A cool way to take photos

MANILA, Philippines - Samsung Electronics Phils. Corp. recently launched its new range of smart cameras at the Main Ballroom of Crowne Plaza.

The event was graced by Samsung Electronics Phils. Corp. CEO and president Spencer Shim, vice president for Consumer Electronics Jay Ha, marketing director Glenn Glinoga, sales director for Consumer Electronics Antonio Mauricio, head for Digital Imaging Sales Nelson Perez, Digital Imaging product manager Candy delos Santos, and senior manager for Digital Imaging Products Deborah Kim.

Delos Santos introduced Samsung’s Digital Imaging Camera lineup for the second half of 2009 highlighting the Samsung ST550 and ST500, the latest in compact cameras featuring the innovative Dual LCD.

Delivering an unrivalled user experience, the 1.5-inch LCD located on the front of the camera now allows consumers to take their photos behind or in front of the camera. Samsung ST550 also features the world’s highest resolution 3.5-inch wide touch-screen back 1152K LCD with Haptic Effect vibration feedback for ease of use. It is complemented by a 12.2-megapixel CCD and 27-mm. wide angle Schneider-Kreuznach lens with 4.6x optical zoom that gives a wider shooting range from a shorter distance — producing clear, clean images with even resolution from the center of the image to the edges. It is also equipped with a Gesture User Interface (UI) with built-in gravity sensor. This means that a simple tap or hand gesture allows users to access key features such as Smart Auto to analyze the key elements of the composition and will then automatically adjust to give the perfect image.

A simple tap can also turn the camera on instantly and into “take” mode ready. Thanks to Samsung’s renowned innovations such as Smile Shot and Smart Face Recognition, which adjust the focus and exposure on up to 20 faces. It also allows users to quickly search for people in the album instead of viewing every single photo.

Alongside professional-grade photos, the ST550 and ST500 records HD video in 1280x720p resolution at 30 frames per second in H.264 format, giving twice as much recording capacity as an MPEG4 and four times more than an MJPG, all on the palm of your hand. A HDMI connection means that your HD videos can be watched with any HDTV or HD monitor.

After the product introduction, guests were ushered to the Samsung Digital Imaging Showcase area where MTV VJ/beauty queen Maggie Wilson hosted the entire product experiential part. Young artist Noelle Cassandra serenaded guests.

The Samsung ST550 comes in orange, purple, and gold retailing at P21,900.