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Samsung WB150F: A Pocket Megazoom With Built-In Wi-Fi

28.04.2012
One of announced at this year's CES, the WB150F ($230 as of April 26, 2012) brings connected features into the realm of with an 18X-optical-zoom lens that ranges from 24mm wide-angle to 432mm telephoto. Unlike many Wi-Fi-enabled models that we've seen before, the WB150F is a versatile camera outside its wireless features, with full manual controls, a generous array of postshot filters and editing tools, and that long zoom lens to go complement its ability to upload photos and video to social-networking sites and email content directly from the camera.

Unlike most current-generation cameras, the Samsung WB150F packs a CCD sensor, which means that its 14.2-megapixel imager tops out at 720p-resolution video capture and doesn't support high-speed burst modes and exposure-bracketing HDR and low-light modes, as its CMOS rivals do. Taken as a whole, the WB150F is a versatile pocket megazoom with a lot of shooting and sharing options, but with shortcomings when it comes to quick adjustments and performance.

Performance, Image Quality, and Video Quality

In PCWorld Labs' subjective tests for image and video quality, the Samsung WB150F earned an overall rating of Good, but our image-quality judges did find a few areas for concern.

Color accuracy was rated as Fair: Auto white balance looked noticeably gray, and reds and oranges had a "neon" tone that they lacked in real life. In other respects, the camera performed well but not outstandingly, earning scores of Good for exposure quality, sharpness, and lack of distortion.

The WB150F isn't in the top tier of cameras for video capture. In fact, the 720p MP4 video we recorded in both normal and low-light situations fell below average. Footage seemed a bit murky and soft in well-lit situations, with grayish whites and subtle contrast; and low-light video was pretty much pitch-black. The Samsung WB150F earned a score of Fair for video quality, but it does an adequate job in well-lit situations. Audio capture through the camera's built-in mono microphone is a bright spot, as the camera netted a score of Good in that test.