Samsung WB2000: an improved WB1000

Samsung WB2000 MARCHANDS €     Batterieland  13.40  Priceminister  18.72  Fnac  29.90  Pixmania.com  39.00  Carrefour  40.76  Redcoon  44.90  Compare prices

We had thought we'd seen the last of the big camera launches for 2010, but we were surprised over the weekend by Samsung, which has taken the opportunity of the PMA to launch three new digital cameras and two camcorders.  Let's start with the WB2000, a follow-up to the much-loved WB1000, which now comes with a 10 Megapixel CMOS sensor.

At first sight, the family resemblance is pretty obvious: the WB2000 is a direct descendent of the WB1000.  Logically enough, it has many of the same features, whether they're frivolous, like the analogue dials to show how much room you have left on the memory card or in your battery, or more useful, like the AMOLED display and manual mode.

Some things have changed though: the display has been lifted from the NX10, and now has 614 000 pixels, making a small improvement on what was already an excellent screen.  Some of the external controls have changed as well, with the zoom control now surrounding the shutter release, a fourth button at the back and no more scroll wheel.

The lens, though, is the same as that found on the WB100, with a range of 24-120 mm.  Samsung has, however, moved from a 12 Megapixel CCD sensor to a 10 Megapixel CMOS model, which is a clear trend for high-end point-and-shoot models at the moment.  Like its rival manufacturers, Samsung is hoping that the improved sensitivity and faster speeds will wow users, who can now film in 1080p Full HD at 1000 fps, take bursts of ten photos per second at maximum resolution and use an automatic panorama mode.

Better still, the WB2000 can take still shots on the fly while you're recording video.  We'd like to see how that works of course, and make sure it doesn't have any impact on the video you're recording at the same time.  The other cameras that we've seen that can do that pause the recording for up to a second.

Finally, Samsung has made a symbolic step towards more advanced photographers by including a RAW mode, which leaves more room for manoeuvre when editing your photos afterwards. That's not all the manufacturer has to  woo dedicated photographers, though, as we'll soon see.

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