Product Description

The L77 offers an extremely compact and elegant design, combined with a host of advanced features and functionalities, making it the ideal camera for those looking for the latest in sleek design and premium digital compact camera performance. With shutter speeds that reach up to an effective 1/1,250 sec and an ISO equivalent of 1600, users will be able to take advantage of the L77’s high resolution in any situation, ranging from landscapes at dusk to fast action sports photography. The L77 has an elegant metal body and features a bright 2.5-inch TFT LCD for bright and clear viewing of images. It also comes equipped with Samsung’s ASR (Advanced Shake Reduction) image stabilization system to minimize the effects of hand shake and ensure the best shots are captured even in dimly lit conditions. The L77 can easily capture moving action and is able to record in MPEG-4 at VGA quality (30 fps). When activated, its Movie Stabilizer mode enables users to compensate for unwanted camera movement and subject blur. In addition, the L77’s Continuous Movie mode allows its operator to pause, then resume filming of video clips without having to save the clips as individual files. For added convenience, editing film clips and photographs is possible through the L77’s in-built editing capabilities, making it simple to trim, resize, or add effects right on the camera without having to wait until you’re back at a home computer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30735 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Samsung
• Model: L77
• Released on: 2007-03-15
• Dimensions: .80" h x 2.00" w x 3.40" l, .50 pounds
• Display size: 2.5

Features

• 7.1-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 15 x 20-inch prints
• 7x Advance Shake Reduction optical zoom
• 2.5-inch LCD screen
• Built-in image editing functions including Trimming, Resizing, and Rotating
• Records VGA-quality video (640 x 480 resolution) at 30 frames per second

Customer Reviews

Not too bad for a compact 7x optical zoom
The description makes it sound so sophisticated: "Advanced Shake Reduction"."An embedded Gyro-sensor recognises hand shake and memorises the camera shake data when the picture is taken, automatically adjusting the image for perfect clarity." ... It's a little annoying because it doesn't just work automatically, but you have to manually change the camera into this EPS-mode, and while in this mode, the flash is inoperable. Also, page 18 of the manual warns you: "5. Avoid moving the camera while the [Capturing] message is displayed to achieve a better result." This anti-shake mode doesn't seem to work AT ALL. Photos with and without it look identical. It doesn't help indoor photos AT ALL, and outdoor photos look exactly the same with it on or off! By the way, what does EPS stand for? The manual never says anywhere. Every single low-light photo taken in this mode was blurry. Any not blurry photo taken in this mode was not blurry if you turned the mode off. However, with lots of light and a 7X zoom, "EPS" definitely removes the shake.

Unbelievably, all the icons are etched on black buttons making them totally impossible to see. Who's idea was it to put black on black? You can't even see them when it's light, and if it's dark....good luck. You just look at it and shake your head ... and don't count on EPS to help with your shaking!

The exposure control seems to have trouble when using flash. If your subjects are in front of something white, the photos look perfectly exposed. If they are in front of a dark background the flash photos are overexposed every single time. Nope, manual spot mode doesn't fix the problem. It seems there is a problem with the firmware or something. The flash doesn't turn down properly. This problem can be duplicated time after time so it's extremely consistant.

The photos are better than the Canon TX1 I just returned; Canon TX1 flash photos were horrible. However, the L77 photos seem to be lacking the great color saturation of the Fujifilm cameras I've previously used. On the bright side, I'm rather amazed how Samsung fit the 7X zoom lens in this small body; the lens never protrudes from the camera. And, I love the black case and the blue metal accent trim around the protruded circle on the body. The best feature is the 640X480 30fps MP4 video, however the results have a hard/digital feel. My Kodak V570 had smoother MP4 recordings. A little pricey, but stylish and at least it fits comfortably in your pocket. I would say it's OK, but there's probably a better camera out there for the money; but you might have to give up MP4 for motion JPEG.

I really want to like it
The subject said it all. The spec looks good, exactly what I want. but after using it for a while, I'm not very enthusastic about it anymore. There is a bad pixel that not only shows up in the LCD screen but also in the pictures taken. decide to return it.

Pro:
1. 7x zoom
2. compact and light weight
3. capture movie in mpeg4, 7x optical zoom available in movie mood

Con:
1. image quality is awful with maximum zoom, image stabilization not working at all
2. shutter speed and time between pictures is sort of slow (noticably comparing to casio Exilim model)
3. audio muted while zooming during video mode

I would recommend checking other vendor models. With this price there are better options.

Samsung L77 Maiden Voyage
Took the camera to France for 8 days on it's maiden voyage. Took over 700 photos at 3Megapixel setting on one 2 GB card. No problems using auto or any specific programable setting. Small size makes it easy to carry around and have handy at any time. One wish I have is that user could select a preference for flash on or off when set on auto. As it is default programmed, you must turn flash off, or it will flash if light condions favor flash use.