Known for its double screens (one at the front, one at the back), Samsung's 2View system did very well for itself with its debut on the ST550 last year. Now, the PL150 has emerged sporting the same dual-screen configuration as this previous model, but without the rear touchscreen.
Design
Samsung tried to position the ST550 as a bit of a game-changer when it first came out, thanks to the dual screens. Now, it seems relatively common, even if no other manufacturer has jumped on the same wagon.
The PL150 doesn't really improve on the formula laid down by the older camera (indeed, it can't really as it's a cheaper model), but it does provide a compelling talking point for those who haven't seen this technology in action. The 1.5-inch front screen on the PL150 can be used to take self-portraits, display a timer that counts down when the camera will take the shot, or to entertain small children and those young at heart, with animations designed to temper bad moods and put a smile on anyone's face.
The 3-inch LCD at the back only reaches 230,000 dots in resolution (which pales in comparison to the 1,152,000 dots in the screen of the ST550) and it shows — it looks grainy.
Controls at the top of the camera are kept sparse and slim to fit onto the thin chassis, which is just 1.9cm thick. There's a shutter button with a zoom rocker around it, a power and front LCD activation button. At the back, to the right of the rear screen, is a mode wheel, menu button, four-way circular pad with a central button, and playback/delete buttons at the base. HDMI output and digital-out connectivity is provided at the side, underneath a small flap. Overall, the camera is very light, tipping the scales at just 136.6g without battery or memory card.
(Credit: Samsung)
The base of the PL150 looks fairly inconspicuous until you realise it has a slight tilt to it, meaning the camera can sit back casually at a 7-degree angle on a flat surface. Theoretically, this is for taking portraits and photos without a tripod.
The PL150 also offers features like voice recording, for taking short snippets of audio, as well as various ways in which to use the front screen — couples mode, where the camera automatically detects two people leaning in close to one another, self-portrait mode, and the aforementioned children mode (complete with clown).
Features
To feed the 12.4-megapixel sensor light is a 5x optical zoom, 27mm wide-angle lens, with a maximum aperture of f/3.5-5.9. Like the ST550, the PL150 uses microSD cards. For the uninitiated, these are miniature versions of the standard SD format used to store images on compact cameras. They are more commonly used on mobile phones. There's nothing wrong with the format per se, but microSD cards are fiddly and incredibly easy to lose due to their small size. On our review unit, the microSD card became lodged in the PL150 and required a fair amount of pushing and pulling to remove it without damaging the card. The camera also has a small amount of internal storage available (around 30MB).
An example of applying one of the PL150's Smart Filters, this time it's a vignetted effect. (Credit: Alexandra Savvides/CNET Australia)
Video recording is taken care of in HD, at 720p, 30fps. There's also a myriad of shooting modes available from the rear wheel: automatic, smart auto, scene modes, program, dual-image stabilisation, beauty shot and night mode.
Photo filters include the regular fish-eye and miniature scene modes. The menu structure takes some getting used to, with a number of button presses required to get to certain functions (such as changing any shooting setting in non-automatic modes).
Applying the Fish Eye 2 effect produces the image above, complete with black borders. (Credit: Alexandra Savvides/CNET Australia)
Performance
The PL150 is a relatively average performer; it takes 2.4 seconds from start-up to first shot, and shutter lag measures 0.5 second. The lens also makes audible focusing noises, which can be a little disconcerting. Although the PL150 has a continuous shooting mode, we were unable to get it to activate for our burst shooting speed test as the option was greyed out.
Spoiled by the glorious high resolution screen on the back of the ST550, we were disappointed by the grainy feel of the rear screen on the PL150. It does its job, but is difficult to see in direct sunlight and in some situations shows evidence of discolouration.
Annoyingly, the proprietary camera-to-USB connector cable is different between the ST550 and PL150. The camera also comes with Samsung's Intelli-studio on-board, which can be used to transfer images from the camera.
Image quality
In our review of the ST550 we mentioned that image quality was good for a camera of its class, even if there may have been too many megapixels crammed onto the sensor for the lens to resolve. Being two similar cameras from the same family it isn't a stretch to imagine that image quality would be similar between them — until realising that the ST550 uses a Schneider Kreuznach lens and the PL150 uses a Samsung lens.
A comparison of the same image taken with the ST550 and PL150. The image from the ST550 is a slightly brighter exposure. (Credit: Alexandra Savvides/CNET Australia)
Overall, colours are good in images though it's clear that the PL150 likes to oversaturate greens and blues. Images at full magnification look a tad over-processed and even at low ISO levels it shows evidence of noise. Take for example the 100 per cent crop of an image zoomed in at the full 5x magnification below, which shows the smearing of detail.
1/198, f/5.9, ISO 80 (Credit: Alexandra Savvides/CNET Australia)
Images at ISO 800 and above clearly showed noise, and at ISO 3200 images are mostly unusable due to the smeared detail and artefacting. The PL150 produces decent images for web use and small prints, but producing large prints from these images may be an issue.
Video quality has a number of flaws: there is a distinct amount of flare visible in bright situations, the audio is a little muffled, and perhaps most importantly, while Samsung enables optical zoom while filming, it mutes the microphone when it is zooming. For an example of this, see a sample video below. The PL150 produces MP4 files.
Conclusion
The PL150 is another dual-screen camera from Samsung, but unfortunately it doesn't take better photos than the earlier ST550. For the price though, it's an appealing entry into this novelty market. However, we think that if you must have a dual-screen camera, get the ST550. Even though it costs a little more, the image quality and touchscreen interface is easier to navigate than the standard system on the PL150.
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