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Samsung's basic ultracompact for the shaky

The SL420 is a seemingly average point-and-shoot ultracompact camera with the exceptions of a slightly longer-than-typical optical zoom backed by image stabilization.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Joshua Goldman

Samsung

If you'll be shopping for a simple, small digital camera when spring 2009 rolls around, you may be interested in this 10-megapixel model from Samsung.

The SL420 has a 5x optical zoom and dual image stabilization--optical and digital--and a 2.7-inch LCD on back. It's otherwise unremarkable.

However, you will find now-standard features like face, blink, and smile detection and an ISO range up to 1600 at full resolution and up to ISO 3200 at 3 megapixels.

If that's too much camera for you, look into the SL102, which pares everything back to just a 3x zoom, digital image stabilization, a 2.5-inch LCD, and only face detection.