Samsung L310W

The L310W is the only camera in Samsung’s point-and-shoot range with a wide-angle lens. With a 35mm equivalent zoom range of 28-102mm, it’s great for group shots or interiors where you can’t put a lot of distance between yourself and your subject.
It also comes with a 13.6-megapixel sensor.

While this is almost certainly too high for a camera of this size, it gives you some bragging rights as it’s one of the highest pixel resolutions currently available.

The L310W is crammed with useful features: face detection for up to nine faces, dual optical and digital image stabilisation and high ISO modes all help you get the best pictures with minimal effort in a wide variety of shooting situations. Processing features include smile and blink detection, as well as a Beauty Shot mode that automatically enhances skin tones.

We found the L310W took some sharp, high-quality shots at ISO 80 and effective noise reduction kept shots usable even at the highest sensitivity modes, despite the inevitable loss of detail.

Samsung has built a photo help guide directly into the camera interface. This gives step-by-step instructions with diagrams to help overcome common problems such as camera shake or poor focus.

Unfortunately, it’s not immediately obvious what each of the camera’s tiny silver control buttons does, and their legends are very difficult to read. If you do more than just put the camera in full auto mode, you’ll need a little time with the user manual.

We also found that after turning on the L310W, the built-in flash needed several seconds to charge up, and the camera was a little sluggish in operation generally.

Overall, Samsung’s L310W is a point-and-shoot camera that does it all for you, occasionally with very good results.