Samsung ST90 Review

Samsung ST90 Overview

Posted: 01/19/2011

The Samsung ST90 is an ultracompact digital camera, based around a 1/2.3"-type CCD image sensor with 14 megapixel resolution. The ST90's sensor sits behind a Samsung-branded 5x optical zoom lens, whose actual focal lengths range from 4.7 to 23.5mm. That equates to approximately the same field of view as a 26mm to 130mm lens on a 35mm camera -- a useful wide angle to a moderate telephoto. Maximum aperture varies from f/3.3 to f/5.9, across the zoom range.

We don't yet know whether the Samsung ST90 includes any form of optical image stabilization, or if it instead relies on software techniques to counter the effects of blur from camera shake. We do know that the Samsung ST90 forgoes any optical or electronic viewfinder, providing only an LCD display of unspecified size and resolution on which to frame and review your shots.

The Samsung ST90 include the company's Smart Auto 2.0 mode, which selects from a subset of 16 different scene modes automatically. Other features include a Smart Filter 2.0 function that offers special effects for both still and movie capture, such as Vignetting or Fish-eye, and 720p movie recording, although we don't currently know the frame rate or codec used. (We do know that it's not the more modern H.264 codec.) The ST90 also includes some form of PC imaging software in its internal memory, although we don't know precisely what this entails, nor whether the space can be used for storing images instead.

The Samsung ST90 ships in the US market from February 2011, priced at around US$150.