Samsung HZ25W Review by Gene Wright

Camera Gear

Point & Shoot Camera Knowledge Base Samsung Compact Digital Knowledge Base

Suggested Reading

In-depth list of articles for creating better photography for both film and digital cameras
Black Samsung HZ25W digital camera - Front
     Black Samsung HZ25W 12.4MP Digital Bridge Camera - Front

Description: Discontinued Samsung HZ25W 12.4MP Digital Bridge camera with 24X optical zoom

Samsung HZ25W Digital Camera - Front Top
Black Samsung HZ25W 12.4MP Digital Bridge Camera - Front Top Angle

The Samsung HZ25W combines the compact size of a Point & Shoot camera with an extremely long zoom range. You can photograph interiors and large groups when the lens is in the 26mm wide-angle position. Then capture sports, wildlife, or other subjects in the distance when the lens is zoomed to the remarkable 624mm telephoto. You can even use the zoom when shooting HD video.

Samsung HZ25W Digital Camera - Left Angle
Black Samsung HZ25W 12.4MP Digital Bridge Camera - Left Front Angle

The camera has other features normally found on larger and more expensive DSLR cameras. Besides shooting in auto mode, you have complete manual control over the camera. The camera also shoots RAW files, so your control continues after you push the shutter release. Other advanced features include Dual Image Stabilization, high ISO of 6400, Scene Recognition, and Smart Album making this sleek, stylish camera a pleasure to use.

Samsung HZ25W Digital Camera - Back Angle
Black Samsung HZ25W 12.4MP Digital Bridge Camera - Back Angle

720p/1080 Movie Mode and list of High Definition Move Mode Cameras
720p has higher vertical resolution than 1080i, making it preferable for sporting events such as auto racing and basketball that move at a very fast pace on live television

Samsung HZ25W Digital Camera - Back LCD
Black Samsung HZ25W 12.4MP Digital Bridge Camera - Back LCD

Features

24x Optical Zoom Lens
True wide-angle coverage is yours with the cameras 26mm ultra wide lens. Then capture sports, wildlife, or other subjects in the distance when the lens is zoomed to the remarkable 624mm telephoto.

Samsung HZ25W Digital Camera - Top
Black Samsung HZ25W 12.4MP Digital Bridge Camera - Top

HD Quality Video
Shoot 720p HD quality video at 30 frames per second. You can use the 24X optical zoom to get up close and vividly personal on your video. You never have to worry about sacrificing sound quality, as the camera's stereo microphone delivers outstanding audio.

Full Manual Mode
Besides program and smart auto, the camera has manual as well as shutter and aperture priority exposure modes

RAW Files
The camera produces RAW uncompressed data files that are not yet processed. This way you can adjust color, exposure, and manipulate your images to your heart's content

High Sensitivity ISO 6400
Don't be afraid of the dark, the camera shoots at super fast shutter speeds and has a top ISO of 6400 (when set to 3MP or lower). This allows you to take sharp images even in low light.

Dual Image Stabilization
Even the tiniest shake can ruin your shot. The HZ25W dual image stabilization solves that. Samsung has combined the technology of optical image stabilization (OIS), with the advanced algorithms of digital image stabilization (DIS). This gives you sharp images in low light, while zooming, or even if you have shaky hands.

Smart Auto
The camera's scene recognition technology chooses from 11 different settings ranging from landscape to portrait automatically. It then adjusts for the perfect shot.

Smart Face Recognition
By knowing up to 20 of your friends and family, it automatically focuses on them first, making sure the most important subjects are always in crystal clarity. And since the camera never forgets a face, you can also browse more efficiently by the people you've registered.

Smart Album
Smart Album automatically organizes your photos by date, color tone, content, theme and file type so that you can find that one particular shot amongst 2,000 images. You can even do a face search.

Perfect Portrait System
The Perfect Portrait System, allows you to get beautiful portrait photos no matter what the conditions

Item Includes

• Samsung HZ25W Digital Camera
• Rechargeable Battery
• AC Adapter
• USB Cable
• A/V Cable
• Camera Strap
• Lens Cap
• Software CD
• User Manual
• 1-Year Manufacturer Warranty

Accessories



Reviews

My Review - Finally Samsung HZ25W, January 23, 2010

By Rex Biggers (Utah, USA)

Well, I think I'm finally ready to review this camera. I am familiar with most of it's settings and capabilities as well as shortcomings.

Overall, it is a bargain for the price, I picked mine up for $322, but have since seen it listed as low as $299. First, let's talk about the strengths. Zoom yes, super-zoom. I took a pic of the moon at 24x full zoom during the day and the craters even showed up. Anyway, on to the many features...

Basically, you have 10 different modes which are accessible by twisting the circular knob on top of the camera. These modes are: manual, user 1, user 2, night time, portrait, scene, movie, smart auto, program, and aperture shutter priority. Quick run down on each of these...

Manual allows you to adjust white balance (daylight, cloudy, fluorescent H, fluorescent_L, measure shutter, and K -which manually set color temp to match hue of specific light source), additional white balance fine tuning, ISO 64-3200, 6 face detection modes, Photo size settings ranging from 12-1Mb, 4 RAW modes, and 3 jpg modes, d-range exposure settings, 3 metering settings, AEB area adjustment, 4 focus modes, 4 flash brightness settings, 7 photo "style" selections (ex. "retro" which is sepia, "classic" which is black and white, "custom" -meaning you adjust the colors, etc.), seperate contrast/sharpness/saturation controls, 4 image stabilization modes (dual stabilization is disabled in RAW), 4 "keymapping" modes, 3 voice modes, save for user 1 or 2.

Anyway, those are the main things you have control over, in general, less of these options can be set in some of the other modes since they are pre-programmed or auto-calculated by the camera.

One feature I like is the ability to manually re-adjust the exposure level by a great degree in the user 1 & 2 modes. I also like the ultra-macro mode for really close-up micro-work. Manual focus is another option. A fews limitations are that in RAW mode some of the above mentioned adjustments are disabled. I find the menus to be very intuitive, it's easier to learn than my cell phone,lol.

Let's talk about video capability for a moment. The actual image quality of the film is good, but the zoom makes some noise, even though you do have the option of the muted zoom setting. The camera works ok in low light but not great, low-light videos are not as sharp.

Another shortcoming, as others have mentioned, you can't really use the 3200 ISO. Instead, you'll need to limit yourself to ISO 400 for good picture quality. Buy two lithium batteries, the camera does use up quite a bit of juice on the bright screen setting. I also recommend at least an 8Gb card for about $20 or so if you are shooting video. I shot a 7 minute mpg4 video at the highest screen resolution setting and it ate up 466Mb. Don't use the smart auto mode, I find it isn't so smart. Note, the lens distortion control seems to be grayed-out for manual mode.

One other note, there is a glamor shot mode that will smooth out skin in facial shots (haven't tried that one yet since I use Photoshop). One final item, I had zero problems reading the RAW format in Photoshop CS4. There is even a RAW file converter program that comes with the HZ25W, but again, I have not used it since Photoshop accepts the format just fine.

Handheld, overhead shot of the moon at 24x zoom, lightly edited in Photoshop:


Press Release


Know the Samsung digital camera you are looking for?
Go directly to the camera by using the drop-down menu below

See also