So once in a blue-moon a product enters the gadget world; causes a shake, stir and confuses the heck of everyone. It’s not a phone trying to be a camera or a phone with an awesome camera or camera trying to be a phone or simply a pure compact camera…
Confused? Let me explain…
This is a camera hybrid with a mini tablet running on the latest Android Jelly Bean operating system stuck on it’s behind. I’ll call it the CAMITAB – short for CAmera + MIni TABlet.
Presenting… the Samsung Galaxy Camera a.k.a CAMITAB
I don’t believe it’s ever been done before. At least not commercially like what Samsung has done but personally, I think it’s quite genius.
They’ve blended the best of both worlds – a full-fledged Android ‘tablet’ running on the latest version of the OS (because it doesn’t make true mobile calls – except for VOIP ie. skype) and a camera with specs that’ll make even some best semi-pro cameras cry.
Here’s what the baby’s got…
- 16.3 Megapixels
- 21x optical zoom
- Quad Core 1.4 Ghz processor
- Xenon flash with AF light
- 4.8 inch HD touchscreen
- 8GB internal storage (expandable by another 64GB)
- 3G / WiFi
- Accelerometer, Gyro, Compass
Some highlights…
It’s no secret Samsung makes freaking awesome screens so they’ve snapped on a pretty hot one here. It’s just gorgeous from every angle!
Here’s that dedicated pop-up ‘flash’ button
Right at the bottom, you’ve got the MicroSIM slot, dedicated HDMI output, MicroSD (for expandable storage) and of course the big slab of battery…
So glad Samsung didn’t go for a proprietary connector for charging or syncing – just good ole’ microUSB…
What else is cool?
Well, apart from the fact that you can download from the gazillions of apps that are available in the Google Play Store…
and run GPS apps like Google Maps
or Google Now and get it to tell you a celebrity’s age…
or it’s got this super cool photo gallery…
There are also some cool camera features including a full voice command mode!
Ability to remove pimples and ‘imperfections’ from the face using a special ‘beauty mode’
You also shoot in a ‘filter’ mode – so instead of capturing a photo and using instagram to ‘enhance’ the image, you can see the enhancement live before taking the shot!
For the pros (a feature I’ll never use, though it looks freaking good), you’ll love the custom mode…
Checkout a little video I made for this review…
How’s the picture quality?
I’d say it’d pass for a very very good compact camera but cannot beat the top-end semi-pro cams yet.
Here are some sample shots… (click to enlarge)
Zoom test – before
Zoom test – after
Low light close-up
Macro mode
Macro in super low light
Night shot mode
As you can see – this CAMITAB takes amazing sharp, high contrast looking pictures and could easily replace any compact cameras out there.
That said, the focus can come a little off at times – which shaves off a little of that click once and get a perfect picture magic.
Oh it also takes 120fps videos!
Here’s a short video I took of my dog running…
Now I know how Baywatch films were shot 
How’s the battery life?
Samsung has this feature called Smart Network which turns off all data connection – both WiFi and 3G when the camera is off to significantly reduce power consumption.
I didn’t get to test the camera much for battery life but specs say it’d last 340 shots on a single charge & 90 minutes of non-stop video recording.
Wait.. so must I have another SIM card for this CAMITAB?
The good news is no. The device is fully functional without the SIM and when data is needed, you can always hook-up to WiFi. That said, to experience the power of an Android-based camera like this one, it’s good to have a SIM – even if it’s just prepaid.
To buy or not to buy?
At a list price of RM 1,899, you get a pretty powerful full-blown micro-mini Android tablet and a pretty good camera with an awesome 21x optical zoom. If you’re looking at a small camera – this isn’t it but personally, this is possibly one of the best travel companions out there.
- You need a good camera – done
- You need a GPS device – done
- You need to surf the net – done
- You need to Google – done
- You need to watch movies – done
- Listen to music – done
- Edit photos – done
- Edit videos – done
- take Baywatch-like slow-mo vids – done
Need I say more?
this cam is only good for those who wants to great picture quality during day time and to upload them on their social network sites… IMHO, it’s slightly too bulky and autofocus is a little too slow. At the price of RM1,899 we can get a decent digicam and a phone too.
Yeah agree on the auto focus.. Could be a bit faster but low light shots from what I’ve experienced is pretty awesome.
Like the shot you see above of my dog’s paw, she was under the table with very very dim lighting conditions yet the image came our pretty good.
The other thing to note though is the 120fps slow motion vid shot – works best in brightly lit conditions but for regular HD recording, low light is okay.