Samsung WB250F Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification


The Samsung WB250F boasts built-in Wi-Fi, a 3 inch touch screen and 18x optical zoom. With the ability to easily share photos and an extremely versatile zoom lens, it is an ideal travel camera. It is available in white, black, blue and red for around £200.00.

Samsung WB250F Features

The Samsung WB250F has a 14.2 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and 18x optical zoom lens, a 35mm equivalent of 24-432mm. To help keep your images sharp there is optical image stabilisation, with low light mode automatically merging three continuous shots into one clear photo.

The headline feature on the WB250F is its built-in Wi-Fi which lets you share pictures and videos directly with sites such as YouTube and Facebook. You can also set the camera to share pictures automatically with your smartphone after each shot. Your images can also be automatically backed up to SkyDrive when within Wi-Fi range. With Samsung Remote Viewfinder app you can also use your smartphone to remotely take pictures and record videos.

To make picture taking as easy as possible there is smart auto mode. Other shooting modes include P/S/A/M, smart, best face, motion photo, panorama and a range photo filters. The best face mode allows you to choose the best face for group shots. Motion Photo freezes the action around a moving subject.

Videos can be recorded in full 1080p HD and the camera can be connected to a HD TV for playback.

Key Features

• 14.2 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor
• 18x optical zoom lens (35mm equiv: 24-432mm)
• Optical image stabilisation
• 3 inch 460k dot TFT LCD screen
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Full 1080p HD video recording
• ISO 100-3200
• 5cm minimum focusing distance
• Panorama mode
• 8 fps continuous shooting
• Available in white, blue, black and red

Samsung WB250F Handling

The WB250F has a solid metal body with a decent handgrip and rubberised area for your thumb on the rear. It is small enough to carry in a pocket and isn't all that heavy for a camera with an 18x optical zoom lens. The menu system is easy to navigate and is colourful, with text and images to help you along.

On top of the camera is a mode dial, which gives access to the shooting modes as well as the settings and Wi-Fi. There is also a direct link button which allows you to shoot and share the pictures straight to a smartphone automatically. Also placed on the top is the flash release, on / off button, zoom rocker and shutter release. The buttons are not unusual on the rear, there's movie record, menu, go back, playback and delete as well as a d-pad. This allows you to cycle through the menus as well as giving access to flash, display, focus mode, continuous shooting and self-timer.

On the rear is a 3 inch touch screen with a decent 460k dot resolution. It's responsive when using it to control the camera and is bright, clear and easy to view. There isn't a CIPA rating provided for the battery, but we were able to take all our test shots on one charge. This included testing the Wi-Fi features as well.

We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.

Shutter Response		0.175 secs
Wide - Focus / Shutter Response		0.35 secs
Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response		0.4 secs
Switch on Time to Taking a Photo		1.7 secs
Shot to Shot without Flash		1.1 secs
Shot to Shot with Flash		2.3 secs
Continuous Shooting 8 fps		7.1 fps
Continuous Shooting 3 fps		2.9 fps

Continuous shooting records at full 14 megapixel resolution, although you're limited to 6 shots.

Samsung WB250F Performance

Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

Samsung WB250F Sample Photos

Sample Photos - Images are colourful and well exposed. Portraits have smooth, pleasant skin tones and are free from red-eye. Landscapes also have excellent blues and greens when shooting in good weather.

Samsung WB250F Lens test images

Lens Performance - Images have a decent amount of detail at both ends of the lens, with a good control over purple fringing. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 5cm which allows you to get close enough for a decent macro shot.

Samsung WB250F ISO test images

ISO Noise Performance - Noise is low at ISO 100, 200 and 400, with images remaining sharp. ISO 800 has enough noise to cause images to become a little softer. Some detail is lost at ISO 1600, with image quality quite poor at ISO 3200.

Samsung WB250F White-balance test images

White Balance Performance - Under the incandescent lights, both the auto white balance (AWB) and incandescent presets perform well. The AWB also takes a good picture under the fluorescent lights, with both the fluorescent presets having a colour cast.


Panorama | 1/500 sec | f/4.6 | 4.0 mm | ISO 100

Panorama mode - Panorama images have a decent amount of detail and are well stitched together.

Samsung WB250F Digital filters

Digital Filters - There is a number of photo filters available to help you take unique and creative pictures, with examples of each above.

Video - Below is a video recorded in full 1080p HD. Quality is good and the stabilisation worked well, this video was recorded handheld and on a blustery day. You can also watch an video recorded using the optical zoom on the ePHOTOzine Youtube page.

Value For Money

The Samsung WB250F is available for around £200. Other cameras with a similar amount of zoom to consider are the Fujifilm FinePix F660 (15x optical zoom) at £93.00, Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ25 (16x optical zoom) at £154.99 and Nikon Coolpix S9400 (18x optical zoom) at £221.21. Other camera that have Wi-Fi are the Canon IXUS 140 at £159, Sony Cybershot DSC-WX300 at £280 and Nikon Coolpix S5200 at £180.

You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.

Samsung WB250F Verdict

The Samsung WB250F packs a range of useful features which makes it an ideal travel camera - it has a versatile 18x zoom lens, yet it is small enough to carry in your pocket. Its Wi-Fi means you can connect to wireless networks and mobile devices to edit and share your pictures no matter where you are. Image quality is good, although you can't shoot in RAW. For a camera with W-Fi and a good zoom range, you can't really argue considering it is available for around the £200 mark. Recommended.

	The Samsung WB250F has a set of features ideal for the travelling photographer.

Samsung WB250F Pros

Built-in Wi-Fi
Decent zoom range for a pocketable camera
Good value for money
Full manual controls
1080p HD video recording
Images are colourful
AWB performs well
Well stitched panoramas

Samsung WB250F Cons

No RAW shooting
Hand grip could be rubberised
No CIPA rating for the battery
Continuous shooting limited to 6 shots
No HDMI connection

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
VERDICT

Samsung WB250F Specifications

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