The selling feature on the Samsung DualView TL225 (and TL220) is the 1.5” LCD on the front of this camera. It’s purpose? To help make things a whole lot easier for those wishing to take self-portrait pictures. Now, this action of taking a picture of yourself, either alone or with a friend, is usually embraced by the females of our species, but I suppose there are plenty of douches out there who want to use this feature so they can post accurate depictions of themselves looking all bra like in their Ed Hardy hats, dipping V-neck T-shirts, and tribal band tattoos. Having said that, having an LCD on the front of the camera can also be family friendly, which Samsung has been wise enough to identify and capitalize on; the front LCD on the DualView is able to display short animations, called the Child Mode, to entertain children or simpletons as you attempt to capture the perfect moment. Activating the front LCD is as simple as touching the screen, but to take a picture you have to be smiling.
The other selling point of the DualView is the 3.5” TFT touchscreen (3” on the TL220) on the rear. This rear LCD is also haptic and features a Gesture User Interface.
Undressing the Samsung DualView TL225
Aside from the gimmicky yet likely practical small LCD on the front of the camera, the Samsung DualView seems to be a pretty solid point-and-shoot loaded with a ton of features. The camera has 4.6x optical zoom, a 27 mm wide angle lens from Schneider-KREUZNACH, 12.2 megapixels, and 55MB of onboard memory (microSD option of up to 4GB and micro SDHC up to 8GB).
There are a couple key systems to help you take better pictures—Smart Auto and Advanced Dual Image Stabilization. The former with 14 presets and a manual bypass mode, but presets analyze key elements and automatically adjusts. The latter utilizes both optical and digital image stabilization to produce near perfect pictures without a flash or tripod.
HD video recording is also available on the Samsung DualView camera with a 1280 x 720p resolution at 30 fps. HD recording is also done in the H.264 format, which allows you to record two times more data than MP4. There’s also a mini-HDMI connector so you can view your video on your big LCD TV. ISO on the DualView maxes out at 3200 and there are several options under the TTL Auto Focus feature.
While there are cool features on the Samsung DualView, with a $349.99 price tag you’re shelling out excessive money for a tiny LCD on the front of the camera. Expect to see the DualView on North American shelves this September.
