Samsung MV800

Introducing the Samsung MultiView MV800

Posted: 01/09/2011

Samsung's DualView cameras have proven to be a hit since the series launched about two years ago, far exceeding the company's sales expectations to become its best-selling models. market for a camera that provides an easy and user-friendly way to frame self-portraits, a fairly popular use case in the age of social media. However, the design of the DualView series has always had a few limiting factors. part of the camera's front panel devoted to the lens, space was at a premium. The duplication of LCD panels also added another line to the bill of materials. These two facts conspired to mean that the secondary LCD panel was of extremely limited in size - only 1.5 inches in early DualView models, dropping to 1.8 inches by more recent designs.

The Samsung MultiView MV800 digital camera aims to fix all that, with a new design that still meets the needs of self-portrait fans, but without the need for a second LCD screen. articulation, something we've seen from many other manufacturers over the years, although perhaps not quite like this. Where typically only the LCD screen itself is articulated and the mechanism is usually mounted at the bottom or side of the camera, the Samsung MV800 instead covers the entire rear surface of the camera with a top flip-up panel. When folded down, the 3.0 LCD inches provides much more surface area for evaluating image composition.

Although we've queried the top-mounted hinge mechanisms on the rare occasions they've appeared in the past, with no pop-up flash or screen-blocking hot shoe on the MV800, there's no such criticism here. The design has a slight quirk to it though, in that with the screen rotated upwards on a relatively slim body, there's no easy way to reach the top-mounted shutter button (and by the way, it seems to be largely obscured by the screen Samsung has fixed that with two other changes, though. The MV800 has a secondary physical shutter button located near the top and center on its rear panel, hidden below the hinged LCD panel until it is lifted. This button should be about the right place to reach with an index finger while pointing the camera at yourself, whether you are left or right handed. it's not, then there's also a tac screen overlay capacitive tile on the LCD screen itself, and we understand that the MV800 includes a touch shutter function on the panel.

However, we're curious to see how the MV800 performs in person, as it would seem that more traditional articulating mechanisms may still have some advantages. Both are due to the lack of any swivel function. typical swivel mounts, there is no way to close the LCD panel inward, providing minimal protection against minor bumps, scratches and smudges. Perhaps most importantly, however, there is no way to tilt the screen down, which means for shots above a crowd at a concert or similar - another fairly common Facebook crowd use case - there's no better viewing than on a standard camera with a fixed LCD panel.

The articulating touchscreen LCD obviously draws attention to the design of the MultiView MV800, but there are certainly plenty of other features that are likely to prove popular with its target market. Social media fans crave immediacy, which means a need for instant sharing. For this reason, Samsung has ditched the Secure Digital card format common in the MV800, in favor of tiny Micro SD / Micro SDHC cards. Quite commonly used by smartphones, these cards will allow MV800 owners to take their images and upload them immediately via their phone. The MV800 also includes a customizable user interface reminiscent of a mobile phone, with built-in applications for functions such as photo editing or self-portrait capture accessible via icons that the user can drag and drop on the screen. A generous selection of internal filters elligents and in-camera magic frames allow photographers to fine-tune their images to get the look they want without a computer—perfect if you plan to share them right away.

The Samsung MV800 is based on a 16-megapixel CCD image sensor and 5x optical zoom lens that offers a range from a useful wide-angle of 26mm to a moderate telephoto of 130mm. Maximum aperture ranges from f/3.3 to f/5.9 throughout the zoom range, and the lens includes true optical image stabilization. ISO sensitivity ranges from 80 to 3,200 equivalents. In addition to stills, the MV800 can record 720p high definition video clips. Connectivity includes both Micro HDMI and Micro USB ports, and the latter allows the camera's battery to be charged via USB power.

Pricing and availability of the Samsung MultiView MV800 had not been disclosed at the time of publication.

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