Samsung DualView cameras put the photographer in the picture

Seems one LCD display per camera is not enough for Samsung, which has just unveiled two compact digital cameras that feature dual LCD screens – one on the back and one on the front. The extra displays found on the TL225 and TL220 are designed to make turning the camera on yourself a bit more reliable than the "hold at arm’s length and hope" method usually employed when taking self-portraits and profile picture shots. And for those after a digital camera that boasts unprecedented connectivity, Samsung has also unveiled the CL65 with geo-tagging, Bluetooth 2.0, DLNA, and Wi-Fi capabilities.


The DualView TL225 and TL220

Aside from the 1.5-inch front LCD found on the TL225 and TL220 DualView cameras, both feature a 12.2-megapixel CCD and 27mm wide-angle Schneider KREUZNACH lens with 4.6x optical zoom. The TL225 boasts a 3.5-inch wide 1,520,000-pixel resolution touch-screen LCD on the rear, while the TL220 has to make do with a 3-inch wide 230,000-pixel touch-screen. Both cameras also record 720p HD video in H.264 format with an optional HDMI adapter also available for the TL225.


Samsung claims one of the reasons it has implemented the second LCD screen is to make taking a self-portrait or profile picture easier for the growing numbers of people joining social networking sites. Seems no matter how many Facebook friends you have, they can’t replace someone local to actually take a snapshot.


The well connected CL65

Like the TL225, the CL65 boasts a 12.2-megapixel CCD, Schneider KREUZNACH lens (but with 5x internal optical zoom), and 3.5-inch wide 1,520,000-pixel resolution touch-screen LCD. Unlike the TL225, however, the CL65’s s wireless functionality enables users to send and post pictures almost as quickly as they take them.

Built-in geo-tagging allows users to record the details of the location and time the image was taken. Bluetooth 2.0 allows images to be distributed wirelessly to supporting devices such as mobile telephones, and Wi-Fi means that users can now email photos directly from the camera and upload photos or videos to sites such as Facebook, Picasa, and YouTube. The CL65 also offers an optional HDMI adapter for connection to a HDTV, but anyone with a DLNA compatible device can choose to connect wirelessly thanks to the CL65’s DLNA capability.


Common features

All the newly announced cameras feature Samsung’s new Smart Gesture User Interface, which uses a built-in gravity sensor to allow the control of some functions just by tilting the camera. Meanwhile, the new cameras’ touch-screens use haptic technology to enable scrolling through images with a swipe of a finger, or the rotating of an image by drawing a circle on the screen.

Other features common to all three cameras include Smart Face Recognition of up to 20 faces, Smile Shot, Blink Detection and a Photo Style Selector.

The TL225, TL220 and CL65 from Samsung will be available from September priced at USD$349.99, $299.99 and $399.99 respectively.