The Samsung S1050 is one of its newest cameras on the market and has a few features that set it apart from the competition. Ten megapixels for around $200 is almost unheard of, the saying goes, “you get what you pay for” and in this case it may just hold true.

The S1050 features a 10 megapixel sensor with a 5x optical zoom that has a focal length of 38mm at the wide angle which is not very impressive. Though, I do get the feeling that 5x optical zooms are going to become the new 3x zoom. No one wants a 3x zoom any more (unless camera size is a concern).

In addition the S1050 has a feature that Samsung calls “ASR” or advanced shake reduction but once again this uses higher ISO settings to compensate for camera shake.

Most compact cameras take good pictures at low ISO settings and the S1050 shines at that, picture quality at ISO 80, 100 and 200 were almost perfect thanks to the high quality lens. However at higher ISO settings noise became apparent because the 10 megapixel sensor is small in size, a problem common to almost all compact cameras the only exceptions I can think of are the Canon PowerShot series.

The camera had trouble focusing in low light situations either at night outside or in low lit rooms. It performed best in bright outdoor light or in well lit rooms; all other situations had mixed results ranging from good to abysmal.

To take home the S1050 will cost you about $230 online. If the lens had a wider angle I could be more forgiving of the poor low light performance or extreme noise in the images but I can’t. If you want that wide angle 5x zoom and can live with 8 megapixels then the GE E850 is about the only game in town. I’m sure that will expand once the other (more reputable) companies wake up.

On a side note, in the next few weeks we will have our own review of the GE E850, which isn’t turning out to be so bad in the early tests and at this point I’d have no problem recommending it over Samsung’s S1050.

Vnunet calls the S1050 a “simple to use point and shoot camera with a large LCD” which sums up quite possibly the only good points it has. A camera is basically no good if it can’t take at least “average” quality images in all lighting situations. The S1050 fails on that count. It would make an excellent camera for outdoor shooting only.

My ideal digital camera would have a 5x optical zoom in a compact body, a 3.0” high resolution LCD display, support for up to 16GB SDHC cards, come in the 8 to 10 megapixel range and have that ever elusive optical image stabilization. Digital image stabilization is no more useful than a restaurant without food.

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Entry was posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 2:42 pm under New Products, Point and Shoot, Samsung.

Read more entries by Jonathan Schlaffer.