Review Date: April 1, 2014
Category: Point-and-Shoot
Samsung WB350F
USER’S EXPERIENCE
Friday, March 14, 2014 – Here’s what I receive in the box:
- Samsung WB350F (White)
- No memory card (uses the microSD card)
- Li-ion Battery SLB-10A 3.7V 1030mAh 3.81Wh
- Travel Adapter AD5055 (which uses the USB cable to recharge the battery in camera)
- USB Cable
- Wrist strap
- Documentation: Quick Start Guide
- Software CD: N/A
Tag & Go. The Samsung WB350F is pocketable, stylish and ultra sleek. It’s well designed with very good build quality. I like that it has some of the most desirable features in a digital camera: 21x wide optical zoom, PASM shooting modes, large 3.0-in. Touch LCD, and the latest Wi-Fi/NFC capabilities.
The touch screen panel is very usable. It is responsive and precise to the touch. There is no delay when you touch an icon or screen setting, so no frustrating experience here.
In actual use, I have no complaints with the WB350F, as long as you remember it is targeted to entry-level point-and-shoot users. In fact, it handled some difficult exposure situations better than I expected. For example, it will easily and quickly lock focus in low light situations, which is not always an easy task for many cameras in this category.
There is no software included on a CD, and you need to go online to download what you need: Intelli-studio, PC Auto Backup, Remote Viewfinder and, if desired, Home (Baby) Monitor. I also went to Samsung’s site to download a Samsung WB350F User Manual.
As far as Wi-Fi goes, the setup is easy and straightforward.
To perform PC Auto Backup, I downloaded the i-Launcher from Samsung site, ran it, installed Auto Backup and ran the latter. Auto Backup is now running in the background, waiting for images to transfer from the WB350F. I right-click on the icon in the taskbar and set the folder where I want the images to be saved on my PC. I set the Mode Dial to Wi-Fi, turn on the camera, and select Auto Backup. It finds the PC and starts to transfer the images. However, there are times when the camera does not find the PC, even though Auto Backup is running on the PC and I just transferred images a moment ago. I also am careful to place the camera close to the PC but that does not seem to make any difference. Be also aware that Motion Photo gifs will not be auto saved and you need to do the transfer manually using the USB cable.
To use my Android smartphone as a Remote Viewfinder, I download and install the Samsung SMART CAMERA App on the phone, and run it. On the camera, I set the Mode Dial to Wi-Fi, turn it on, select Remote Viewfinder. I pair the phone to the camera, authorize the connection (required for the first time only), and we’re connected! I can zoom (optically!), set self-timer, select photo size, decide whether t save the captured image to the camera only or to both the camera and phone. Since the camera is not touched and not moving, I don’t have to worry about camera shake and can move the phone around.
To use the WB350F as a Baby and/or Home Monitor, download and install Samsung Home Monitor onto your smartphone (I can’t search for it but there’s an icon under ” Users also installed” when I searched for it. You can turn on the AF Assist Light if it’s too dark in the room and you want to have a better view. You can stream sound. Hers’s what Samsung says about this function:
As a parent, you worry about your precious baby—even when she’s safely asleep. The Samsung SMART CAMERA lets you keep an eye on your infant while you watch TV or do household chores in another room. Select Baby Monitor and whenever your camera detects a sound from your baby, it will immediately take and send an image of your child to your smartphone or Smart TV. So you can always rest assured when your baby is resting.
Indeed, when it detects sound, it sends you a prerecorded baby cry and then you can view the monitor to see if everything’s all right.
There is no User Manual included in print or on a CD, so you basically have to go online to Samsung site to download one. To Samsung’s credit, its site is well-designed and it is easy to find where to download one: http://www.samsung.com/ca/consumer/camera-camcorder/smart-cameras/compact/EC-WB350FBPBCA-support
The WB350F uses microSD/microSDHC memory card, which is the tiniest card I’ve ever seen. MicroSD cards are fiddly to handle so I’d suggest buying the largest capacity you can afford and just leave it in the camera.
The WB350F is loaded with 12 fun Photo filters and 15 Effect Artist filters (click for large version):
| Photo Filter | |
 Miniature |
 Vignetting |
 Ink Painting |
 Oil Painting |
 Cartoon |
 Cross Filter |
 Sketch |
 Soft Focus |
 Fish-Eye |
 Classic |
 Retro |
 Zooming Shot |
The Zooming Shot is an especially nice one and which is usually not possible unless you have a manual zoom lens on a DSLR.
| Effect Artist | |
 Light |
 Lomo |
 Crack |
 Sepia |
 Textile |
 Old film |
 Crumpled paper |
 Watercolor |
 Wave |
 Cartoon |
 Sand |
 Half Tone Dot |
 Bumpy Wall |
 Sketch |
 Sepia-Cartoon |
|
Besides applying the basic effect, you can also do various other artistic edits before saving the final version.
For those who like selective color (one color in an otherwise B&W photo), there is Color Brush (allows you to specify one or more colors to keep and leave the rest of the scene as one of 5 B&W effects: Classic, Sepia, Blur, Old film, Sketch). However, I find it practically impossible to select only one particular color by finger painting it on the LCD. You end up selecting other unwanted colors and spending a lot of time trying again and again. It allows you to even select the sensitivity but it’s too much work; a simpler point-and-click implementation is required here.
Continuous Shooting and Sweep Panorama are hidden in the Smart (Scene) Mode on the Mode dial.
Smart Mode: Beauty Face, Continuous Shot (Max. 6 frames; High: 7.1fps; Normal: 3fps), Landscape, Macro, Action Freeze, Rich Tones, Sweep Panorama, Waterfall, Silhouette, Sunset, Low Light Shot (merges 3 continuous shots into one photo), Fireworks, Light Trace.
Motion Photo is a nifty GIF animation available under Magic Plus on the Mode dial. It allows you to specify one or more areas to animate while the rest of the scene remains static:
Click to view animated GIF
What I like about the WB350F:
- Good image quality at ISO 80 to ISO 100.
- Touch screen that is responsive and works very well.
- Love the wide-angle 23mm equivalent.
- Fast and precise AF, even in low light.
- Lots of filter effects.
- Easiest Wi-Fi setup ever.
No review is complete without a couple of improvement suggestions:
- Noisy images above ISO 200, though not objectionable if you remain at small prints and for Web display.
- Improve PC AutoBackup connection success rate.
The Samsung WB350F is an easy-to-use and fun travel camera for entry-level shooters with a desirable mix of features. You can use buttons or the touch screen, whichever way you’re most comfortable with. It takes good pictures at the low ISOs in good lighting.
Next: Samsung WB350F QuickFact Sheet / Buy
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