Budget Camera Grouptest - Samsung PL80

 Samsung's PL80 is a slim, yet rather wide compact with a 5x optical zoom and 12MP sensor. This gives it plenty of versatility to capture high-res shots, and the Smart Capture mode allows even the most uninitiated to take a decent snap.

One of the major benefits of the PL80 is the optical image stabiliser, which allows the full extent of the magnification to be utilised without troubling the focus. This also means the ISO needn't be increased when the camera is moving, so image noise should be lessened. The lens is also a 28mm wideangle, giving it a fairly impressive 28-140mm range. Another major extra is the Smart Album, which organises images into a number of categories, including date, title and colour, once they are taken.

Smart Auto doesn't delay the capture of images to any huge degree, which the fickle focus does with far more regularity. It seemed to have issues focusing on the same object twice, and often failed to gain sharp images once the shutter release was pressed. The ISO 3200 range also comes at a price, with the pixel smoothing being quite aggressive even in the lower range of the ISO settings.

When the lens does find a focal point accurately the snaps taken are quite eye-catching, from a colour perspective at least, producing some faithful tones with a touch of saturation. Exposure favours the darker tones to some extent, washing out the highlights, but the snaps are generally balanced enough to produce a decent landscape or portrait image.

PRICE            £100
Megapixels    12.2MP
LENS    28.2-141mm (5x Zoom)
APERTURE    F/3.4-5.9
Stabilisation    Optical
SCREEN SIZE        2.7in
ISO    80-3200
MODES    Auto, P, 13 Scene modes
MEMORY CARDS    SD/SDHC
SOCKETS        USB, AV
DIMENSIONS     96.8 x 57.5 x 20.2mm
WEIGHT        12

Summary

Although the aesthetics are quite impressive for the price, the image quality suffered on a number of fronts making it difficult to recommend