Samsung blazes new trail with the world’s first Android based camera - San Francisco Technology
1. Samsung blazes new trail with the world’s first Android
based camera - San Francisco Technology
In Twilight New Moon, Swedish songwriter/singer Lykke Li performs a song called Possibilities.
What does that have to do with a camera from the largest smart phone manufacturer in the world?
Well it's be best way I can describe the Galaxy Camera in one word.
When it comes to cameras running Android, it's not really news. It's likely you already have one if
you have an Android smartphone. If you own an Apple iPhone, you know you can already take fairly
high quality pictures under ideal lighting conditions. As a camera that can upload images to social
media, that too is old news as the latest update to the Facebook app allows automatic photo sync.
Besides, that feature has been available for a long time from Google Picasa and services like Apple
iCloud.
On the high-end, DSLRs going forward will likely include Wi-Fi options. The Canon 6D, priced at
$2,100, is the first of many to include this feature. For those with older compact digital cameras,
Eye-Fi offers SD cards with Wi-Fi built-in.
Possibilities
So what does the Galaxy Camera bring to this very crowded space? For me, it's the possibilities of
what the future holds if and when more apps and functions are added to this platform either by
Samsung or third party app developers. Imagine begin able to perform these task.
2. Tethered shooting with instant upload to a tablet via Wi-Fi direct without the need for an external
router.
Remote triggering via an Android phone or tablet. If you're a wedding photographer, you can setup a
few of these for wide shots and trigger them at will. If you're a wildlife photographer, you can place
these where the action is and step off to a safe distance. Just make sure you're not doing it with this
lion.
Time-lapse photography will have unheard of options if the functions can be controlled easily
through software wirelessly.
For gamers, I can even imaging a first person augmented reality shooting game that uses the
camera's HD video recorder to record and relay action to other members of the game using
Samsung's Allshare Play technology.
Specifications
16.1 megapixels
2.35" x 4.16" screen
23 - 481 mm (21x)
Auto and manual modes including aperture priority and shutter priority
8GB internal memory, 32 GB SD card support
Geo-tagging, Editing Modes, Camcorder, DivX®, HD Recording, HD Playback, Video Share, TV-Out,
Online Image Uploading
Modes: Action freeze, Beauty face, Best face, Burst shot, Light trace, Marco, Multi, Mosaic, Natural
3. green, NightShot, Panorama, Rich tone, Silhouette, Smart night, Smile shot, Vivid fireworks,
Waterfall
11 oz, 5.07" x 2.79" x 0.75"
3.7 Volt, Lithium Ion, 1650mAh
Frequencies and Data Type
UMTS bands: 800/850/1900/2100 MHz and 900MHz
Data Speed
HSDPA CAT 14/ HSUPA CAT 6
Communication processor: Intel Infeon XMM6262; Application processor: Samsung Quad Core,
Exynos 4412 processor
Android(TM) 4.1 (Jellybean)
Full specs
Summary
I had a chance to play with the camera a bit at a press event Samsung put on in San Francisco
yesterday. In short, the Galaxy Camera is a compact digital camera with a very fast f/2.8 lens that
runs Android but does not make phone calls. It is only available in white, comes with an on/off
switch, shutter release, flash button, and manual zoom. All other functions are menu driven using
the touchscreen. There is no flash hot shoe but it does come with a tripod mount. It connects via Wi-
Fi or an optional data plan available from carriers. And because it is not subsidized, it is $500 with
or without a data plan although that may change if competition heats up among carriers.
A more detailed hands on review will come after we spend some quality time with this class defining
hybrid camera. If you want to take a look at the camera yourself, Samsung has setup a showcase
location on the third floor of the Westfield San Francisco Centre. It will be opened during normal
business hours through the end of the the year.
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