Samsung Galaxy Camera

This is easy, simple. I don’t have to do anything. Aim, wait a moment for focus, and you have a digital image. Point-and-shoot cameras are designed for a snap first, think later approach, and that’s the same experience here. That’s the same experience every consumer who opts for the Galaxy Camera will have. Auto mode, for most average Robert Frank’s, is your friend, the only mode you’ll ever use and need.

There are plenty of filters accessible from the main screen; they are Samsung’s way of spicing up regular old party pics. Additionally, there are a number of Smart modes, which basically automate specific scenes when shooting, including macro, landscape, action freeze and landscape, among others.

Three big dials are available on the camera’s main screen, where you’ll do all your shooting from by default. Clicking on the camera icon will automatically shoot a picture (it’s essentially the same as pressing on the shutter button), a Mode dial where you can either choose Auto, Smart or Expert functions — this is basically like a physical camera dial you’d find on an everyday point-and-shoot or DSLR.

In Expert, users are given more control over the camera by adjusting the aperture, ISO, white balance, and shutter speed — you can choose modes like Program, Aperture, Shutter, and Manual, too. Users also have the ability to manually change to over or underexpose a picture, which can affect the drama and impact of a photo.

The absence of dials and physical buttons means everything you need to change is done on the touchscreen. In theory, it’s a nice idea, and the large 4.7-inch display gives users plenty of space to change and refine. But the UI is implemented in a way that makes precision a bit difficult and cumbersome. I found myself accidentally scrolling past what ISO, or shutter speed, or f-stop I wanted to choose. It’s frustrating. It can slow you down.

This might not always be a problem, but it gives you an idea of how the experience translates to a touch-only environment. That’s fine. We can get used to something like this. Most of the gadgets we own are touch anyway.

How does it actually perform as a camera, though? Samsung essentially stuffed $200 worth of camera components on top of a $300 smartphone. In the grand scheme of things, the overall image performance is disappointing. When you consider that other cameras on the market go for equal or lesser the value, cameras that produce much, much nicer image quality, it’s hard to justify going for Samsung’s hybrid device over something like Canon’s S110, or Panasonic’s Lumix LX7 (both are $450).

The images captured by the Galaxy Camera, especially in Auto Mode, produced results that looked dull, washed out, lacking vibrancy. I was able to tweak white balance and exposure to more accurately capture my surroundings, but most people won’t have the wherewithal to do the same, especially for those merely looking for a mindless point-and-shoot experience.

ISO only goes up to 3200, which is ok, but it becomes a problem in poorly-lit scenes. Particularly inside, noise is present when ISO is cranked all the way up, so I guess that’s our answer as to why Samsung only limited it to 3200.

When you consider just how great smartphone cameras have become, you’d expect more from the Galaxy Camera, better. It just isn’t there, unfortunately, and the pictures you upload to Facebook with your iPhone 5 won’t look all that different. Nobody will be able to tell the difference on Instagram.