Samsung HZ10W

The Samsung WB500 (also known as the Samsung HZ10W) is a compact pocketable camera with a 24mm ultra wide-angle, 10x optical zoom lens. The 10 megapixel WB500 has some impressive features, including a 720p HD movie mode, 2.7 inch LCD screen, manual shooting, and not forgetting that 24-240mm lens. Priced at $299.99 / £229, Mark Goldstein finds out if the Samsung WB500 / HZ10W is worth considering.

When Panasonic launched the 'Travel Zoom' TZ1 back in February 2006 the Japanese electronics giant established a profitable new niche within the digital camera market: the compact superzoom. For a short while the company's TZ series was the only digital camera line that combined a long (10x) zoom with compact and pocketable dimensions, and unsurprisingly the TZ series became rather popular with consumers. More recently though, probably inspired by Panasonic's success, most of the large manufacturers have launched their own contenders in the compact superzoom bracket, many of which show that their designers must have been looking quite closely at Panasonic's products before sitting down to develop their own models.

A pocketable long-zoom digicam with a 24mm ultra-wide-angle lens plus innovative in-camera editing functions.The WB500 is the flagship model of a new series of Samsung digicams that introduce a new Perfect Portrait System, which includes Face Detection, Beauty Shot and Smile and Blink Detection modes. Equipped with a 10.2 megapixel sensor and Schneider-Kreuznach 24-240mm 10x optical zoom lens, it sports a 2.7-inch LCD screen and provides a range of shooting modes, including High Definition (HD) movie recording.

Samsung\'s 10 megapixel WB500 might not be the worlds most stylish camera, but its plain black body hides some very interesting features. For one it contains a SchneiderKreuznach lens with a super 10x optical zoom.

Samsung this week announced the Samsung HZ10W (also known as the Samsung WB500 in some parts of the world). The Samsung HZ10W is a 10.2 megapixel point and shoot digital camera that features a 2.7 inch LCD screen and generous 10x optical zoom (giving it an equivalent focal range of 24-240mm. This focal range means

10.2-megapixel Samsung digital camera with a 10x optical zoom

Samsung HZ10W is a 10.0MP Small Sensor Compact camera with a 1/2.3-inch sized CCD sensor and 24-240 mm F3.3-5.8 lens. Read our HZ10W review to find its pros and cons.

Samsung HZ10W review, find out how the HZ10W stacks up against the competition in our real-world review with in-depth image quality comparisons.

With a 10x zoom lens, 24mm wide-angle and HD video the WB500 is great value for money

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