Samsung PL55 review

Feature-rich, user-friendly compact at a bargain price

Samsung’s latest 12.2MP compact boasts an impressive amount of technology for a camera available for as little as £110 through some of our advertisers. Usually the first things to suffer at this price range is the speed of the autofocus and the noise and efficiency of the lens motor, but these are two areas that Samsung has well under control. While the autofocus is far from the fastest we’ve seen lately, it’s certainly efficient and moving across the focal range is both responsive and whisper-quiet.

The PL55 is somewhat larger than the current trend dictates, with almost twice the depth of some of the more petite credit- card designs. That said, handling is actually improved since there’s plenty of purchase along the bezels and the 2.7” screen leaves ample room for a decent selection of controls, including a fully featured d-pad and a Mode dial. The d-pad features everything we’d expect including shortcuts for Macro and AF, flash modes and set-up timers, which also includes a ten-second delay with two shots and a six-second motion timer that activates the shutter once movement stops.

Samsung is world- renowned for its polished flourishes of style, and while the camera body isn’t the sleekest on the market, the PL55’s menu screens certainly don’t disappoint. They’re as thoughtfully rendered as they are laid out and ease of use of the main menu screen (accessed via the small button down to the left of the Mode dial) is excellent – it’s packed with options without overwhelming the user. Quick access to frequently used settings is made available via the Feature button to the bottom-right of the d-pad and is context sensitive so will only display options pertinent to the Mode dial setting you’re currently using. In Program mode the full gamut of options is open from exposure adjustments, white balance, ISO, face recognition modes, metering and so on. One of the few things omitted, however, is a decent range of on-screen display modes, including a grid to help users adhere to the all-important rule of thirds. It can be a challenge to keep landscapes level without it, and something we really missed despite it being quickly fixed in post-processing.

Along with the standard Program and Auto modes Samsung has opted for a fairly usual array of shooting modes including Smart Auto, video (at standard VGA resolution of 640 x 480) and scene modes (with twelve options from Night shots to Beach and Snow). Beyond the ordinary, the PL55 also includes a Photo Help Guide dial setting that essentially walks a new user through camera features designed to help them improve certain types of shot. It guides you through what to do when the image is out of focus or when it’s dark, for example. The guide goes to the trouble of providing step-by-step instructions with accompanying images that demonstrate technique and button presses very effectively.

The PL55 also boasts a Beauty Shot dial mode, which endeavours to maximise your success with portraits by optimising focus and brightness while the shot is taken, then smoothing the skin tone and removing blemishes in a brief post-process. While it has options to change the amount of retouching and toning, our test shots all seemed drastically overprocessed to the point where freckles were completely removed and the subject was left looking like a lifeless waxwork. Problems were also had with the digital image stabilisation. Besides not being particularly effective, Samsung has deemed it requires a Mode dial slot of its own, meaning it has denied users access to further modes or effects. The post-processing of the images takes a very long time, too – a wait made all the more annoying when the end results just aren’t up to scratch.

Since there are such an impressive number of features on offer here, it’s difficult to keep in mind that the PL55 is actually only a shade over £100 online. Looking at things this light, its crimes against image stabilisation and in-camera post-processing suddenly don’t seem so offensive. What it does really well is cater for the new user and the Facebook generation thanks to its responsive facial recognition technology. This cuts down on wasted opportunities and gets everyone in the frame, regardless if there’s anyone behind the camera or not.