Home > Consumer Reviews > Samsung SL-310W 13.6MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

I considered all of the reviews by 'experts' on various product review sites and Consumer Reports. This camera was consistently rated highly. So were most of the Canon cameras, which are rated even higher.

However, if you look carefully at the reviews (especially Consumer Reports), you will see that the overall rating is heavily influenced by things such as ease of operation, features, etc. Yet, they mostly say this Samsung had the single advantage of superior picture quality.

I decided to forgo the other aspects of the reviews and get maximum picture quality. To me, the reason to use a camera is to get a good picture. I am not disappointed. I am not a camera buff and find this camera easy to use with more features than I'll ever use on a regular basis. Oh; and the picture quality is truly excellent - just what a camera should do.

This camera combined the advantages of excellent pictures, lots of features and low price in a pocket-size package. The 28 mm equivalent zoom lens offers a wider than normal range for such small cameras. Small videos were easy to take for web applicatons like You-Tube.

Included software did a good job for picture editing, but video editing capability was minimal. The only weakness I encountered was low sound level during video recording (required being very close to the person speaking). On the other hand, my SLR doesn't offer any video recording.

Picture quality has been similar to my SLR in most situations, but I will use the smaller camera more often since it is easier to carry.

The bottom line: I would definitely buy this camera again.

First consider that I'm upgrading from a 7+ year old Sony Cyber-shot that performed admirably over the years. My wife and I finally agreed to buy a new camera and after a lot of research on [..] we chose this one. We bought it along with an 8 GB memory card and are very pleased with it. You have to read the instructions pretty thoroughly to make sure you understand all the settings, features, etc. but once you get it going it works great. There is no view finder, just a screen, but we've not been hindered by this one bit.

Anyone who did not like this camera either dropped it a few times, or left it in a hot car for a month... For the price of this camera, you will NOT find a better model out there. The picture quality is the best I have seen on an ordinary digital camera, and I am VERY picky about clarity. I researched this model extensively before I bought it, and yes there are similarly priced cameras with slightly better features - albeit worse image quality. Considering that most digital cameras under $350-$500 have HORRID image quality, one can deal with the fact that it doesn't have every bell or whistle. If you buy this camera, and you regret it, you are a fool. Heck, read Consumer reports, if you do you will notice that it is the ONLY camera under $400 that has the Excellent rating for image quality.... life's too important to remember it through fuzzy pictures.

From the 8th January 2009. This Camera worked for two weeks Then the Thing stopped Working I sent it at my Expense to Berry pro Camera. When It Returned it worked very nice until the 10th of May in Beijing it started to go bad. you turned it on and the lens came out juddered a bit then shut down with no pictures I tried charging the battery before I used it, that got me three pictures of The Great Wall of China I would not Buy Again !!