDs. The much better Auto WB of the Samsung, AMOLED screen and no battery chip won the day overall so I bought the WB650 and have been playing with it for a week now.

It's solid, no paint has worn off yet, and the lens is fantastic. I mean it's unbelievably good for a x15 zoom, in that I just haven't been able to generate any purple fringing (PF) in situations where even most DSLR lenses struggle and only the best work well. Some say there's in-camera editing going on the reduce PF, but if there is it's very subtle as I've taken shots with tiny purple flowers in and they've looked right. To compare it with my old Olympus C750 long zoom camera, the lens on that used to produce quite pronounced blue fringing in situation where the WB650 has none. I saw a tiny bit of flare in one shot facing the sun, and would rate flare performance as comfortably above average, the TZ10 being below average from shots I've seen anyway as I haven't used one.

I'm quite taken with the fast AF speed and the assist light which is very good. It focuses in the total dark pretty well for flash shots. The camera recycles quickly as well, even when using flash - miles quicker than older cameras used to anyway. Image stabilisation works well enough.

I've experimented with getting the best image quality out of the WB650, and I would say there's no more than 8MP of real resolution available, like most P&S 12MP cameras, so I've carefully compared 12MP downsized to 8MP vs. using the built-in 8MP, and there's no difference, so 8MP is going to be used all the time now, it saves space and looks very good at 100% viewing. Using Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro to sharpen an image taken at -2 sharpening in-camera (i.e. very soft), so far I can't really beat the in-camera sharpening at 0 setting so I'll use that for simplicity. There are visible benefits in dynamic range though by reducing the contrast setting in P mode and using -0.3EV or -0.7EV exposure compensation which brings back some contrast but lessens the chances of sky blowout (the digital look!)- I'm still fine tuning this though. The Auto modes are pretty good though, quite handy for quick shots.

It's not a perfect camera (noise! No exposure lock!) but I didn't expect it to be. It's a very handy pocket camera though and is nice to handle and quick.

Samsung seem to be on a mission to make its customers more tech savvy, particularity with their GPS equipped products. This was the case with my Samsung Smartphone and so it is with the WB650. On first switching-on the GPS a message is displayed indicating that no map data had been found and inviting the user to the Samsung website to download it. After eventually finding the site and registering I had to download three large files (world database, city database and a country roadmap file (a choice of over 55), and then unzip and place them into several pre-arranged subfolders on my SD card. I'm sure most buyers would rather the product worked straight out of the box and as the GPS is a major selling point of this model I just can't understand why Samsung don't supply an SD card with, at least, the basic data files pre-installed on it.

Once up and running however the GPS application proved excellent. In the geo-tagging screen images are shown as a semi-transparent thumbnail strip with a location map in the background. Switch to Mapview and your location with respect to the surrounding road network is displayed. The display is visible in bright light and so makes a useful stand alone GPS navigator when out walking, for instance. It's quite basic though (no co-ordinates are displayed, for example) and it does not update continuously (you need to press the OK button).

I like the look of this camera which, to me, has a slightly retro feel about it. The rear panel controls are nicely placed, particularly the video record button at top right and the Function (Fn) button, allowing instant access to all the chosen camera mode settings while framing a shot. I'm a hopeless photographer yet nearly every photo I've taken with this camera has turned out pin-sharp with pleasing natural colours and, thanks to the very bright screen, reasonably well composed. Amazingly adding digital zoom takes the zoom range upto 75x. Even at that magnification (and without a tripod) images come out reasonable sharp. Film recording can be started instantly by a press of the video record button but you have to make sure that your video preferences are set-up before hand using the movie mode settings. A particular feature I like is that recording can be paused (by pressing the OK button) allowing different video clips to appear as one long file rather than the many short individual files as with other cameras. 720p HD quality seems pretty good to me and I found using the Smart Auto Mode makes photography with this camera just about foolproof.

Charging the battery is achieved using a Samsung specific connector lead (also used to connect to a PC) which is connected to a USB power adaptor. This lead is far too short but I do like the clever status LED located on it. I also noticed that the HDMI output uses the very latest `D' type connector which is so new that no-one appears to stock the lead for it. The built-in `intelli-studio' software is really handy. As soon as you connect to a PC the application loads from the camera displaying all its images and inviting you to download. This software not only provides reasonable editing facilities for both stills and video but also allows easy upload to the likes of YouTube and flickr. You can also display your geo-tagged image locations on the Google map application. The `intelli-studio' software can be installed on the PC if desired.

The camera features a whole range of useful effects but sadly some creative controls have been omitted. There appears to be no Panoramic or multiple exposure facility and a sports setting is not present in the scenes (SCN) mode (although it's detected in the smart auto mode). Functions like continuous shooting are difficult to locate quickly being hidden within the settings of a couple of the cameras modes. That said I'm sure it will all become second nature with more use.

I've been very impressed with this camera which is easy to carry around and with a such a wide zoom range from 24mm to 360mm is always on-hand to capture that once-in-a-lifetime shot. I'll be keeping it for quite some time.

Update: 9th September

I have now found several retailers who supply a 'd' type micro hdmi lead suitable for this camera. I purchased one for £4.50 which works fine. On connection the display function is simply transfered to the tv/monitor allowing the viewing of video (and photo's) in HD which look great.

Just received this camera and wanted to share my first impressions.
First thing that struck me was absence of a separate battery charger (you have to charge the battery in camera with included cable and usb plug). Have had to order a external battery charger.
Also lacking is any software disc, just a cd with the manual (does have acrobat reader...). There is software (Intelli-Studio) but it's installed from the camera. This program is supposed to start automatically on connecting camera to computer but didn't for me (might have something to do with auto-play being turned off on my machine). It did appear as an icon on my computer directory folder though, and you can then install it onto your pc to make things run more smoothly.
So, not impressed so far with the oddly sparse out-of-the-box offerings, and the haphazard way of getting things going for newbies.
I then turned the little beast on, and boy, all is forgiven (almost).
That amoled screen is just something else... gorgeous, just gorgeous (thank goodness as it was my main reason for this purchase). Nuff said about that.
Good body design, apart from the front grip is not so gripping (smooth surface so fingers tend to slip...prefer the Panasonic TZ7s approach) and the less smooth texture on the front lens housing is already collecting dust and bits. The on/off switch on top is also a little fiddly to press (though I do have fairly big man-hands).
Another couple of observations are that the continuous shooting mode seems a little slow, and you have to re-enable it every time you switch on.
Those gripes aside, I am finding this camera well laid out button-wise and easy to shoot with.
Have already got some respectable pics and vids from an afternoons shooting. Great macro mode and that 15x zoom is gonna come in pretty handy in such a small body (though have to remember it's still a compact so you are not going to get dslr results).
GPS not so bothered with but have installed the UK maps already, just in case (getting those is another needlessly complicated hurdle, but just google to find help with that).
This division of Samsung really need to wake up and improve the customer experience..they have a product that could do REALLY well (that screen...) with a little tweaking, and a helluva lot of tweaking everywhere else.
Blimey, was only going to write a couple of lines, sorry about that. Time for a cup of tea...

Edit: The print on the option dial is already wearing away (knowing which shooting mode you're on is kind of important). Haven't actually used the camera that much and was kept in a camera bag so how this happened is beyond me. Now have to decide whether to get another WB650, on the chance this was a one-off problem, or choose a different camera.
Edit2: Went with a different camera in the end (didn't want to risk more fading mode dials) but still think this is a cracking camera...was really impressed with the photo quality.

....the manual and the website.

The camera certainly lives up to expectations, the AMOLED screen, which was the selling point to me, has impressed so far, the picture quality is absolutely fine for what I want. It was a toss up between this and a TZ10 (I'm familiar with the TZ range - my other half has an earlier model) and I'm happy that I made the right choice. I can see what's going on on the screen, there is a considerable degree of manual override, the results are good when viewed on my PC or printed out as A4.

The manual is a let down, as many (for products as differing as cameras to cars) are these days, leaving you to confirm by a process of trial and error what function does work in what mode, and here's a message to all camera manufacturers - USERS DO NOT CARRY LAPTOPS AROUND WITH THEM ALL THE TIME - THEY WILL NEED A PRINTED COPY OF THE MANUAL. IF YOU ARE GOING TO ONLY PROVIDE A PDF SO AS TO DELUDE YOURSELF YOU ARE SAVING THE EARTH, PLEASE USE A FULL A4 PAGE VERSION, OTHERWISE MOST USERS WILL END UP USING FOUR TIMES AS MUCH PAPER AS A PROPER PRINTED COPY WOULD

And a recurring theme, if you read any of the preceding reviews - whoever designed the Samsung website in general, and the parts relating to the download and installation of maps in particular, should never ever be allowed near any sort of user interface ever again - and if the constant repeating of this refrain mean that Samsung lose sales to the opposition, then so be it !

Bought to replace a Sony DSC-T9 that is reaching the end of its life. Was looking for something compact, but with more features than the Sony. Zoom being a big one, and a bit of manual control being another. Very happy so far.

Not had any problems with GPS signal, picks it up in a minute or so (Central London) which is about the same as my Tom Tom on a cold start. Screen is amazing, photos are great, zoom is great. Used a 16gb SDHC card [SanDisk 16GB SDHC Secure Digital Card], no problems. Battery life is better than my T9, which loses charge rapidly when switched off. I'm no pro, but I do like the level of manual control that is available. Always been disappointed I couldn't manually set the shutter speed on previous cameras. Takes great night/evening photos with a tripod.

Documentation could be a little better...

- It doesn't describe the 'Auto' mode at all, describes every other mode so not sure why this is not detailed.
- Gridlines can't always be enabled but I'm still not sure exactly why that is. Sometimes they will appear when you cycle through the Display button options, sometimes they won't, seemingly dependent on a combination of settings. Why can't it just be my decision, on or off? Why does it matter what mode or settings are on? If it was documented I might know the answer to that.

...but I've seen much worse.

As previously stated, map install is a PITA. It's not particularly complicated, but finding the documentation is hard, and then the contents of your downloaded files don't exactly match the screenshots in the documentation. Took about 20 mins once I found the right web page [look for the product page on [website names not allowed :-(], and was not confident I had it right. Disconnected from PC, switched to map view, and I was a little surprised to find it had worked.

Recycle bin can store a whole 1 photo at maximum resolution, a bit pointless really...

There are many options I have yet to play with, like all the facial recognition associated options. But even without them, this camera has ticked all the boxes for me. A really great buy for the price.

the wb650 produces excellent quality shots even from max zoom BUT a whole afternoon of accessing various samsung sites has finally given me the page from which you can (in theory) download the maps. However when I select the appropriate zip file it says "access denied". Samsung WB650 Digital Camera - Black (12MP, 15x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch AMOLED ScreenTo reach that point again requires reentering all the personal and product information AGAIN !! If anyone has any constructive ideas to get this GPS working please post a solution.

I was bought this item from Amazon as a birthday present. My previous camera only had 5 optical zoom so was looking to upgrade. Just been on a cruise holiday with it and it has performed well and the GPS tagging is amazing. I travelled around the Western Med and it was interesting to know the camera once it found the satellites knew exactly where the picture was being taken even up Mount Etna which I visited. Even Malta where we had not loaded the maps it has corrected tagged the pictures even though we had not loaded the maps. The wide angled lens on this camera is much wider than my previous camera as well and the ability to take pictures in low light. It was good to see as there is no view finder on this camera that the 3 inch screen was clearly visible even in strong sunlight It has face recognition and we have also used to take the odd moving footage which it stores as .MP4 files which can be played directly on our Samsumg TVs using a USB key.