Samsung PL170 Review
Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 16 megapixel SuperFine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4Mb.
While images at maximum wideangle display a loss of sharpness towards the corners and familiar compact camera bugbears such as pixel fringing between areas of high contrast rear their heads, perhaps the most disappointing thing when it comes to image quality is the softness of photos when shooting towards the telephoto end of the range. Detail simply looks washed out and indistinct, which is a shame, as the PL170 is very easy to use and would otherwise be an ideal suggestion for someone's first digital camera. Close up shots tend to work best, where there is less for the camera to have to work with, and less to befuddle the metering system.
On a more positive note colours are vibrant and flattering as a default, although highlight detail does suffer in bright sunlight and thus we again lose definition. By contrast and like its sibling in the SH100, with all those pixels crammed onto a small-ish sensor the PL170 is no star performer when it comes to switching off the flash and shooting in low light either. Above ISO200 we're getting noise in the shadow areas, with in our opinion ISO400 being as high as you'll want to go if you desire to avoid a mottled appearance to the image. Although ISO800 is usable at a push, avoid ISO1600 and ISO3200 entirely. At ISO1600 too, colour is noticeably draining from the image and this gets more pronounced at ISO3200, the shot looking so soft it's as if it's being viewing through a net curtain.
So, while the Samsung performs its best under blue skies with lots of light around, such conditions give rise to loss of highlight detail and purple pixel fringing. Conversely, if shooting indoors in lower light, noise is a definite issue. Overall then, while shots from the PL170 aren't exactly terrible, there are far better performers out there for a similar price - if, that is, the possible advantages of the dual screen set up isn't crucial (or rather helpful) to your personal needs.
Noise
There are 7 ISO settings available on the Samsung PL170. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.
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ISO 80 (100% Crop) |
ISO 100 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 3200 (100% Crop) |
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Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are soft and ideally benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level.
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Original (100% Crop) |
Sharpened (100% Crop) |
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Chromatic Aberrations
The Samsung PL170 handled chromatic aberrations fairly well during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges of objects in certain high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.
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Example 1 (100% Crop) |
Example 2 (100% Crop) |
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Macro
The Samsung PL170 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 5cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
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Macro Shot |
100% Crop |
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Flash
The flash settings on the Samsung PL170 are Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, and Red eye fix. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Flash Off - Wide Angle (26mm) |
Auto - Wide Angle (26mm) |
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Flash Off - Telephoto (130mm) |
Auto - Telephoto (130mm) |
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And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Auto setting or the Red eye fix option caused any red-eye.
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Auto |
Auto (100% Crop) |
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Red eye fix |
Red eye fix (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Samsung PL170's maximum shutter speed is 8 seconds in the Night scene mode, which is good news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 6 seconds at ISO 80.
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Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
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Sample Images
This is a selection of sample images from the Samsung PL170 camera, which were all taken using the 16 megapixel SuperFine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.
Sample Movie & Video
This is a sample video from the Samsung PL170 camera at the highest quality setting of 1280x720 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 44 second movie is 50.8Mb in size.
As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.
Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.
Product Images
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Front of the Camera |
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Front of the Camera / Lens Extended |
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Isometric View |
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Isometric View |
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Rear of the Camera |
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Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed |
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Top of the Camera |
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Bottom of the Camera |
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Side of the Camera |
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Side of the Camera |
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Rear of the Camera |
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Memory Card Slot |
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Battery Compartment |
Conclusion
The Samsung PL170's back and front LCD screen set up holds obvious appeal for both families with restless children and the narcissists out there. Take away that unique facility and you have a rather ordinary snapshot camera underneath, which to give this a positive spin at least makes for ease for use. Retrieving and replacing the fiddly microSD card is a pain however, and loses the PL170 half a star from our rating.
Yes, the PL170 on the face of it seems fair value for money and taking a picture with it is relatively easy. However, as we've reported image quality is generally a little on the soft side if attempting anything other than a close up at the camera's widest setting, and the less said about its performance in low light the better. This loses the camera an additional star. So it's perhaps not as great value as it first appears, and one can indeed over-egg the pudding, or rather here the sensor, with too many pixels.
Raising the PL170 slightly in our estimation are the inclusion of some fun digital effects filters, the fact that all the essentials are here, including HDMI output, and the likelihood most of the camera's intended point-and-shoot audience may well not be scrutinising the images that closely and be satisfied with what they're getting. Not terrible but not Samsung's finest hour either.
| Ratings (out of 5) | |
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| Design | 4 |
| Features | 3 |
| Ease-of-use | 4 |
| Image quality | 3 |
| Value for money | 4 |
Review Roundup
Reviews of the Samsung PL170 from around the web.
ephotozine.com »
Samsung released the PL170 in January 2011 adding to their range of compact cameras with screens on both the front and the rear of the camera. The camera is available in black, silver, purple and pink from around £145.
Read the full review »
Specifications
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Usage note |
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| Image sensor | Type | 1/2.3″ (Approx. 7.76mm) CCD |
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| Effective Pixel | Approx. 16.1 Mega pixel | |
| Total Pixel | Approx. 16.4 Mega pixel | |
| Lens | Focal Length | Samsung 5x Zoom Lens f = 4.7 ~ 23.5mm (35mm film equivalent: 26 ~ 130mm) |
| F No. | F3.3(W) ~ F5.9(T) | |
| Digital Zoom | Still Image mode: 1.0x ~ 5.0x Play mode: 1.0x ~ 13.5x (depends on image size) Extra Optical Zoom: Max 2.0x | |
| Image Stabilization | Dual IS (OIS + DIS) (1) | |
| Display | Type | TFT LCD |
| Recording | Main Display: 3.0" (7.6cm) QVGA (230K) Front Display: 1.5" (3.8cm) 61K TFT LCD | |
| Focusing | Type | TTL auto focus (Multi AF, Centre AF, Face Detection AF, Object Tracking AF, Smart Face Recognition AF) |
| Range | Normal: 80cm ~ infinity, 150cm ~ Infinity (Tele) Macro: 5cm ~ 80cm (Wide), 100cm ~ 150cm (Tele) Auto Macro: 5cm ~ Infinity (Wide), 100cm ~ Infinity (Tele) | |
| Shutter Speed | Auto: 1/8 ~ 1/2000 sec., Program: 1 ~ 1/2000 sec., Night: 8 ~ 1/2000 sec., Fireworks: 2 sec. | |
| Exposure | Control | Program AE |
| Metering | Multi, Spot, Centre Weighted, Face Detection AE | |
| Compensation | ± 2EV (1/3EV steps) | |
| ISO Equivalent | Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 | |
| Flash | Modes | Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, Red eye fix |
| Range | Wide: 0.2m ~ 3.5m, Tele: 0.5m ~ 2.0m, (ISO AUTO) | |
| Recharging Time | Approx. 4 sec. | |
| Sharpness | Soft+, Soft, Normal, Vivid, Vivid+ | |
| White Balance | Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten, Custom | |
| Still Image | Shooting | • Mode Dial: Smart Auto, Auto, Program, Dual IS, Beauty shot, Night, Scene, Smart Movie *Front LCD (Hot Key) - Easy Self Shot: Front LCD (hot Key): Front Mode Self Shot Mode Long Key Self Shot *Front Mode: Normal, Self Shot,Children mode, Jump shot *Front Mode Setting Tap: Smile on / off, Children Smile on / off, Children Sound, Front Display demo *Smart Auto: Portrait, Night Portrait, Backlight Portrait, Night, Backlight, Landscape, White, NaturalGreen, BlueSky, Sunset, Macro, Macro Text, Macro Colour, Tripod, Action, Fireworks *Scene: Magic Frame, Object Highlight, Landscape, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Back Light, Beach&Snow • Drive: Single, Continuous, AEB, Motion Capture • Self Timer: Self-timer: 2 sec., 10 sec., Double (10 sec., 2 sec.) (Front LCD will be turned on when selecting Self timer) |
| Effect | • Smart Filter2.0: Miniature, Vignetting, Soft Focus, Old Film 1, Old Film 2, Half Tone Dot, Sketch, Fish Eye, Defog, Classic, Retro, Negative, Custom RGB • Image Adjust : Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation | |
| Edit | • Image Edit: Resize, Rotate, Trimming • Smart Filter2.0: Miniature, Vignetting, Soft Focus, Old Film 1, Old Film 2, Half Tone Dot, Sketch, Fish Eye, Defog, Classic, Retro, Negative, Custom RGB • Image Adjust: Face Retouch, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Red Eye Fix, ACB,Add Noise | |
| Image Play | • Single image, Thumbnails,Smart Album, Advanced Slide show, Movie Clip (2) | |
| Voice Recording | Voice Recording (max. 10 hours) Voice Memo in Still Image (max. 10 sec.) | |
| Date Imprinting | Date&Time, Date, Off (user selectable) | |
| Movie Clip | Recording | With Audio or without Audio - Sound Alive On / Sound Alive Off / Mute ('Sound Alive On' is default) Max Recording time: 20min Size: 1280 x 720 (30 / 15fps) High Quality, 1280 x 720(30 / 15fps) Standard Quality, 640 x 480 (30 / 15fps) , 320 x 240 (30 / 15 fps) Zoom: Optical 5x (3) |
| Effect | • Smart Filter2.0: Palette Effect 1, Palette Effect 2, Palette Effect 3, Palette Effect 4, Half Tone Dot, Miniature, Vignetting, Sketch, Fish Eye, Defog, Classic, Retro, Negative, Custom RGB | |
| Edit | Pause during recording, Still Image Capture, Time Trimming | |
| Storage | Media | Internal Memory: Approx. 27MB External Memory (Optional): Micro SD Card(up to 2GB guaranteed) Micro SDHC (up to 8GB guaranteed) |
| File format | Still Image: JPEG (DCF), EXIF 2.21, DPOF 1.1, PictBridge 1.0 Movie Clip: H.264 (MPEG4.AVC) Audio: AAC | |
| Image Size | 16M : 4608 x 3456, 14MP : 4608 x 3072, 12MW: 4608 x 2592, 10 M: 3648 x 2736, 5M: 2592 x 1944, 3M: 1984 x1488, 2MW: 1920 x 1080, 1M: 1024 x 768 | |
| Interface | Digital Output Connector | USB 2.0 |
| Audio | Microphone: Mono Internal Speaker: Mono | |
| Video Output | AV: NTSC, PAL (user selectable) SCC-AV20 HDMI 1.4: NTSC, PAL (user selectable) (4) | |
| DC Power Input | 4.2V 20Pin | |
| Power Supply | Rechargeable battery: BP70A Adaptor: SAC-48, CB20U05A Connector Type: 20pin (5) | |
| Physical Specification | Dimensions (WxHxD) | 95.3 x 57.3 x 19mm |
| Weight | 153.3g (w / o Memory, battery) | |
| Operating Temperature | 0 ~ 40 °C | |
| Operating Humidity | 5 ~ 85% | |
| Software | Intelli Studio | |
| Special Feature | • 16.1 Mega-pixel • 5x 26mm Slim Optical Zoom Lens • 3.0 ”Main Display (230K), 1.5" Front Display (61K) • Dual Image Stabilisation: Optical IS + Digital IS • Front Display: Self Shot (Still&Movie), Children mode (Still&Movie), Jump shot, Easy Self Shot (Still), Portrait Highlight (Still) (User can change the flash file of children mode by downloading new file from Samsung Website or making with Intelli Studio) • Self Timer(Front LCD On: 2 sec., 10 sec., Double (10 sec., 2 sec.) • Smart Face Recognition (Register 8 people manullaly and 20 people automatically / My Star: 8 people who are registered manually ) - Face recognition AF, Face List, My Star (Register manually),Smart Album (Face) • Smart Auto , Smart Movie • Smart Album (Smart Album Category: Type, Date, Colour, Week, Face) • Perfect Portrait System (Face Detection, Smie shot, Blink Detection, Smart Face Recognition, Beauty shot, Self Portrait- Front LCD) • Beauty Shot (1,2,3Steps) • Object Tracking AF • High Definition Movie Recording: - 720p Resolution @30fps / H.264 Movie File • HDMI CEC • Multi Slide Show | |
| System Requirement in general | For Windows | Intel Pentium 4, 3.2GHz or later / AMD Athelon 64FX, 2.6GHz or later Minimum 512MB RAM (1GB) Windows XP / VISTA / 7 250 MB (Over 1GB recommanded) CD-ROM Drive USB 2.0 Microsoft 9.0c or later Over 1024 x 768 pixels, 16 bit colour monitor or later (1280 x 1024 pixels, 32 bit colour recommanded) Over 64MB video card (nVIDIA Geforce 7600GT or later / ATI x1600 series or later) |
| For Macintosh | Power Mac G3 or later Mac OS 10.4 or higher Minimum 256MB RAM 110MB of available hard-disk space USB port CD-ROM drive | |
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