Samsung is taking another stab at the Galaxy Camera (our review), a traditional point-and-shoot that also runs Google’s mobile OS.
The Galaxy Camera 2 boasts a 16-megapixel sensor and a lens that supports up to 21x optical zoom. It also packs an unspecified 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a 2,000 mAh battery.
The storage options are underwhelming though. The Galaxy Camera 2 is only available with 8GB of internal storage, and of that only 2.8GB is available to the user. Thankfully, a microSD slot will give professional and hobbyist photographers alike up to 64GB of extra space to work with.
Samsung is also offering 50GB of free Dropbox storage over two years, however, for those that like to keep their library backed up online.
The device runs Android 4.3, with no word on an Android 4.4 update. It offers a 4.8-inch, ‘HD Super Clear Touch LCD Screen’ – we’ll update this piece with the resolution and pixel density once we know what they are.
Samsung’s latest effort to marry a compact camera with Google’s mobile OS isn’t aimed solely at photographers, however. The Galaxy Camera 2 can also shoot video in the following formats: 920×1080 (30fps), 1280×720 (60fps), 1280×720 (30fps), 640×480 (60fps), 640×480 (30fps) and 320×240 (30fps).
The Galaxy Camera 2 is equipped with a few new software features, including Tag & Go, which uses Wi-Fi and NFC to connect and sync photos with another NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet. Photo Beam sends shots to the recipient automatically, while Mobile Link gives the user precise control over which files are transferred to the secondary device.
While shooting, Galaxy Camera 2 owners will be able to use a feature called Smart Mode to select from 28 different presets to tailor exposure settings. One new pre-set is Selfie Alarm, which captures five images in quick succession to make sure one or all of the subjects aren’t blinking or otherwise distracted.
The Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 will be on display at CES 2014 in Las Vegas this week. Pricing and international availability is yet to be announced.
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