Samsung WB1000 review

Photos are less than sharp, especially in the corners, and there's some graininess when viewed at 100 per cent, particularly at ISO 200 and above. Generally, though, the results are very good. At ISO 400, the noise reduction makes things hazy and soft, but a good amount of detail remains. This problem, of course, becomes more noticeable at ISO 800 and 1,600. While photos taken at ISO 800 are still usable for the Web and small prints, those at ISO 1,600 have noticeable colour issues. Overall colour, white balance and exposure are very good, although some colours come across slightly richer than others. If you don't like the colours produced by the WB1000, there are several ways to tweak them before and after you shoot.

Barrel distortion is kept under control, which is good for such a wideangle lens. At the long end of the lens, there's some very minor pincushioning, however. The WB1000 also exhibits a below-average amount of blue/purple fringing in high-contrast areas. It's visible on occasions, but is unlikely to ruin your photos.

Video quality is very good, and you get use of the optical image stabilisation and zoom while recording. The camera kills the audio while the lens is in motion so you don't hear it zooming, or anything else for that matter. One pleasant surprise is the ability to apply one of Samsung's 'photo styles' to your video, including the 'custom RGB' option.

Conclusion
It's fair enough to assume that the photo quality and performance of an ultra-compact camera won't be as good as those of a large digital SLR. But, looking at the Samsung WB1000's feature set and price, it's reasonable to expect picture quality and speed superior to those of a typical point-and-shoot camera. It's not that the photos from the WB1000 are poor or that it performs unusually slowly -- in both respects it's a fairly good camera -- it's just that neither its photos or performance are as extraordinary as the rest of the package.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet