The Samsung Digimax L74 is a seven megapixel camera with a 3.6x wide angle lens. This type of lens is a good choice for photography where you need to squeeze width into the picture, such as with a landscape or group portrait shot. On the back of the Digimax L74 is a touch LCD screen.
Image Quality Samsung Digimax L74 test shots
Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
The Digimax L74 gets off to a good start. I am happy with most aspects of this photo. Sharpness levels are good without being perfect and the camera manages to retain most of the sharpness towards the edges of the shot. This photo is a good test for sun glare and I think the camera handles it pretty well.
Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
This picture helps to illustrate the ability of the wide angle lens, with more details being squeezed into the shot then with a more conventional lens. This photo is a bit soft though especially towards the edges.
Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
A pleasant enough photo with not too much to report. The wide angle lens means that the Digimax L74 is unable to get in quite as close as some digital cameras can. This is something you need to be aware of if you are planning to take lots of photos from a distance where you will need some extra zoom.
Outdoor Portrait
Looking hard at this picture I can see that it is not as pin sharp as I am used to seeing with other cameras. Skin colour tones have come up on the strong side for my own personal taste, although perhaps I am being a bit picky here.
Indoor Portrait with Flash
This is a good effort by the Digimax L74. Focusing in this picture is very sharp. The flash is not overpowering and a fair amount of natural colour is retained. The photo is also free of red eye.
Indoor Portrait without Flash
Without the flash turned on the Digimax L74 struggles to focus sharply. This is a shame, because in terms of colour balance I think the camera compares well against other models.
Colours
Colours in most of the photos are satisfactory. In my dedicated colour test blue appears to overpower other colours. In areas that should be white there is a blue tinge. It also produces a rather muddy looking yellow.
Macro
The Digimax L74 produces a decent macro shot without quite being up to the very best standard. The shot is clear and the colours are about right. There is a small loss of sharpness towards the edges of the shot.
ISO 400
Once you reach ISO 400 the photos start to take on a speckled affect and colour starts to go.
ISO 1600
Increasing the ISO setting to its maximum of 1600 makes a real mess of things. Picture quality more or less disappears.
Overall
Although not a bad set of photos I was hoping to see more all round quality from the Digimax L74.
Shutter Lag
I was able to take a single photo in 0.59 seconds and five photos in 14.46 seconds. With flash turned on these times increased to 1.78 seconds for a single photo and 19.84 seconds for five photos. These are slow times.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Style: This section of the Samsung range looks a bit different to the majority of digital cameras. They look good to me. The grip on the right hand side can help you to hold the camera steady when taking a shot.
Dimensions: 104.5 X 61.8 X 21.8mm
Weight: 174g
Batteries: Lithium ion (supplied with charging cable).
Memory cards: 450mb built in. This is enough room for a very large number of photos. If you do need to consider buying a memory card the Digimax L74 is compatible with SD and SDHC cards.
Click here to save money on SD cards.
Ease of use rating: Good. Having a touch screen doesn't necessarily make working with the menu easier or quicker. You need to get used to symbols before you can really get to grips with the camera.
Points I like:
Looks good - feels good it the hand - large LCD screen - after photo effects - massive internal memory
Where it could improve:
Shutter lag
Verdict:
The Samsung Digimax L74 is a digital camera full of good intentions. My own feeling is that when it comes to picture quality it is half a yard of the pace in places. It is not a bad camera, but there are a number of rivals I prefer. Having said that when you look at the price tag it is very reasonably priced.
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
| Samsung Digimax L74 Summary |
| Description: | 7 megapixels and a 3.6x optical zoom |
| Ease of Use: | 8 |
| Features: | 8 |
| Colour: | 7 |
| Macro: | 7 |
| Indoors: | 7 |
| Value for Money: | 7 |
| Style: | 8 |
| Movie Mode: | 8 |
| Image Quality: | 7 |
| Build Quality: | 8 |
| Total: | 75 |
| Verdict: | "The Samsung Digimax L74 offers a wide angle lens and large, touch LCD screen. It has 7 megapixels and a 3.6x optical zoom lens. When it comes to picture quality it sits roughly in the middle of the pack. It has a few different features worth taking a look at." |
| Review Date: | October 2007 |
| Click for: | Specification Sample Images Features |
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