Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was very happy with my Canon sx280 (20x zoom) but was intrigued by the Samsung's 21x zoom starting at 23mm (extreme wide-angle) lens and movable flash head so I decided to try it out. I was very surprised and pleased by the image quality and feature set of this camera. The WB350 is definitely a pocket sized camera but not the smallest pocket super-zoom camera on the market. It is about the same size as the Canon SX700 and a bit taller than most other pocket zooms including the Canon SX280. The WB350 has several features not usually found in a camera in this price range and target audience; exposure bracketing (sort of), built in bounce flash, flash intensity compensation (controls the strength of flash), manual shutter and aperture setting controls and completely manual (Kelvin) white balance. The last feature (manual white balance by K#) is not found on some good mid level DSLR cameras (i.e. Nikon D5300, Canon Txxi). This camera has a small sensor so anything shot past ISO 800 is not very good. Noise (graininess) is present even at ISO 400. But ISO 800 is usable which is pretty good for this type of camera. Also, the lens is pretty bright, (at wide angle focal lengths), with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 helping to avoid the necessity of using higher ISOs in better lighting conditions. There is no dedicated ISO button. In any event if you primarily shoot in dim lighting requiring an ISO over 800, you really should look at something with a larger sensor (ie Sony RX100 or a compact system camera). Images taken in good lighting (i.e. outdoors or good indoor lighting) are very, very good. The automatic white balance and metering almost always get it right. I was surprised that the images are a bit nicer and more vibrant than the (excellent) Canon SX280. The movable flash head can be pivoted to simulate an external flash being tilted to "bounce" the flash. This results in softer lighting and much more pleasing exposures. However, this is a small camera with a small and relatively weak flash. Using an indirect flash weakens the intensity more so. Consequently this feature is really only useful in reasonably bright rooms where the subject is reasonably close. Lower F stops and Longer shutter speeds also help. The 23mm wide angle end of the lens is wider than most cameras especially anything this small. Although there is serious distortion in videos when shooting at 23mm, incredibly, the .jpgs are almost distortion free at this extreme wide angle. I am not a big touch screen fan, but the touch screen works quite well. The retro grainy-leather look exterior looks pretty sharp but some type of grip would have been helpful. I would have only given 4 1/2 stars if this was available because of the ridiculous decision to use Micro-SD cards instead of standard SD cards like everyone else. This card (so small that an ambitious ant could walk away with one) requires the use of an SD adapter every time a card reader or computer/laptop card slot is used. Did Samsung suddenly decide that a standard SD card is just too heavy or too big?? Of course, a micro SD card or even an adapter for micro-SD cards are not included. Nor by the way is a battery charger (the battery must be charged while inside the camera; an inconvenience and a savings of about 11 cents to Samsung). In any event, overall this is a terrific camera when used in decent lighting conditions. The great image quality, movable flash head and other advanced features put this camera at the top of its genre. Like all cameras, the most important component is the skill and imagination of the photographer.