14 DAY TRIAL // Since every major name on the digital photography market is launching (or has already launched) a new product for this year's Photokina, it was expected from Samsung to do the same. However, the Korean company's announcement is not exactly a fantastic one. No, we're not talking about some megapixel-bursting DSLR, but just about a rather modest compact camera, the HZ1, which offers a more or less basic set of features, but quite an impressive zoom for a device of its class.
Included in Samsung's i-Class series, the HZ1 will be one of the first compact cameras to feature a 10x optical zoom level, as well as a focal length range of 24 mm. By combining these two distinct elements, the device covers both the wide and telephoto ranges, offering amateur photographers much more choices.
Other features that will find their way into the new compact camera from Samsung are face detection technology, dual image stabilization, and, apparently, a 720p movie recording mode, which would really make it even more interesting for those who also use their digital cameras as a video recording device.
Moreover, it will have other advanced features as well, such as a Digital Content Manager (DCM), which automatically assigns (in-camera) to the image such information as time, content, color and theme, and thus helps the photographer take pictures and organize them a lot faster, without having to stop and assign the respective information manually after each shot.
As mentioned right from the title, Samsung has provided very few availability or pricing details related to the HZ1. All we know is that it will arrive at some point in the first half of 2009, and if the price is right, Samsung might really have a new hit, given the features this thing is supposed to offer.