research | Geek Life: Augmenting Reality

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This research has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client, (which was perfect timing 'cause I was doing the research for myself anyway!) I'm looking for a new camera. Something that will produce near-professional quality photos; the kind of photos that I need for my blog and family life. I need something that will show the true shape and colours for OOTD (Outfit of the Day) posts, and will take the quickest shots for those fast moments, like when my nephew is hilariously running circles around his uncle (TheHubs); or if I happen to be watching a TFC game, I'd love to get that perfect action shot when the ball finally reaches the net. My old point and shoot camera is beyond its last legs, with a resolution that is no longer acceptable by my personal standards. Quite simply, I wore out the lens by taking LOTS of photos, lol. It still works technically, but the results aren't sharp enough for me to use on my site any longer, nor am I happy with the quality being rendered for family life photos. Lately, I've been depending on my Samsung Galaxy III and Samsung Ativ S smartphones to take the clear and sharp photos I need, but despite the fact that these phones do take great photos (particularly the Ativ S,) I need a camera that looks a little more professional with all the bells and whistles that aren't available on smartphones, and right now the Samsung Galaxy Camera is looking like the best option for my price range. Here's a quick wish-list of functions that I'm looking for in a camera right now: at least 14 megapixels, and absolutely nothing lower, (but I would be all kinds of happy with something higher); easy access to adjustable shutter speeds; adjustable light metering; easy wifi enabled picture sharing, (how cool would it be to be able to share those pics the moment it happens? My Instagram would be even more active, lol!) and fast picture taking so that I don't miss the shots I want. And I have to admit that while I've been busily taking photos almost daily, I've had this tiny voice in the back of my mind always whispering, "This picture would have been so much better if you used a (D)SLR instead." I got my hands on an SLR way back in college (2002) for the one photography class that I had to take as part of my diploma, and boy was I hooked from the get-go. Once a week I was able to sign out that SLR from the A/V room and I had an amazingly fun time getting the photos I wanted, just as the view screen showed. With light meters, shutter speeds and f stops, each and every photo I took was perfect. So, up until this point, I've been keeping an eye on getting a Canon EOS Rebel or perhaps a Nikon, as the latter is what we used in college. DSLRs are the top-of-the-line, professional quality, cameras with the ability to have particularly fast shutter speeds, and everything that I entirely loved about photography back in the day. But now I'm questioning whether I truly want a DSLR or whether I'd rather have a Samsung Galaxy Camera instead. It seems like everything that I would want to do with a DSLR I could also do with the Samsung Galaxy... only the Galaxy seems much easier to do exactly what I want. I'm gonna let you in on a tech research secret. This is something I do every time someone asks me if its better to go with "phone/laptop/tablet A" or "phone/laptop/tablet B". One of the really great things about product pages and online support in the tech world is that product manuals tend to be published in pdf format as soon as the product goes live. Features and specification pages are great, and you can usually grab the most important information about the tech in question from those pages alone, but if you want to know the whole picture; download the manual. I had this pressing question that I couldn't find anywhere, and it's the simplest thing, but could very well be the deciding factor on whether or not I'll purchase the Samsung Galaxy Camera in the future. I really needed to know whether or not this camera had a tripod mount. Sounds simple right? This info isn't anywhere that I could see, save for the product manual on page 7. I got my answer pretty quickly after I started reading all 133 pages, and I got other questions that I didn't even know that I wanted to ask answered too. The Samsung Galaxy Camera does have a tripod mount by the way. ;) The fact that the camera looks very much like a small tablet with a camera hanging on its back made me question whether such "trivial" aspects would be overlooked. (And I'm so glad it wasn't!) So I made a list of reasons why it would be awesome to purchase a Samsung Galaxy Camera over a DSLR: It's entirely easy to get the photos I want. There are default settings that you simply and quickly select before taking the shot (as shown in the image above); 16 megapixels, which is okay, but a 21X zoom can be all kinds of awesome; No accessories required to get the most out of the camera (DSLRs may require filters, a multitude of lenses, etc); Fully functioning android tablet in the back, so that I can share those photos (and video) instantly with my buddies on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest email, etc (and if I want to take a break and play Angry Birds instead, I can!); Not only is this camera WiFi enabled, there is also a SIM port for 3G/4G network as well(why LTE is not available is beyond me, but 4G is still fab.) And this access for a SIM card does make me wonder if this camera will soon be available at a "discounted price" as part of a data-plan bundle with one of the Big Three telecoms; If you're recording video, you can take pictures at the same time. The Best Face feature lets you take two photos and merge them into one. If you've ever taken two photos and wished you had only one that had elements from each, this is the feature to get that fixed without the use of a photo editing program like Photoshop. Reasons why I would still go for a DSLR: the Samsung Galaxy Camera is within the same price range as a beginner's DSLR (Best Buy priced at $599); many are above the 20+ megapixel range for ultimate photo resolution; I honestly can't think of any other reasons.... I'm well and truly in awe with the Samsung Galaxy Camera, so much so, that I would totally recommend it as that big ticket gift item if you're looking for one for this upcoming holiday season. Are you in search of a camera right now? Would love to hear what you've got your eyes on! I also put together a Google+ photo album of my trip to Best Buy which is where I got a chance to take a look at the camera, check it out!

Tag: research

The Samsung Galaxy camera is truly impressive, WOW!

Technology. Collectibles. Travel.

Technology. Collectibles. Travel.