To be honest, it has been my own experience that when Samsung does something right - the world feels it. Well, from this looks of this article, we might just be getting ready for another aftershock.

The Samsung Digimax Pro 815 is grabbing quite a bit of attention, thanks to its Schneider-Kreuznach Varioplan lens, which features a whopping 7.2 - 108mm 15x optical zoom. The widest focal length of 28mm equivalent should prove very useful, but we’ll reserve judgement on how useable the lens is at its 420mm equivalent telephoto, since the company has not mentioned image stabilisation, and we don’t currently know the maximum ISO sensitivity. Other websites have speculated that the camera features an eight megapixel imager (based on the model number), and we can confirm based on information direct from Samsung that this is indeed the case. We believe the sensor is a 2/3″ CCD type. Other features include a 3.5″ TFT LCD display - said by Samsung to be the biggest on a digital camera - as well as what Samsung says is the highest capacity proprietary battery, a 1900mAh 7.4v type.

The new model is apparently fairly speedy, with a 1 second start-up time, 1-second shot-to-shot time, and 2.5 frames per second burst mode. The lens is said to have both zoom and focusing rings, as well as a rather unusual idea - an EV compensation ring. Shutter and aperture control should be possible with what Samsung is calling a “2Jog system”. Flash photography is catered for via a pop-up flash above the lens barrel, and a flash hot shoe. [Read the rest]