Performance

The Samsung DV300F focussed reasonably fast even under low light. Flare was controlled well and chromatic aberration was not observed. During this part of the test (i.e., for CA test), the camera automatically selected the aperture, which was f/9.2 in this case, which was not the ideal setting. Hence the results may change depending on the aperture value selected by the camera at the time of exposure. Metering modes performed as expected. Slight darkening of corners was observed at the wide-angle end. The camera chose f/2.5, which was ideal in this case. The images lacked critical sharpness, which is quite disappointing. The camera reproduced colours well with all White Balance modes performing well except under the preset ‘Cloudy’, which produced a distinct red cast. But this cast can be easily removed in Photoshop. Native image size was 11.52 x 15.36 inches at 300 ppi. At 25 percent of this screen size, images were noise-free up to ISO 800. Observed at 50 percent of the screen size, the images remained free of noise up to ISO 400. At 100 percent, images showed noise throughout the ISO range, as normally expected from a camera having such small sensors. So stick to ISO 400 or below for noisefree images under normal conditions. Images captured with Smart Auto mode appeared more punchy than those captured with Program mode.

Value for Money

The Samsung DV300F retails at an MRP