Samsung i8 Digital Camera Announced

Samsung Invigorates i-Series With Addition of the Stylish i8

Samsung is proud to announce the i8 — an eight mega-pixel, ultra-thin, ultra-stylish digital camera supporting Samsung’s PMP multimedia technology. PMP, which has become the defining feature of Samsung’s popular i-Series, gives users the ability to enjoy movies, videos and their favorite music while on-the-go.

The i8 boasts a redesigned body, sporting a glossy and reflective finish, and measures in at a pocket-sized 3.5″ x 2.3″ x 0.8″. At the heart of the camera lies a highperformance, eight mega-pixel sensor that produces ultra-clear and sharp images. The i8 also features a nonprotruding, 3x optical zoom, enabling shooters to get close to their subjects without compromising their low profile. To help compose their shots, review their images, or enjoy video clips and movies, shooters can take advantage of the large 2.7″ LCD screen, which will automatically brighten or dim depending on the current lighting situation. For reviewing and sharing images with others, the i8 also includes an intuitive Multi-Slide Show. With Mutli-Slide Show, end-users can playback their images using five different slide transitions and can also have their images set to scroll to the camera’s preloaded music or their own favorite MP3 files.

“Samsung’s i-Series of ultra-compact digital cameras offers consumers an unmatched level of flexibility and versatility in terms of their multimedia capabilities [Is this a true statement? If so, please describe how. Otherwise, I would select a new quotation],” said Stewart Henderson, Vice President Marketing, Samsung Opto-Electronics America. “These cameras are entirely unique and revolutionary, and highlight the different technologies that Samsung brings to the market, and that’s especially true with our PMP technology. The i8 builds upon the i85, a CES INNOVATIONS Award winner, and takes our i-Series to a new level.”

When setting the camera to PMP mode, i8 users can easily listen to their favorite MP3 files or watch their favorite video content on the camera’s large, 2.7″ high-resolution display. The bundled Digimax Converter software seamlessly converts the user’s MPEG, AVI, MOV, WMV and ASF files for viewing on the i8. For music on-the-go, the software can also convert MP3 and WAV audio files in several simple steps. The innovative software also allows users to view subtitles, adjust the screen size and crop and stretch the image to fit the screen as desired. To listen to videos or music, the i8 features a 2.5mm headphone port and external speaker boasting SRS 3D acoustic technology.

Additionally, like the CES INNOVATIONS Award winning i85, the i8 also features Samsung’s innovative World Tour Guide function, which provides travel information covering 4,500 regions in 30 countries– helping users to plan trips and find their way while on the road.

The ultra-thin i8 also features i-movie mode, which offers users SVGA (800×592) MPEG-4 video and advanced editing controls. By using the camera’s Successive Recording mode, users can pause, and then resume filming of video clips without having to save the clips as individual files. Additionally, users can operate the camera’s optical zoom while filming and can engage a movie stabilizer to compensate for unwanted camera movement and subject blur.

In low-light situations, shooters can rest assured that their images will come out sharp and clear as the i8 is equipped with Samsung’s DIS (Digital Image Stabilization) image stabilization system and an ISO equivalent of 1600. When engaged, DIS helps to minimize the effects of hand shake and ensures that the best shots are captured even in dimly lit conditions.

Shooters can also take advantage of the camera’s numerous user-friendly features, including its Face Detection and Auto Red Eye Fix modes. Face Detection makes taking pictures of family and friends a snap as it automatically detects up to nine faces and adjusts focus and exposure to ensure better composition and image quality — all the user needs to do is point and shoot. Shooters can remove red-eye during image payback, or for even greater convenience, set the i8 to Auto Red Eye Fix to automatically detect and eliminate red-eye from their images as they are taken.
Another user-friendly feature of the i8 is its Function Description feature. Designed to reduce the intimidation factor of the cameras’ various modes, the Function Description automatically provides a brief and easy to understand description of each setting when scrolling through the cameras’ menus, helping the end-user determine which setting is appropriate for their current shooting scenario. The i8’s Photo Help Guide is another intuitive feature incorporated into the digital camera. Photo Help Guide offers the end-user a guided tour of how to take better images as well as easy-to-follow tips instructing them how to obtain excellent results.

I8: $299 MSRP — Available February 2008

Samsung Opto-Electronics America, Inc., Ridgefield Park, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Samsung Techwin Co., Ltd., Sungnam Kyungki-Do, Korea. Samsung Opto-Electronics markets a full line of auto focus cameras, zoom and digital cameras for the amateur as well as the professional under the Samsung brand name.

For full specifications and hi-res images visit the Samsung Camera website at: www.samsungcameraUSA.com