DailyTech - Samsung Tests the Waters With Android "Jelly Bean" Galaxy Camera

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Gadgets Samsung Tests the Waters With Android "Jelly Bean" Galaxy Camera
Jason Mick (Blog) - August 30, 2012 5:20 PM

38 comment(s) - last by sikku.. on Sep 8 at 9:12 AM

New camera is like a smartphone without the phone

Following its major legal loss to smartphone rival Apple, Inc. (AAPL), Samsung is looking to turn its attention to fresh, new products. Yesterday, Samsung’s first Windows Phone 8-based smartphone was announced and today the company is launching an Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" driven Galaxy camera.

The Android camera looks intriguing, offering a point-and-shoot with a plethora of image modes and the ability to shoot 120 fps 720x480 slow-motion video.

Sort of like a smartphone without the phone, the Galaxy camera offers a typical next-generation 'droid experience, albeit with the extra trappings of imaging software and a bulkier form factor.

The camera features a vivid 308 ppi (1,280x720 pixel) 4.77-inch diagonal display, voice control, Wi-Fi, 3G, cloud backup, onboard image editing, and more. The imaging equipment includes a 21x zoom (21x, f/2.8-5.9, 23-480mm) lens and a 1/2.33-inch BSI CMOS sensor, according to Engadget. microSD and microSIM are both onboard. The camera is powered by a 1,650 mAh battery.

The phone will feature a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor (likely a Snapdragon 4 from Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM)).

Sources: Samsung, Engadget

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Working backwards

By chµck on 8/30/2012 5:45:16 PM , Rating: 2

You're still going to have to carry at least 2 devices with you. Phone & camera.

RE: Working backwards

By chmilz on 8/30/2012 5:48:44 PM , Rating: 1

I thought point and shoots were rendered obsolete due to phonecams? If I have to carry two devices, it'll be a phone and a DSLR, not a phone and a slightly better point and shoot.

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RE: Working backwards

By Reclaimer77 on 8/30/2012 5:53:34 PM , Rating: 5

This blows away ANY camera you'll find on a phone. You would only be carrying this on you when it's time to take some seriously nice photos. For you to call this a "slightly better" point and shoot is a bit..biased. Or you're just ignorant.

And with the added option of on the fly editing through the Android apps..so many possibilities. This is a really intriguing product and you should open your mind a little bit.

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RE: Working backwards

By teldar on 8/30/12, Rating: -1

RE: Working backwards

By Samus on 8/30/2012 10:39:37 PM , Rating: 2

Not everyone wants to carry around a SLR. Mine has been in its bag for almost two years (Pentax K110) because whenever I go on holiday or to a art opening, the last thing I want to do is lug around a camera.

This Galaxy Camera is clearly a gateway device to integrating high-end camera hardware into a phone. What Samsung is testing is Android's capabilities as a camera back-end. The addition of Wifi downloading/syncing is huge (no longer to you have to take a memory card out or dock your camera) and this isn't the first camera to do this, as Samsung made the first wifi-enabled camera in 2011.

Those wifi memory cards are a joke, too. I've tried them with my DSLR and it just isn't the same as native wifi-enabled devices.

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RE: Working backwards

By Tony Swash on 8/31/2012 10:22:21 AM , Rating: 3

If you want a compact camera that takes stunning photos that are as good as entry level DSLRs check out the online reviews of the new Sony RX100. It's an amazing camera and the compact that serious photographers have been waiting for.

here is a review

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/...

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RE: Working backwards

By Spuke on 8/31/2012 1:09:11 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
If you want a compact camera that takes stunning photos that are as good as entry level DSLRs check out the online reviews of the new Sony RX100.

I've been looking for a camera like this for ages. Thanks much for the link.

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RE: Working backwards

By BillyBatson on 8/31/2012 2:12:06 PM , Rating: 2

Samsung made the first wifi-enabled camera in 2011.

Do you mean Samsung made IT'S first wifi camera in 2011? Even that might be wrong but I know for a fact that Kodak, Sony, and I think even Nokia had wifi enabled point and shoot digital cameras back in 2005......

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RE: Working backwards

By fteoath64 on 8/31/2012 2:49:14 AM , Rating: 2

"you don't understand the differences which make a DSLR a significant improvement over something like this"

If this camera is close to a Canon G10 camera, it would be great. The G10 classified as a "point and shoot" can take pictures identical to a $5000 Canon Pro camera, if the user has the skills. It was used by Pro photographers as a backup camera. I have seen shots compared from G10 to Pro camera at 14MP and even an max zoom, cannot tell the difference!. That is how good such cameras has come to!.

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RE: Working backwards

By AnnihilatorX on 8/31/2012 1:23:47 PM , Rating: 2

Quality of photos is more determined by the Lens and optics than the camera itself, as long as the basic features are there for the camera, such as good AF metering and white balance. However, more expensive cameras are more versatile. In case of DSLR, being able to swap for different lens is its main selling point.

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RE: Working backwards

By SPOOFE on 8/31/2012 8:08:10 PM , Rating: 2

Use almost any recent camera in good daylight and you can achieve astounding results.

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RE: Working backwards

By BillyBatson on 8/31/2012 4:15:54 AM , Rating: 2

I don't think reclaimed was suggesting this is a dslr replacement he was saying it's an upgrade to a smartphone cam by a large margain. Not all of us want to carry a dslr around ever, some of us still like to use good point and shoot cameras which do offer better age quality over smartphones (except for maybe nokias 41mp smartphone), offer dedicated shutter buttons, are easier to hold when using, are easier to ask strangers to take pics for you, traveling with etc. I'm not going to take a dslr to the beach, snowboarding, camping, clubs, or even let my friends touch it let alone use apps to alter pics they have taken like they would be able to on this android camera and for those of us looking for a PaS camera this could be an evolutionary upgrade that offers not only better image quality (ever considered low light situations?) but also functions and abilities not found on a smartphone, any current PaS, or dslr's for that matter. Why start an argument over PaS vs dslr. You are comparing apples to oranges to watermelons.

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RE: Working backwards

By Reclaimer77 on 8/31/2012 9:07:28 AM , Rating: 2

Yeah and how much does a good DSLR cost? I never said this was a replacement for that. But it's a damn nice compromise between one and a crappy cell phone camera imo.

quote:
It's a toy for every day use.

lol so? So are iPad's and top end smartphones. Your point?

You're trying WAY too hard to flame me here, to the point that you're making up things I didn't even say. I never compared this to a DSLR.

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RE: Working backwards

By AlvinCool on 8/30/2012 6:03:18 PM , Rating: 2

I guess if you read a lot of articles and believe everything you read, then yes point and shoot cameras have been replaced with cameras in phones that have no lenses and take passable shots.

In most instances I prefer my Fuji F10 to any other camera including DLSR's. In Tibet it ruled in darker locations and the DLSR cameras could only take ok shots.

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RE: Working backwards

By BrgMx5 on 8/30/2012 9:39:54 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
In Tibet it ruled in darker locations and the DLSR cameras could only take ok shots

Low light photography is all about lens aperture, speed and a big sensor, so basically any dslr will take a better low light picture than your F10.

However, the man behind the machine is more important. If your pictures were better, it was your skill vs your friends, definitely not the camera.

On topic, this represents the problem with Samsung, as it is with most tech companies. It is a niche product (iPod touch slapped in a camera), that targets a niche that probably isn't there, wasting company resources and it's development will just eat that little bit off their bottom line.

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RE: Working backwards

By teldar on 8/30/2012 10:14:13 PM , Rating: 2

Yeah. If a point and shoot camera was doing better than a dslr, my guess is the dslr was using a crappy kit lens and the photographer didn't understand how to take pictures.

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RE: Working backwards

By Jeffk464 on 8/30/2012 7:58:33 PM , Rating: 2

My galaxy nexus takes pretty good pics for a phone but its still not as good as recent coolpix cameras, which is again marginalized by good SLR's. Basically really good pictures require big lenses.

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RE: Working backwards

By chµck on 8/31/2012 2:23:17 AM , Rating: 2

What I meant to say was, why create a camera when your smartphones are killing that market? If you make a good camera that is worth taking with you, then you're carrying 2 devices now with a lot of overlap in functionality.

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RE: Working backwards

By SPOOFE on 9/1/2012 3:29:27 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
why create a camera when your smartphones are killing that market?

That's EXACTLY why they're doing this. We still see tens of millions of cameras sold every year, so it makes no sense to just walk away. The market is pretty mature, and it's at that stage that "gimmicks" start taking over.

There is a big demand in the photography world for a customizable and highly connected camera; I don't think Android will be the clincher in that regard, but it is a step in that direction.

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RE: Working backwards

By SPOOFE on 8/30/2012 7:55:56 PM , Rating: 2

I know several people that happily carry 3+ phones at all times, plus a camera. All smiles about it, too. Some people just like having a reason for gadgetry, I suppose.

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RE: Working backwards

By Jeffk464 on 8/30/2012 7:56:04 PM , Rating: 2

Insane idea -

Why not make a dumb camera that docs to your smarphone. Basically just the lense and mechanical bits. All the computing and the display would be done by your smartphone. I love the smartphone camera features, geo tag, ability to upload to facebook from the road, etc, but the cameras are acceptable at best.

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RE: Working backwards

By BrgMx5 on 8/30/2012 9:45:41 PM , Rating: 2

It would be better just to slap a Bluetooth chip on a camera, and then develop an app to control the camera from your smartphone.

It would be better than this frankenstein, as Samsung manufactures both good cameras and smartphones, it would be just a matter of developing the app, or better yet, release the specs and let others take a shot a it.

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RE: Working backwards

By Belard on 8/31/2012 2:35:15 AM , Rating: 2

A cellphone has a camera included... but its NOT a camera. It doesn't matter that it saves your pic at 8MP. A real camera, even a 3MP with real optics will smoke it in image quality.

On day to day, I take plenty of crap or tech or info shots with my phone. Anything of some value, my P&S set at 5MP is fine (it does 12MP) - If I need to do something serious and want to deal with the hassle, I'll use my DSLR.

Cellphones have: tiny sensor. Tiny flashes (its an LED, that's all) and a plastic fixed lens... ZOOM is faked. But today's phones take pretty damn good photos considering their limitations. Its nice to take a photo while doing video... Video does 720HD on phones. But even higher end P&S cameras will do 1080HD video!

If anything, the "camcorder" is dead. I still have a good SONY DV cam... that is simply not worth the hassle. What camcorders out there now are simple digital cameras in the same of a video-camera. The controls and optimization for video is the only difference.

All that we have today is far better, lighter and higher resolution than anything available 10+ years ago.

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RE: Working backwards

By nafhan on 8/31/2012 6:26:15 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
It doesn't matter that it saves your pic at 8MP. A real camera, even a 3MP with real optics will smoke it in image quality.

I'd say that's not generally true of PS's. For instance, I have recently compared pics from my current 8MP smartphone (DINC, released about 2 years ago) and my 4MP Fuji point and shoot (can't remember exactly what the time frame for purchase was, but it was well reviewed and cost about $180, new). My observation was that my smartphone takes better pictures across the board - they're even better pixel for pixel (though, at 100% neither look good). I think this is typical for PS cameras from the "3MP" era.

I'd also say that if you've got a good smartphone, you're throwing your money away spending less than $100 on a PS. The only thing you'll get out of a cheap point and shoot that you won't get from a good phone is optical zoom. Of course, by the time you start getting to the $150 - $200 range (sometimes even lower if you are careful and shop around) PS's become worlds better than any smartphone camera.

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Pointless...

By Captain Orgazmo on 8/30/12, Rating: 0

RE: Pointless...

By nocturne_81 on 8/31/2012 8:25:55 AM , Rating: 2

*dy-no-mite*

Would this be where the conception that rainbows come out of steve jobs's a## stems from..?

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RE: Pointless...

By Captain Orgazmo on 8/31/2012 9:33:51 PM , Rating: 2

Indeed, he invented the iRainbow® on the toilet one day. He also invented iSight®, allowing us feeble human to see said iWonders of Jobs.

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RE: Pointless...

By name99 on 8/31/2012 4:09:02 PM , Rating: 2

You do know it was KODAK that sued Apple about essentially this matter, don't you?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation...

And Kodak lost.

If people are going to spew out random "Apple sues" snark in response to EVERY FSCKING POST, no matter how irrelevant, here's a hint: you will look like less of a ritalin-addled halfwit if you actually KNOW something about what it is you are snarking.

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RE: Pointless...

By Captain Orgazmo on 8/31/2012 9:29:47 PM , Rating: 2

Sheesh it was a joking comment, calm down.

See: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hyperbole

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RE: Pointless...

By bupkus on 9/2/2012 12:18:19 PM , Rating: 2

Too late.

<Assassins dispatched from Apple HQ.>

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Needs work..

By nocturne_81 on 8/30/2012 8:24:13 PM , Rating: 2

Insanely enough.. this just looks like a camera with a phone UI. Why the hell didn't they try to develop a better touch interface to show off the actual function of the camera itself, rather than to feign it's existence as a crippled phone that just happens to be a good camera..

I'm wondering how the Canon version will look..

RE: Needs work..

By Belard on 8/31/2012 1:58:47 AM , Rating: 2

I'm not sure what Canon would do... the big advantage with the Android OS is the ability to take quality photos and send them to your social networks. Really, not much more than that. I may take photos with my real camera and then copy it to my phone.

But a lot of candidate photos are done with my phone... its always there.

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RE: Needs work..

By SPOOFE on 8/31/2012 3:55:38 AM , Rating: 2

You hit the nail on the head: Connectivity. It's been years since this tech shoulda been fairly ubiquitous, and the camera market is pretty mature tech-wise; it's amazing that nobody's gone and given us easy connection options in-camera. I'd especially expect it from, like, Pentax, or even Sony, a company that's clearly been willing to push the camera tech envelope with their TLR's or whatever they call their cams with the translucent mirrors.

I don't expect THIS Android phone to really shake things up all that much, but I do expect Android to become an option across most big players' lineup. And I really hope the Android options really get the top tier guys off their asses to build that level of connection and customization into the cams themselves. I wouldn't be surprised to see it come from the m4/3 camp first, but hey, it's not like a wi-fi chip and Facebook connection software are exactly difficult to come by.

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Another Product Copied from Apple's Thermal Nuclear Technology

By SpaceJumper on 8/31/2012 10:52:25 AM , Rating: 2

A rectangular screen with four rounded corners... Just a Sarcasm or oh no.... I am not going to give Apple any more ideas.

All you need

By vol7ron on 8/31/2012 11:34:50 AM , Rating: 2

Add a phone modem and some bluetooth, sell it with a bluetooth earpiece and I'll get it.

I hardly use my phone as a phone any ways and I don't need to hold it up to my ear when I do. I have been saying for years it's a matter of time before cameras start having better embedded software.

Really I thought it would have been better to have a Photoshop camera, but it seems like Adobe lacks that kind of imagination. Instead, they are just great at providing sound/imaging software to people that do - sigh.

Nice work Samsung.