Samsung has announced another glut of compact cameras that pack in more features than a copy of Playboy during a silicon shortage. The WB650 -- and its junior partner the WB600 -- between them boast a fancy AMOLED screen, GPS, high-definition video recording and whopping long zooms. They're joined by the ST70, ST60 and PL80 snappers.
The WB650 includes a 15x optical zoom and 24mm ultra-wide-angle lens. Packing GPS for geotagging photos, it sports a 76mm (3-inch) AMOLED screen, which should be good for both battery life and picture quality. We're going to get our sticky fingers on these cameras at a Samsung press launch later today, so stick around for more photos and first impressions.
The £300 WB650 and the similar £250 WB600 (know in the US as the HZ35W and HZ30W respectively) are long-zooming versions of the compact ST5500 and ST5000 (known in the US as the CL80 and TL240). The WB650 and ST5500 include fancy screens and either GPS or Wi-Fi, while the WB600 and ST5000 are slightly cheaper with their LCD screens. WB stands for 'wannabe', which seems an oddly disdainful name for cameras that are meant to be a step up in seriousness from the average compact. In our book, there's nothing wannabe about 720p high-definition video recorded at 30 frames per second.
Samsung has also announced the ST70 and ST60, two slim compacts. The 14-megapixel ST70, pictured above, includes optical image stabilisation and a 5x zoom. The 12-megapixel ST60, disappointingly, lacks optical image stabilisation for its 4x zoom lens. Still, that'll keep the price down, and both cameras shoot 720p video. The ST70 will cost £180 and the ST60 will set you back £150. In the US, the ST70 is the TL110 and the ST60 is the TL105.
Finally, heads up for the PL80. It's a straightforward point-and-shoot camera boasting 12.2 megapixels, a 28mm wide-angle 5x optical zoom lens and optical image stabilisation. If any of these whet your appetite, check back later for our hands-on pictures and early review.