Samsung S1030 and S850 digital cameras

More features than a Sunday newspaper supplement

By Steve Caplin • Get more from this author

27th July 2007 15:41 GMT

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The next special effect is Photo Frames, which adds a variety of borders - snapshot style edges, hearts, a seaside cutout style pair of heads for you to peer through, and a division of the scene into two cartoon-style frames with speech bubbles. It sounds good on paper, but the results are cheesy and cheap looking: you're stuck with a 'Life is Fun' caption on the cartoon frames, and 'My Memory' printed over the Polaroid-style frame.

You can play back images as slideshows on both cameras, with optional transitions between images: only the S850, however, has the option of adding music to the shows. Yes, that's right - you get a choice of three cheesy supermarket muzak tunes for the full multimedia experience. The controls on the S1030 are clear, easy to use and intuitive in operation. The tiny icons on the S850's buttons, however, are recessed black on black, making them virtually unreadable - a bizarre choice, indeed.

With a movie stabilizer, custom white balance controls, ISO settings up to 1000, auto exposure bracketing, three sharpening modes and manual overrides, the Samsung S1030 offers as much as you could want from a camera in this class - and at a bargain price. The S850 offers superior image stabilization and a better optical zoom, with larger movie sizes.

The battery issue for both cameras is a significant one, though, and the occasional difficulty in focusing does present a more serious problem. Both are capable of taking excellent images, far beyond what you'd expect for the price; ignore most of the special effects, take the time to focus correctly, and you won't be disappointed. But do invest in a set of rechargeable batteries first.

taken with Samsung S1030 compact digital camera
The ability to capture fine detail sharply is among the S1030's strengths

taken with Samsung S1030 compact digital camera
The Macro function works well for close-up photography, although focusing can be a tricky issue

taken with Samsung S1030 compact digital camera
With a variable ISO up to 1000, the S1030 can capture
rich, good-looking images even in low lighting conditions