By Claire Reilly
After first being unveiled at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin earlier this year, Samsung has finally launched the new Galaxy Camera to the Australian market, with stock set to go on sale next week (RRP $599).
The Wi-Fi and 3G connected camera takes the benefits of a regular compact camera – including 21x optical zoom, 16.3-megapixel CMOS sensor and 4.8-inch LCD touch screen – but adds the functionality of the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.
This Android OS allows users to use a variety of apps on the camera, such as photo and video editing apps as well as connected apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In addition, photos can be either stored on the on-board micro SD card, or automatically uploaded to cloud services such as Dropbox.
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Current.com.au took the camera for a test run around Sydney to play with the new features and try out the extensive range of pre-installed photo editing tools.
Herewith, a picture gallery of our discoveries.
The Sydney Harbour bridge at 1x zoom.
A shot of the same bridge, utilising the full 21x optical zoom, shows a crew of happy Bridge Climbers at the top.
The built-in Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity allowed us to tweet this picture (You should totally follow Current.com.au on Twitter!)
A photo taken under the bridge using the camera’s Silhouette Smart Mode.
This image of the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship was taken using the Landscape Smart Mode during shooting, which is designed to “emphasise the landscape and sky by making the green and blue more intense”.
The Museum of Contemporary Art.
The same image edited after the fact using the Sketch and Invert filters in the Galaxy Camera’s Photo Wizard app.
An installation sculpture outside the MCA.
The same image edited with the Photo Wizard Pop Art filter.
The Opera House.
The Opera House as seen through the Magic Pen filter in Photo Wizard.
And finally, one of this journalist's favourite laneways in the rocks, edited to look like a true Beatie Bow original with the Old Photo filter.