| I own it | I want it | I had it |
| 41 | 4 | 12 |
The Samsung TL500 (EX1 in Europe) is a premium compact camera with a fast f/1.8-2.4 wide angle 3x (24-72mm equiv.) image stabilized zoom lens. It comes with an 1/1.7"" 10MP CCD sensor and a 3.0"" multi-angle AMOLED display. The camera also offers full manual control, RAW capture, VGA video recording in H.264 format and a new faster DRIMeIII processor. Its biggest limitation is that the lens range is a touch short for some subjects (particularly head-and-shoulders portraits).
The Samsung TL500 is a very good camera - it takes good images, has a great lens, flexible feature set and, unlike most mirrorless cameras, it maintains its go-anywhere, shoot anytime capability when slipped into a jacket or coat pocket. The TL500's few quirks are not significant enough that we'd consider it less desirable than more polished competitors (the Panasonic LX5 and Olympus XZ-1 being the most obvious), but its advantages are similarly marginal.
| Body type | Compact |
| Max resolution | 3648 x 2736 |
| Effective pixels | 10.0 megapixels |
| Sensor size | 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm) |
| Sensor type | CCD |
| ISO | Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 |
| Focal length (equiv.) | 24–72 mm |
| Optical zoom | 3× |
| Lens mount | Unknown |
| Articulated LCD | Fully articulated |
| Screen size | 3″ |
| Screen dots | 614,000 |
| Min shutter speed | 8 sec |
| Max shutter speed | 1/1500 sec |
| Format |
|
| Storage types | SD/SDHC, internal |
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| Weight (inc. batteries) | 386 g (0.85 lb / 13.62 oz) |
| Dimensions | 114 x 63 x 29 mm (4.49 x 2.48 x 1.14″) |
| GPS | None |
The TL500 / EX1 is a very capable and well-featured photographers' compact camera. Its excellent (and articulated) OLED screen helps distinguish it from the conceptually similar Panasonic LX3. Overall it's among the best compact cameras available if the super-bright lens is more important to your type of shooting than overall zoom reach.
Good for: Photographers looking for something smaller than a DSLR that gives shooting flexibility.
Not so good for: Not the perfect all-round or travel camera, due to its short (but bright) zoom. It's also a bit short for traditional portraits.
|
Silver Award
|
73%
dpreview score
|
Reviews and specs
|
Galleries
|
Challenges
|
 | 24.1 megapixels 3″ screen APS-C sensor |
   |
|
Connect with dpreview
|
