Compact digital cameras are all the same. Used one, used them all! But Sam sung doesn't think that to be a good thing. The NV-8 uses a completely new user interface than what you're probably used to. That's good if you're a techie, but not if you're already struggling with the controls on existing cameras. Essentially, there is an array of unmarked buttons along two sides of the 2.5-inch LCD at the back. You have to use two fingers along two different axes to navigate through the menus, and click on any button to select a particular feature. It does take some time to get used to, especially if you've used any sort of digital camera before.

Oigicam newbies will probably like it though. Clad in a brushed silver stainless body, the NV-8 sports a stylish blue ring design, but more importantly, it comes with A-class Schneider*Kreuznach optics. You get 3x optical zoom and an 8.1 MP CCO. Other features include red eye reduction, face recognition (which can detect up to nine faces in an image), shake reduction and auto contrast options. The ISO levels of the camera could be set as high as 3200, but low ISO levels are recommended. For videos, it has a high*resolution movie mode, with the ability to record at VGA resolution (640x480) at a maximum frame rate of 30 fps .

There is no view finder in the camera and you won't need one as the LCD is bright and has a great resolution (230,000 pixels). It delivers great shots, indoors and outdoors-all thanks to the sophisticated electronics and wealth of shooting modes. The 800 mAh Li-ion battery will be good for about 150-200 shots and you also get 20 MB of internal memory to get started right away. You can slot in a 4GB SOHC card and forget about storage. Overall a neat camera if you're averse to going with the crowd. Great pies and features, but some users may take some time to get accustomed to its new touch sensitive interface.


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