Picture quality
Starting with white balance performance, the U-CA 3 turned in a very good result. Here are some test results, with the Samsing results on the left compared with a Ricoh Caplio GX (right):
AWB on, tungsten illumination
Compared to the Ricoh Caplio GX, the Samsung Digimax U-CA 3 produced a more neutral result in tungsten (ordinary light bulb) light with its auto white balance setting.
AWB on, fluorescent illumination
Both cameras did a commendable job of neutralising fluorescent light in auto white balance mode, with only a touch of green in the grey patches on the colour chart marking the Samsung down.
Menu preset for fluorescent illumination
Neither camera did a good job when using a preset for fluorescent light.
Menu preset for tungsten illumination
Using a preset for tungsten light, the Samsung gets it right while the Ricoh remains a tad too warm.
Flash performance was adequate. In the picture below the actual skin tone of the girl has been bleached slightly, though the red-eye reduction mode has done its work well.
Skin tones have been slightly flattened by the U-CA 3 flash
Outdoors, it's clear that the U-CA 3 exposure system can be easily tricked. Below, the subject is badly over-exposed because of the dark surrounding background.
The foliage (above) is also too cold, suggesting that the auto white balance has also been fooled.
Below is a more convincing performance from the U-CA 3. Below it is the same scene taken with a Panasonic Lumix LC50B for comparison.
Samsung Digimax U-CA 3
Panasonic Lumix LC50B
Which version of the scene do you prefer?
Tell us and we'll publish the results in our final full test of the Samsung U-CA 3.
One area that the U-CA 3 appears to produce the goods is sharpness. There is no obvious over-sharpening either.
Above is the section from the original frame reproduced below:
This section is an unsharpened 100% (1:1 pixels) section of the original image above.
And sharpness does not noticeably deteriorate towards the corners.
Purple fringing, however, is not an affliction that the U-CA 3 is immune from. It's certainly not of plague proportions, but at best, resistance to fringing from the U-CA 3 is only average:
You can't see it at this low magnification (above), but reproduced at 100% (1:1 pixels) below:
..the tell-tale signs of fringing are clear and this is under diffused lighting too. It's even more noticeable in higher contrast conditions.
Close focus performance is a strong area for the U-CA 3. We managed to get as little as 5cm coverage across the frame, though best performance is achieved at wide end of the zoom, so there is some noticeable barrel distortion:
The U-CA 3 is a decent tool for close focus photography
To sum up the picture quality we got from our review sample, it's not bad, but there are better cameras in this class out there if you need the very best quality. Where the U-CA 3 goes well is in sharpness and close focus performance. Colour is rather on the cool side and there is a tendency to underexpose shadows and over-expose mid-tones. Noise grain is there, but at the standard ISO 100 setting ('auto' ISO appears simply to mean ISO100 as it didn't once vary in auto mode) it's not obtrusive. Manual ISO 200 and 400 settings should only be used in emergencies.
Check the latest price or purchase this item via
|
|  |  |
| Click on the flag that best relates to your location |
| The EU flag links to Amazon Germany, currently the only European Amazon outlet that supplies electronic goods like cameras priced in Euros. |
| Each Amazon outlet can ship to most countries in the world. |
The Digital
Camera Co
