Samsung WB850F: AMOLED is Back!

Samsung today announced a new selection of compact cameras for 2012, including the top-of-the-range WB850F. Samsung has really gone to town on the technology in this model too, with a 16-Megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, a 23-483 mm zoom lens, Wi-Fi and an AMOLED screen.

Back in the spring of 2010, Samsung launched the WB650—a compact that was clearly designed to rival the Panasonic Lumix TZ10, the year's star compact (and which continued to sell well throughout 2011 despite effectively being replaced by a new model). One of the key advantages of the Samsung model was its AMOLED screen, boasting reduced power consumption, excellent contrast and almost perfect viewing angles.

Then, disaster struck! The WB700 then the WB750 which replaced the original model had a bog-standard LCD, using—shock, horror—a TN panel. As regular readers of the site will know, we're not big fans of TN screens, as when you look at this kind of display from below it goes black. In other words, you can forget about taking a picture with the camera above your head (over a crowd, for example). As far as we're concerned, that's just not acceptable for a top-of-the-range compact. In fact, it's a sure-fire way to guarantee a three-star review according to our test criteria.

We're therefore pleased to see that Samsung has finally come to its senses and brought back the AMOLED screen to its top-end compact, as the new WB850F has a 3-inch AMOLED screen with VGA resolution. The display will therefore be comfortable, pleasant to use, sharp, precise and easy to see from all angles. Nice!

The rest of the camera doesn't disappoint either, as the WB850F is loaded with a 16-Megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and a new, more powerful 21x zoom lens. The wide-angle is announced at 23 mm with telephoto at 483 mm. We've been lucky enough to have a quick go with a prototype off this camera, and we found it very nice to use. Build quality is good and grip is decent too thanks to the relatively deep handle (which is reminiscent of Samsung's NV9 and NV15, for example). It's just a shame about that ring around the zoom lens—although it looks like a settings control ring, it's purely decorative.

Finally, the WB850F has a Wi-Fi chip for connection to a smartphone or router for controlling the camera or sharing pictures.

At £250-£300 (exact pricing TBC) this camera comes in at a similar price to other high-end superzoom compacts. If the lens is up to scratch it could shape up to be a pretty good camera!