Samsung PL150 review

2View has never looked so good, but is this a façade?

Samsung's 2View range came onto the scene in 2009, with the ST500/ST550, wowing buyers with impressive dual LCD screens. Hoping to maintain the interest, and the momentum from its popularity, the company has expanded its range with the PL150, boasting improved inner-workings and creativity. However, unlike the ST range, which has touch screen technology, the PL150 series takes pride in trusty buttons instead.

The PL150 is filled with some exciting new shooting modes within the front 1.5 LCD. For example, self-portrait have never been more interesting, as you can spin the camera around to use the front LCD to capture a well-composed picture of yourself, and also with other people in Couple Shot mode. This mode is made to detect multiple faces, and even goes so far as to incorporate motion capture; a nod of two heads fires the camera automatically. Children mode is the third and final option for the front LCD, producing an animation to keep the child’s interest, along with audio as a bonus. Additional sounds can even be downloaded from Samsung's website (www.samsung.com/uk).

There are aspects of the PL150 which help to instill levels of confidence and reassurance about its quality. For example, the on/off times happen at blink-speed, and using the optical zoom is smooth and easy to control if you need to adjust in small increments. The in-camera menus can be cycled through quickly, and the same can be said about cycling through images in playback. Subtle tweaks to the design of the camera have been made to help with shooting self-portraits with its front LCD. The camera has a bevelled bottom along its back edge, which allows you to lean it back and aim it at head height.

 The mode dial provides you with all the functionality needed to capture most situations. There is a dedicated Beauty Shot mode, with the choice of adjustments: Face Tone and Face Retouch. However, closer inspection of the retouching quality, it failed to impress. The PL150 has a Perfect Portrait System, consisting of Face Detection, Smile shot, Blink Detection and Smart Face Recognition, the latter is ideal for larger groups.

As well as using the camera's OIS (optical image stabilization) system, which constantly steadies the shot, there is also the dedicated 'Dual IS' mode for using as well. These combined makes for an ultra-steady shot, just in case you find yourself shooting on uneven grounds. We found that simply using the OIS alone, the camera coped well with reducing shake and potentially blurry images.

The PL150 uses a wide-angle 5x optical zoom that is equivalent to 27-135mm. This versatile range makes it capable of shooting all sorts of scenes, from landscapes to portraits, and to 5cm Macro. The camera is comfortable in lowlight conditions too, and handles shadows well with a powerful flash above its lens. The overall dynamic range of highlights to shadows, however, couldn't handle bright skies in landscapes and loses essential details in the blue hues and white clouds. Using higher ISO settings, such as 800, and the camera manages to disguise noise, although ISO 1600 proved dismal in its attempts. We enjoyed the PL150's P (program) mode, which allowed for personal configuration of exposure and quality settings. They include ISO settings (80-3200), white balance options, exposure adjustments and AF options, such as Tracking for shooting moving subjects. This is also where the camera holds its creativity, with both the Photo Style and Smart Filter options. The latter gives your images an impressive vignette effect. Fish-eye filters will also bend your image in or out, depending on preference. Samsung has forged a camera that not only looks smart but also handles your everyday situations extremely well. For portrait enthusiasts, the PL150 is a top contender.