Samsung adds a touchscreen interface and HD video shooting to its latest and greatest compact camera. Check out our in-depth Samsung TL34HD review.
Review summary of the Samsung TL34HD:
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 The Samsung TL34HD is a no hassle point-and-shoot. Thanks to its touchscreen interface, it's one of the easiest compacts on the market to use. It has a 3.0-inch LCD that's extraordinarily big for such a small camera, and its 28mm lens lets you squeeze plenty of information into wide-angle shots. We weren't as enthusiastic over the LCD screen's lackluster quality, and some might be underwhelmed by the 3.6x zoom. The video quality, even in high-definition 720p, was largely unusable for anything beyond YouTube. On the other hand, still-image quality was solid across the board, and the Samsung TL34HD gives you both full-auto and full-manual controls. If you need a lithe, thoroughly intuitive camera for landscapes and portraits, the TL34HD is an easy sell. Release: September 2008. Price: $300.
Pros: Small footprint, even with the lens fully extended. Solid image quality. Intuitive touchscreen.
Cons: Mediocre display quality. Subpar video quality.
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Full Samsung TL34HD Review:
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Design - Good
The Samsung TL34HD is thin and light, but not cheap on the eyes or to the touch. The 3.0-inch LCD viewfinder doubles as a touchscreen, so the camera has a minimal array of buttons and leaves most of the controls to the LCD. Samsung has also included a mode-wheel on top, which rotates between scene, program, auto and video modes.
The Samsung TL34HD feels sturdy for its size, and there's a nice, contoured grip running down the right side. The power button is kind of small, but Samsung has again circled it with a neon-blue light, as we saw on the Samsung L100. It's a classy touch. In terms of its shell, the Samsung TL34HD is small even at full zoom, and it's downright tiny with the lens retracted. This is a camera that feels comfortable even in a pants pocket.
Our only major complaint lies with the camera's pop-up flash, which is situated on the far-left side on top. As in, directly beneath where your finger goes. We're not the cursing type, but the TL34HD's flash turned us into a Sam Kinison routine. Then there's the fact that the flash isn't centered over the lens, which introduces a slight directionality to flashed shots. This didn't seem to cause problems, though, as our test shots weren't overly affected.
Menus & Buttons - Good
Kudos to the Samsung TL34HD for having a touchscreen. It's not the best interface we've seen. We like the touch focusing like some of the better Sony models, and the TL34HD can be a bit picky as to where and how often it chooses to register your proddings. Still, this is the future for consumer digital cameras. A touchscreen benefits a camera not only with a more intuitive control-scheme, but also by replacing buttons and freeing up real estate for the LCD. The Samsung TL34HD is no exception: it's a small compact, but its 3.0-inch screen is as big as most LCD viewfinders get.
The actual display was less impressive. There was a noticeable on-screen delay, which could be downright disorientating with prolonged use. The LCD also seemed affected by low response times, so motion was plagued by ghosting, and bright lights caused neon-purple swaths across the screen. There's also no cover on the screen, so a day's use resulted in a good, gunky film of fingerprints.
Startup was fast, with boot-up to first shot taking a little under three seconds. Capturing and processing could take up to several seconds between each shot, however, so the Samsung TL34HD isn't exactly a speedy camera. On the other hand, auto-focus was quite responsive, and the touchscreen and menus all reacted promptly.
Features - Good
The Samsung TL34HD has a 28mm lens for expansive, wide-angle photography, though wish it offered more than a 3.6x zoom. Still, we always prefer wide angle over zoom, so this wasn't much of a disappointment. The camera is also equipped with optical image stabilization.
Face detection is present and affects both focus and exposure, so the Samsung TL34HD is good at keeping faces sharp and well lit. The camera also supports HDMI output in addition to the typical composite A/V and USB ports, and Samsung has again included their 'recycling bin' feature, which retains deleted images instead of obliterating them.
The Samsung TL34HD's shooting features place just above average. We especially liked the inclusion of full manual control, though the aperture isn't continuous and can only be open or closed. The shutter, however, ranges from 1 to an impressive 1/2000 seconds. The camera also packs 40-megabytes of internal memory, just enough for a couple shots should you run out of external space.
HD video is supported up to 30p at 1280x720, and 60p is available at 320x240. The ability to shoot at 60 fps (non-interlaced) is interesting, though it's less useful at such a reduced resolution. The video itself is compressed to MP4 files with AVC video and WAV audio, which is par for the course for HD-capable compacts.
Image quality - Good
Image quality from the Samsung TL34HD was generally good. Pictures were sharp, colors were pleasing, and it resolved a good amount of detail in most cases. The camera tended to suffer in low-lighting, though, and probably wouldn't be the best choice for 24-hour-party-people and other creatures of the night. Instead, we'd recommend it to those seeking an all-around daytime performer, especially for landscapes and other scenes befitting its wide-angle lens.
Alas, we wouldn't recommend its video capabilities purely for HD shooting. At best, the video mode should be seen as an added bonus. Sure, the Samsung TL34HD outputs 720 lines of resolution, but we'd wager anyone would be hard-pressed to identify its footage as 'high definition' stock. The bit rate is just too low, and the video tends to devolve into fairly nasty macroblocking. That said, it would be fairly useful for creating YouTube videos.
Central Park Lake
The Samsung TL34HD's 28mm lens let us cram in everything from foliage on the nearest bank to the very opposite end of Central Park Lake. There's also very little geometric distortion, usually a problem for consumer wide-angle lenses. Fringing is evident but not problematic, and colors are nicely saturated without appearing cartoony. All in all, this is a great result.
Central Park Lake [full zoom]
As we mentioned, the camera's main caveat is its minimal zoom. This shot is at the same angle from the same vantage, but at maximal zoom. As you can see, the Samsung TL34HD doesn't afford much in the way of telescopic photography, but we'd argue that's a small price to pay for its ability to capture wide-angle vistas.
Bridge support
The camera's high resolution also knocked this macro exposure out of the park. Detail is excellent, and the Samsung TL34HD nailed the focus on the first try, despite the difficult lighting and spatiality of the subject.
Texty
In addition to still life and macro modes, the camera features a mode specifically geared towards text. As far as we can tell, it mostly seems to boost edge sharpness. Regardless, the text in this sample is sharp and readable, even with all the busy lighting and reflections along the sign.
Bucolic NYC [landscape mode]
Bucolic NYC [manual w/ vivid filter]
Here we compared the 'landscape' mode to the manual mode taken with a vivid color filter. We much prefer the latter. Colors are richer and more inviting. The scene-mode shot is more accurate, and the white balance is certainly more neutral, but in contrast it feels colder and less aesthetic. Otherwise, both shots are well rendered.
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