Curvy screen... why?
The article didn't appear to explain what the point is, what benefit it offers or problem it solves.
Does anyone know?
A hands on with LG's new TV and a Samsung camera that doubles up as an Android phone? Is this Christmas in July? Not really, it’s a PR thing, would you believe. It’s when all the products the hardware makers slavishly promoted earlier in the year are laid bare for the press to fondle, as a reminder of what punters may be …
The problem is even bigger as tellies have been good for almost a decade. Well, at least higher end screens have been decent. So not only are people happy with their current main TV, the second telly is also plenty good enough. The effect is a shrinking early adopter crowd and increasingly desperate manufacturers.
> What is the market - photographers who need a phone (and are prepared to put up with an appaling shape and bulk for no good photographic effect)
This is not a phone, it does not have an earpiece and mouth mic. It is a full size camera that has connectivity via WiFi and cell network, and the ability to be programmed. The fact that is can run phone apps and skype is irrelevant but may be marginally useful.
The communication and apps will make it able to be remotely controlled and will be able to directly and immediately upload to PC or an internet site. Phone users that take snaps may find it difficult to imagine why this would be useful but professional and semi-pro will understand.
I have a Panasonic FX-90 with WiFi (one of several Panasonics that can do this) that I can put up a tree and use my phone or tablet to control it from a comfortable position. No more hides up trees to get bird photographs. I can set it so that portrait photos are immediately shown on my PC or even a TV so that they can be evaluated on a large screen and retaken if necessary.
I have Canon that can be programmed using Basic or Lua thanks to CDHK. It can be programmed to do time-lapse, focus stepping, movement detection and dozens of other things.
This Android camera should be able to do all of that and more.
DSLR are things that I use for more that 6month before replacement so an Android OS, even more a Samsung Android (and the camera parts are likely not OSS) is not a smart idea IMHO.
Granted, a 20Megapixel crop sice (APC-S is not full size, crop factor is 1.6 i.e a 10mm lens acts like a 16mm one) is useable but aside from some special jobs like taking pictures of shy birds or females the remote control is not that useful. And the "direct to remote unit" feature can be had with many cameras using EyeFi
Not sure about the camera, the advantage of my current DSLR is that as soon as you switch it on, you can take a picture - no boot up.
Also, I'm sure that touch screen is going to be touched, brushed etc. all the time - probably resulting in missing "that shot" because you've just Facebooked your location...
On a final note, it'd be interesting to know the battery life, 'cos shiny screens, Android etc. are all going to nibble away at it....
E-D
A true camera needs an OS which is real-time or mostly so - you don't want something to delay camera functions because maybe it's checking GMail or something alike - I prefer by far a dedicate OS designed from ground up to serve camera functions, than an OS designed for phones that actually don't look so smart, inheriting more from gameboys than PDAs. That's why I also prefer a dedicate GPS navigator in my car than using a smartphone which is also performing many other different tasks... when I'm driving or taking photos I prefer by far a dedicate device.
came here to say the same thing. My DSLR boots in about 0.5 seconds, and can hit 11 fps in continous mode, shutter lag is practically non existent.
Compare with your average smartphone; minute long boot times, and shutter lag that can be measured in whole seconds, not what I'm looking for in a camera.
"Compare with your average smartphone; minute long boot times, and shutter lag that can be measured in whole seconds, not what I'm looking for in a camera."
So you've tried it, or is that purely a speculative review?!
It'll be slower to start, but I don't see that as likely to ruin the camera, so long as they've made it a reasonable amount of time. I honestly can't see Samsung releasing a camera that takes a minute to boot, can you?
Make the screen detachable. Connect it to the camera by wifi/bluetooth and provide an app that can control all camera functions and you might have something. (And remove the viewfinder. As much as I hate not having a viewfinder this is a case where it can reasonably be dispensed with - there's not much use for a viewfinder when your camera's up a pole.)
> Remote Control software for DSLR already exists
Certainly, there are many from full pro expensive ones with their oen screen to 'build it yourself with an Arduino and use an Android phone':
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=us.zig.dslr&hl=en
This is another option, just as the several from Panasonic are. This has the advantage of being built in rather than being extra bits of kit that must be supplied with batteries and plugged in.
> So there is little to no benefit in the Android camera.
Android can run apps and this is likely to have the ability to write apps that can do things with the camera that cannot be done on even top-of-the-line DSLRs. Things that can also be done with CDHK (on compact cameras) such as programmed focus stacking, movement detection, time-lapse. These may not be of benefit to you, or even outside your imagination, but they are things that I use (with CDHK).
"Make the screen detachable. Connect it to the camera by wifi/bluetooth and provide an app that can control all camera functions and you might have something."
If the screen was detachable, it would basically be a phone (or a small tablet), so why bother sticking one on the camera, when everyone already has a phone in their pocket?
I can see how a camera with this level of connectivity might be useful for a photo-journalist to get that snap of some wannabe WAG with her tits out straight back to the "news" desk, but can't see who else it would suit.
It would be lost on your average facebook snapper and I can't see a serious amateur photographer being interested. So it does beg the question quite why they've bothered.
"I can see how a camera with this level of connectivity might be useful for a photo-journalist to get that snap of some wannabe WAG with her tits out straight back to the "news" desk, but can't see who else it would suit."
There are plenty of ways of doing that already, albeit requiring peripherals for the 'phone. This particular camera is more for the casual user who wants a good camera and connectivity than for a full-on pro.
"It would be lost on your average facebook snapper and I can't see a serious amateur photographer being interested. So it does beg the question quite why they've bothered."
How about your average flikr user, or user of one of the other photo-sharing websites that are so popular. That's more of the target audience, I feel.
As regards "why bother?", had you not noted that Samsung always have HUGE product ranges in order to cater for every niche and get a large overall market share.
For more casual users, you'll be happy to hear that there is a smaller compact version already on the market, with or without 3G.
That Samsung takes big and UGLY to the next level. As for including a phone -- I could see a few paps going for it to get shots to picture editors before the competition. But I can't help thinking of the early days of transistor radios when they were being rather pointlessly built into binoculars and sunglasses.
For an APS-C crop camera? That will likely have an end of support 6 month from now since this is Android from VEB Plaste and Elaste? Holly Hannah!
That is the price range of a two digit Canon EOS with some money to spare after I got the second lens (Kit with 18-55 and 55-250 EF-S is around 1300€ on Amazon). Or if you prefer another manufacturer - you will find similar systems for that price range. And support for years not month