With the dimensions of 99.8 (W)x 59.8 (H)x 18.6 (D)mm and weighing at 165.7g without the battery and memory card, the ST550 is a very compact camera overloaded with features. With a complete black body and a gold lining running between it, the camera is a sure treat for the eyes. With a solid metal body at the back to hold theLCD, the front panel has a clean piano finish.

On the front, the camera features a 1.5”, 61K LCD. A trend setter by all means, Samsung st 550 is the first camera to feature a front LCD screen for portrait shots. To activate, simply start the camera and tap on the front LCD. Somehow, the touch sensitivity on the front LCD is not that responsive, as you have to tap hard to activate it. A very innovative feature in itself, the front LCD is put to very good use which we will talk about in the feature section.

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The camera hosts a powder finish metallic, dark gray, plastic exterior and is curved lusciously. The entire body’s smooth, with no jagged edges, making it one of the most ergonomic compacts around. The grip side of the camera protrudes out more than the rest of the body, and smoothly curves back in on the lens side of the camera. Nested besides the lens, is a small textured rubber grip for your right hand’s middle and ring finger, giving you that extra bit of grip and comfort while yielding the camera.

Even the shutter button’s positioned perfectly – not too far away from the right side of the camera, and not too close either – just in place for the last link of your index finger to rest on comfortably. The zoom toggle ring’s placed neatly around the shutter button, and is easy to access. Besides it sits the metallic mode dial with a textured rim that helps you change modes with easy. The power button rests on the other side of the shutter button, and it hones the glowing blue ring (when your camera’s powered up), giving it that snazzy high-tech look. Call me shallow if you like, but I just love the way this blue light looks.

Moving on – the facing side of the camera has a unique toggle towards the top that lets you change f-stop and shutter speed with ease in manual mode. Its functionality is limited though, making it feel like nothing more than a filler for the empty space. Below that lie the three buttons – function, effect and preview. The effect button is a cool feature that allows you to add really good effects such as warm, cool, forest, retro etc. looks to your pictures before they’re taken. Apart from that, you can pick from a plethora of styles including the standard sepia, black and white, amongst others, and tweak your sharpness, brightness, contrast settings on the fly as well.
Besides these buttons there’s a 3-inch LCD display that hones 460,000 pixels, which is far denser (hence gives more detailed output) than the standard 270,000 dots screens you see on most compacts.
While its bulk makes it really hard to fit the camera in your pocket, the WB500 exudes style and ergonomics, while being tough and sturdy as well.

To start off, the NV9 boasts of a really compact frame that measures a measly 95 x 60 x 21 millimeters. Add to that the fact that it weights just 180 grams, and you have a really portable camera. The left and right sides of the camera are rounded and there are no protruding parts, ensuring that its portability isn’t marred by the odd edge that tugs at your pocket when you slide it in.

The camera features a black metallic finish (it’s available in silver too) that looks great and doesn’t attract fingerprints. The button placement’s pretty much on target – the shutter button and mode dial are placed on the top side (towards the right) of the camera, while the power button’s on the far left, ensuring that you never press it by mistake. Between these buttons, nest two analog meters to show your current battery and memory’s status. While it’s not the most useful feature, it works well and adds to the camera aesthetically; call me silly, but I find the touch of analog in a digital camera really cool.

Getting back to the button placement, the facing side of the NV9 has a zoom toggle near the top. It isn’t the most convenient placement for it, since it’s a little high for your thumb to reach naturally, but it’s in no way a deal breaker. Below the toggle are the Image Stabilization, Function, Preview and Exit buttons. In between them is the navigation pad with a menu/ok button in the middle. Besides the buttons sits a 2.7 inch, 230,000 pixel screen.

Overall, the NV9 boasts of simplistic design, accentuated by a few features like two analog dials and a lit up blue ring around the power button, that add aesthetic appeal and a touch of individuality.

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The Idou, which is currently only a concept but will launch in the second half of 2009 features a 12.1MP sensor, a large 3.5-inch touchscreen with ‘intuitive touch features’ according to Sony Ericsson and a 16:9 widescreen screen ratio.

The Idou will also launch a new interface for Sony Ericsson, based on the work from the Symbian Foundation, so all those who have loved SE’s interface for all these years will possibly weep (though the rest of us will cheer).

United we stand

Sony Ericsson also unveiled Entertainment Unlimited, which it said will be “Uniting best in class entertainment experiences into one offering such as the Walkman music experience, the Cyber-shot imaging experience, Java gaming and messaging integrated with services and applications.”

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Most of the body is made of tough plastic with a textured rubber grip running across the right side of the camera that feels great to the touch and enhances grip for all you people with sweaty palms. To add to the comfort there’s a well contoured groove along the right side, making the S1000fd incredibly convenient to wield.

The button placement is quite convenient, with the trigger on the top, far side of the extended grip, with a plastic ring around it to zoom in and out. Behind the trigger are the Face Detection and Burst setting buttons along with the power switch. The mode selection dial is located right near the flash.
The facing side of the camera hosts a 2.7-inch LCD, with the controls neatly laid out to the right of it. These buttons include the Viewfinder toggle button, the Preview and Photo mode buttons, a display/back and an exposure compensation button, and a 4-way navigation pad with a menu button perched in the middle.

The only thing I couldn’t wrap my head around is why Fujifilm would bother making the body this small. I mean it’s good for portability, but that’s not exactly why you’d buy a super zoom now, is it? If it were a little bigger, it would be way more comfortable to hold and would suit the target audience far better.

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But the EOS seems more than a cut-short budget camera. For one its build is just about the same as its big brother, the EOS 450D at 126 x 98 x 62 mm. With its weight of merely 502 g, it’s definitely the lightest DSLR camera body we’ve tested till date. Lighter DSLRs may not be a big deal for hardcore enthusiasts, but for a beginner or a casual user who doesn’t own a giant camera bag, it’s a great asset.

Unfortunately the light weight comes at a slight cost. The camera’s body is completely built of bland, mat-finished plastic, which gives it a pretty dull look. Moreover, even the handgrip lacks that high-friction rubber coating, which makes the camera easy to use for hours at a stretch. Now that too wouldn’t be just a big issue if the grip had the right contours on it for easy finger placement or even a slightly bigger, more comfortable size. I may sound overtly harsh here, but being a camera user with particularly large hands, I do take my comfort over extended use seriously.

The button layout at the back is exactly the same as the EOS 450D, which would make a Canon user feel right at home. The 2.5-inch screen with 230,000 colors supports Live-view, which seems to have become a norm in DSLR cameras these days. Casual users, however may need to up their game to be able to use this feature as it works only in manual modes. Still I’m pleasantly surprised that Canon added this nifty feature in their lowest-end DSLR model.