Samsung Digimax L73 7MP is a sleek and pocket-sized digital point-and-shoot camera with a 7-megapixel image sensor and a precision 3x optical zoom lens. The L73 is the ideal camera for photographers who want a compact digital camera they can take anywhere without compromising on features, image quality or ease of use. Housed in a lustrous black or silver finish, the L73 boasts many of the features typically reserved for cameras that cost twice as much.
With shutter speeds that reach up to an effective 1/2000 second and an ISO equivalent of 1600, users will be able to take advantage of the L73’s high resolution in any situation, ranging from dusk landscapes to fast-action sports photography. Samsung’s proprietary ASR image stabilization system helps to reduce camera shake and image blur during longer exposures and in situations where holding the camera steady is impossible. When enabled, Samsung’s Wise Shot automatically takes two consecutive pictures in rapid succession–one with ASR image stabilization enabled and one with the flash–and prompts the user to review both and keep the preferred version of the picture.
A built-in motion detection feature automatically halts exposure for two seconds when it detects movement in self-timer mode. This unique feature virtually eliminates the possibility of one family member showing up as a blur in that precious family portrait. Further enhancing ease of use, the L73 features Samsung’s renowned Smart Touch user interface, which employs two sets of pressure-sensitive buttons to access the camera’s controls. Smart Touch menus dynamically allow the user to change aspects of exposure (including color tone and brightness) gradually or rapidly including brightness and color balance via virtual sliders. Users can quickly page through settings much as they would with a mouse with a scroll wheel.
The L73 also offers Samsung’s Intelligent Face Recognition Technology, which detects the subject’s face and automatically adjusts auto focus and auto exposure to ensure the best possible image quality in portraits and other shots featuring people. The AF function instantaneously recognizes the faces of up to 9 subjects and accurately focuses on them all. The AE function then takes over, setting the appropriate exposure to ensure the highest image quality.
Individual dedicated modes for common-yet-difficult shooting situations including Children (with a high shutter speed to freeze motion while avoiding blur), Backlight (to compensate for a rear-lit subject), and Portrait (to bring the subject into strong focus while deemphasizing the background) are included. The powerful in-camera image effects include conversion to sepiatone and black and white. A built-in microphone allows a 10-second voice memo to be attached to any still image. Images can be trimmed, resized, and rotated in the camera without the use of a PC. Slide Show automatically scrolls through photos and displays them on the bright and vivid 2.5-inch TFT LCD screen.
Just as much attention was given to the L73’s Movie mode, which lets users capture video in one of four resolutions, from 320 x 240 to 800 x 592, at up to 30 frames per second in AVI (MPEG-4) format. Just as in still-picture mode, the ASR image stabilization system can be engaged to compensate for unwanted camera movement and subject blur.
The included USB 2.0 cable, camera cradle, and CD-ROM containing Samsung’s Digimax Master software (compatible with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP and Macintosh OS X 9.2 through 10.4) will get even beginning photographers up and shooting right out of the box.
The Samsung L73 contains 20MB of internal memory and can accept Secure Digital (SD) flash memory cards up to 4 GB.
Helpful consumer’s review
I have had this camera for about two weeks and I must say I’m very impressed. After three plus years of owning my bulky, chunky Panasonic Lumix 3megapixel Camera I decided to try the Samsung Sleek and Sexy Lifestyle (L-series) Digital Camera. Correct me if I’m wrong but for you cost conscious consumers out there, this camera is almost identical to the NV11, the differences are: 10megapixel instead of 7 (only important if you are planning on printing Poster Size pictures), the Schneider Lens in the NV is “world renowned” but my L73 takes breath taking pictures as well, and finally the NV11 has a flip up Flash instead of a front built-in flash like the L73 and I like the flash being built in instead of flip open because having to manually flip open the flash seems like a bad design choice. The MAJOR difference between the NV11 and the L73 is the price the NV11 costs $250 and the L73 is $150
Picture Quality/Features: As stated above, I’ve gotten nothing but fantastic pictures out of this camera. The Auto feature does give average picture quality indoors, and outdoors you will want to play with features, but that’s the beauty of this camera, adjusting a setting and taking a test shot is as easy as sliding your finger over a touch sensitive button and changing lighting settings, exposure, scene variables like motion shots, dark shots, super close-up macro shots, there’s tons of easy features. The best is when you’re first getting used to the camera and the features, it’s defaulted to telling you what each little picture means, so you don’t have to guess what a stick figure stands for in the options. Night shots are great I just bought a 53″ tripod on Amazon and gone around the lakes to take amazing shots, it reminds me of my old SLR back in high school and that amazed me. So taking great pictures is easy to do right out of the box, but you’ll fall in love with the features and tweaking them so you get the absolute best result you wanted.
