The Samsung ST550 is a 12 megapixel digital camera with a 4.6x wide angle lens. The focal length is equivalent to 27 - 124.2mm in 35mm format. 5x digital zoom is available too.

Samsung has equipped the ST550 with a wide range of features. These include a 3.5 inch touch control LCD screen, a second LCD screen on the front of the camera for framing self portraits, a recycle bin, High Definition movies and tilt control.

• Image stabilisation
• Self timer 2 or 10 seconds
• Face Detection focusing
• Special resolution for 6 x 4 inch prints
• Special resolution for widescreen television playback
• Macro focusing: 3cm
• 10 second voice memo for still photos
• Sound only recording mode
• Sensor size: 1/2.33 inches

Before you take a photo there are a number of settings you can change to help you take the photo you want. The adjustments include setting sharpness (Soft+, Soft, Normal, Vivid, Vivid+), contrast (High+, High, Normal, Low, Low+) and Saturation(++, +, Normal, -, -) .

You can also add special effects (Color Filter, Elegant, Add Noise) and select a style (Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative, Custom RGB).

After a photo has been taken there are a number of adjustments you can make to improve the photo. These are Face Retouch, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Red Eye Fix and ACB.

The LCD screen on the back of the ST550 is 3.5 inches in size. It is touch sensitive. I found the screen to be of excellent quality for viewing. The screen on the front is 1.5 inches in size.

The flash modes available are Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, Red-eye fix. Flash works to a maximum distance of 3.4m when the zoom is not being used and 2m when zoom is fully extended.

You can access the following scene modes: Beauty shot, Frame Guide, Portrait, Children, Night, Landscape, Close up Text, Sunset, Dawn, Back Light, Fireworks, Beach and Snow. There is also a smart auto mode. This has settings for Portrait, Night Portrait, Backlight Portrait, Macro Portrait, Backlight, Landscape, White, Action, Tripod, Night, Macro, Macro Text, Blue Sky, Sunset Sky, Natural Portrait and Natural Green.

The ST550 can shoot High Definition movies. The maximum resolution is 1280 x 720 pixels with a top speed of 30 frames per second. You can zoom in and out while recording the movie.

Among the more advanced features are:

• Shutter Speed Range: 8 - 1/2000 seconds
• Maximum Aperture: F3.5(Tele) - F5.9(T)
• Exposure Compensation (1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV)
• Metering: Multi, Spot, Center Weighted, Face Detection
• White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten, Custom
• ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200

All the necessary cables and software are supplied to attach the Samsung ST550 to a computer, television set and compatible printer.

Description:	12 megapixels and a 4.6x optical zoom
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	10
Colour:	8
Macro:	9
Indoors:	8
Value for Money:	9
Style:	8
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	8
Total:	85
Verdict:	This digital camera has loads of features. They include a touch control LCD screen, plus another screen on the front of the camera for lining up self portraits. It has a lot going for it and can take a good quality snapshot too.
Review Date:	November 2009
Related Pages:	Samsung ST550 Specification Samsung ST550 Sample Images Samsung ST550 Features
Comparisons:	Nikon Coolpix S1000pj vs Samsung ST550

	GBP 174.99
	GBP 184.9
	GBP 199.00
	GBP 219
	GBP 225.6
Click a flag for prices from other countries:

Camera	Rating
Panasonic DMC FX60	86
Canon IXUS 120 IS	86
Sony DSC TX1	86
Canon IXUS 110 IS	86
Canon IXUS 100 IS	86
Panasonic DMC FS62	85
Samsung ST550	85
Nikon Coolpix S570	85

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Samsung ST550