HDMI and joint AV/USB output port is to be found lurking under a side flap, so in other words all the essentials are here that one might reasonably expect from a sub £200 compact camera.
#SAMSUNG INTELLI STUDIO REVIEW 720P#
At the PL170's heart beats a 16.1-megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor (a higher pixel count than the SH100), with the offer of 720p HD video recording and manually adjustable light sensitivity stretching up to ISO3200 at full resolution. The lens and focal range here is also the same as that of the SH100, namely it offers a optically image stabilized 5x zoom starting out at a wideangle 26mm and reaching 130mm at the telephoto end, quoting 35mm equivalent film terms. Samsung would contend that this makes for a more comfortable and firmer hold, and certainly the way the PL170 sits in the palm, body nudging into the base of the thumb, makes the fact that it doesn't otherwise sport a proper handgrip less of an issue. Indeed it feels like it could withstand the occasional accidental knock or drop that we're all guilty of.Īs with the SH100 model we were reviewing alongside this, the PL170 has a backwards slant to the body, meaning that when gripped in the palm or simply placed on the desktop in front of you the lens is pointing slightly upwards rather than dead-level forwards. The camera feels a little plastic-y when held in the palm, but not insubstantial at 153.3g without battery and card. Dimensions are 95.3x57.3x19mm, so just a tad larger than credit card sized. There's no option to use the larger and more common regular SD/SDHC/SDXC card, although there was surely space for such a slot. Linking mobile phone and camera phone is the PL170's use of the unloved (at least by us) microSD card, the fiddly fingernail sized removable storage media, with a 30MB internal memory to fall back on, good for around five or six Fine resolution shots. It really is just for compositional purposes therefore. The rear LCD display is, fortunately, the regulation 3-inches in size in 4:3 aspect ratio and with 230k-dot resolution, the front panel being a low-ish 61k dots only. An 'Easy Self Shot' feature here allows only the front screen to be activated (the back turned off) when taking self-portraits. With a manufacturer's asking price of £179.99, we get a front screen 1.5-inches in size that is noticeably small by current standards, and in that respect is an echo of the similarly teeny backscreens of consumer digital compacts of a decade ago. Thus, in being one of three such enabled models for 2011 (the other two being the ST700 and PL120) the response the PL170 immediately prompts is 'why didn't anyone think of this before?' Enabling easier self-portraits, or the playing of an animation to mesmerize the kids long enough to snatch a decent portrait, it's one of those glaringly obvious yet inspired ideas.
![samsung intelli studio review samsung intelli studio review](http://hdmag.cz/files/images/samsung-intelli-studio.jpg)
![samsung intelli studio review samsung intelli studio review](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/05/9a/f5/059af5e9d0ff22065c1e01911368fc25.jpg)
Since 2009 Samsung has uniquely pioneered what it terms the 'dual view design' - back and front LCD screens on its digital compacts - and the latest affordable example is to be found in the PL170. The Samsung PL170 is available in black, silver, purple or pink, priced at £179.99 / $229.99.
#SAMSUNG INTELLI STUDIO REVIEW PLUS#
As part of this DualView system the PL170 also offers a large 3 inch rear LCD screen, plus there's a 5x, 26-130mm lens, 720p high-definition video recording, Smart Filter with various creative effects, and a clever Smart Auto mode which automatically chooses from 16 different scene settings. The Samsung PL170 is a new 16 megapixel point and shoot camera with a twist - it has a second 1.5 inch LCD screen on the front which makes it much easier to take self-portrait pictures and videos.