Samsung MV800 Pro Reviews

Samsung has made video and photography across a range of modes extremely easy. Lack of Wi-Fi and an awkward self-portrait shutter release notwithstanding, this is well-executed point and shoot.

If point and shoot's your thing, then you'll be delighted with the new Samsung NV800, which offers by far the most hand-holding features that we've ever seen on a compact camera, coupled with a great touchscreen that largely succeeds in mimicking a smartphone. And that's not even mentioning the unique and very useful flip-out display which makes it easy to take a self-portrait and shoot from more obscure angles. It's not all a bed of roses - the image quality isn't that great, it's a little tricky to shoot from overhead and the price is high for a purely point-and-shoot model, but overall the MV800 is undoubtedly a very easy and surprisingly full-featured camera to use. In many ways the MV800 is very similar to the much cheaper ST95 model, which at half the price shares the same 5x zoom lens, 16 megapixel sensor and 3 inch touchscreen. If you don't buy into the flip-out screen design and don't mind sacrificing some of the multitude of auto-features, then the ST95 is a much more logical buy. On the other hand, the MV800 is even better suited to beginners with its unique screen and plethora of clever modes and creative effects. It can get a little bit overwhelming at first, with no less than 32 modes, effects and options on offer, but spend a little time exploring and you'll soon find your favourites.

Image and video quality are nothing special, but a clever design and lots of fun shooting modes make it an attractive camera for social media addicts

The Samsung MV800 compact camera has a fun flip-out screen that makes it easy to take self portraits, but it falls short in terms of image quality and low-light performance.

We wanted so much to like the Samsung MV800, but ultimately for the price point we think it's a disappointment and would encourage anyone thinking of buying this compact camera to wait and see if it reduces in price first.

Samsung’s MV800 is a quirky and well-built compact camera. Although the flip out screen may be a little gimmicky, as it’s not something that you’ll be using all the time, its screen resolution makes it a pleasure to use as a ‘normal’ compact too. The touchscreen interface is a nice idea and the responsiveness is way beyond previous generation models. Sadly, it’s not ‘Smartphone standard’ and that’s what many potential customers will have come to anticipate, if not expect. But it’s the flat, over-processed image quality that’s the MV800’s downfall. It’s a major thorn in the side, as the quality just isn’t good enough overall, particularly at high ISO settings, to warrant the £249 asking price. Gimmicky or not, the build quality’s decent and the screen’s pretty top-notch too. Get a lower-resolution, better-performing sensor in there and take the touchscreen to the next level and Samsung would have a winner here. But with those two major elements short of the mark the MV800 is just a bit underwhelming when considering other similar-price compacts.

The Samsung MV800 isn’t the speediest camera on the market by any means. But then, it’s really not designed to be fast – it’s designed to be easy-to-use, flexible and fun. Measured solely by these three key credentials it scores well too. There are still some things we’d like to see in a future model – such as built-in Wi-Fi and direct social networking integration – but in most other ways the MV800 is step in the right direction that serves the needs of its target audience very well indeed.

We have reviewed a number of Samsung's latest compact digital cameras and where they all score well is performance, the MV800 is no different. Although the images are soft in the corners, they do have plenty of detail and excellent colour reproduction. It is fair to say at £199.00 it is quite expensive but with the unique MultiView screen it stands out from the crowd and is likely to be a popular choice for buyers with a slightly higher budget.