Samsung ST550 Dual LCD Digital Camera Review

Like Looking into an Off-Center Mirror

I have an articulating LCD on my Canon S3 IS digital camera, so I can swing what is normally the rear LCD so that it shoots out the side and faces the front. I’ve used this feature on several occasions, but it is really easy to end up with pictures where people aren’t looking right at the camera lens; they’re looking at the display instead.

The exact same scenario happens with the Samsung ST550. Since the LCD is off to the side of the lens, you may end up having some photos where it looks the people are gazing off to the right. You just need to remind people to look at the lens. I should also note that the resolution of the front screen is quite poor, but the face tracking square still shows up. That’s pretty neat.

Test Shots and Picture Quality

In the picture above, you can see the Tekken Fight Stick, Wii Balance Board, and Evil Controllers‘ modded Xbox 360 gamepad. Aside from some cropping, this image has not been altered in any way. Click it for the full sized image.

On a clear and sunny day, I took this shot of some snow-dusted conifers. The bright blue sky is quite breathtaking and you are able to make out some detail for the individual needles on the tree. You can click on either image above to get the full-size picture.

For a few more sample photos, you can check out my Flickr photostream. I tried a few outdoor photos, as well as a couple of indoor macros with my breakfast. They turned out quite well, I think.

Closing Thoughts

The Samsung ST550 digital camera doesn’t offer anything incredibly innovative when it comes to the picture-taking process itself. Features like face tracking and smile recognition are nothing new, but they are still very nice to have. The smart gesture UI is a nice touch too.

I appreciated the relatively easy-to-understand touchscreen interface, giving easy access to the breadth of features and options through the 3.5″ LCD. Picture quality was good and the 4.6x optical zoom is a slight step up from some competitors.

The novelty factor of the secondary 1.5″ screen in the front certainly separates the Samsung ST550 from the rest of the pack, but this feature alone isn’t really enough for me to justify the price premium. At about $400 in Canadian stores, this is anything but cheap. South of the border, this camera seems like a more affordable and reasonable option.

Pros