Samsung stuffs two LCD displays onto compact cameras

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 14 Aug 2009 at 08:55

Samsung has unveiled a compact with an LCD display built into the front, as the battle to spice up the compact camera market gathers steam.

The ST550 and ST500 feature a 1.5in screen on the front, which "allows consumers to take accurate portraits using the front image as a guide – whether it's a group shot with friends or a snap of yourself on holiday. There is no need to even press the shutter button – just a big smile will trigger the cameras to take the picture," according to statement from the company.

The screen can also be put to other novelty uses, not least of which is flashing up a funny image to get a smile out of grumpy kids when you're trying to take a picture of them.

The more serious work is handled by a 3.5in LCD touchscreen display on the back of the ST550, and 3in display on the ST500. Both cameras sport a 12.2 megapixel wide-angle lens with 4.6x optical zoom, image stabilisation and 720p video capture in H.264 format.

The company is promising to get back to us with a price and release date.

The announcement comes as rival Nikon shows off its "world's first projector camera" which allow users to project their snaps and videos onto the wall. Next up, the world's first toaster camera.