As we enter the final nine cameras to review for my challenge I still have a number of pocket cameras that would fit the "Digicam" classification; and as the weather turns ugly and outdoor light becomes limited it is good to have something I can shoot quick shots with on a lunch break or indoors at a store or a mall with again for these reviews. Last week's challenge was one of these remaining Digicams the Samsung Digimax L60.
Up until 2017 Samsung was a major producer of Digital Cameras along with their other electronics such as cellphones and Home Entertainment electronics (TVs, BluRay players, Stereos, etc).
Samsung was also one of the first companies (and still is) to really push the whole "The camera on your Phone is better then any other camera you can buy!!!"
Because of this they are in large part to blame for the downturn in Pocket Cameras and even entry level interchangeable lens cameras. So it should be no surprise that Samsung axed their Camera department right before 2018 when Smartphone Manufacturers led out on a Crusade to convince the public that they don't need a camera because they have a Smartphone; and Samsung was leading that charge.
But let's turn back our time machine dial to a time when Samsung wanted you to buy cameras along with phones instead of buying a phone INSTEAD of a camera. We only need to turn back the clock to the Mid 2010s for this (so it is a lot more recent then people would think) but for this trip down memory lane we are going back a decade before that to the mid 2000's.
Released in 2006 the Samsung Digimax L60 is a small compact pocket camera from the transition where pocket cameras went from large somewhat un-wieldy bricks that barely fit in a large jacket pocket to small, slim devices that could fit inside the palm of your hand or a slim shirt pocket. The L60 is one of such first gen of sub-compact digicam (in the same era of the Casio I reviewed earlier) pocket cameras.
The mid 2000's was a golden era for Digital Camera as a number of ground breaking technology advances made it possible to have a camera that you could just as easily carry with you as one could with a cellphone.
As a result when you look up popular "Digicams" that are currently being sought after most (but not all such as the Olympus XZ-1) are of the smaller more compact designs like this one, namely the older Canon Powershot ELPH cameras (of which I own one and is still one left to review).
Many of these cameras trade in the ability to adjust settings, shoot in RAW or have analog control wheels or programmable fn buttons to make them small and easy to use, aka true "Point and Shoot" cameras and they were the first cameras that really brought every-day photography to the masses in before Smartphones drove in.
The Samsung Digimax L60 fits this all to a T. It has a fairly unassuming 6 megapixel 1/2.5" CCD sensor which while not great is certainly enough to get a nice clean snapshot of a birthday party or quick family group photo for a small print that goes in a collage.
Controls on this camera are no frills and it is one of those "So basic it is frustrating" sort of cameras to use of which I own and have already reviewed a number of cameras that fit into this category.
At this late in my challenge it is hard to find something that sets this particular pocket camera aside from any of the other no frills short zoom sub-compact pocket cameras I have shot this year. I can however say that it is not in the pile of "worst cameras I've reviewed" by far.
The screen is a little dim and hard to use in bright lighting but this is pretty common for early Digicams. It is still brighter then some even slightly newer digicams such as the Sony Cybershot S950 however so I find it useable in outdoor lighting.
The Digimax L60 has a fairly quick startup and shutdown time which is one of the first things I look for in any kind of pocket shooter. Battery life is solid as well, I was able to shoot it for the entire week of this review on a single charged battery.
Images from this camera are inconsistent which again, isn't uncommon for this era of Digicam. This comes in large part from a slow and somewhat un-reliable autofocus system often taking a photo when the camera is not actually fully in focus. So I did have a fair number out of focus shots I had to throw out.
As with the first generation of true pocket cameras this camera takes SD only not SDHC, so the biggest card you can put in it is a 2gb card. Since the camera does not shoot RAW the 6mp JPEG images even in the least amount of compression still fit close to 1000 images on a max 2gb card which is still more then enough for this sort of a camera to hold.
If one can get over the fact that the AF is not perfect and sometimes needs to re-acuire a lock with a second shot this is a fine little "digicam" for someone who wants that look and Aesthetic and something small they can put in a pants pocket or small pouch and go anywhere.
Since it shoots SD and not XD or Memory stick the memory cards are still fairly easy to get and you can put them into any standard SD card reader (even if they are of the slower, smaller capacity format).
This said the Samsung Digimax L60 fails squarely into the middle of the pack when it comes to my point and shoot camera collection. It is not terrible but it is not great either and shooting it is fairly un-inspired. It also does not get the clarity or sharpness of something like the Canon Powershot S90 or Olympus XZ-1 and lacks the zoom range of pocketable superzooms like the Panasonic ZS50 or Canon Powershot ELPH 190.
The only thing that makes this camera "unique" in my collection is that it is the only Samsung camera that I currently own, and maybe that is enough. It is a time capsule from a time where Samsung actually cared about making dedicated cameras instead of trying to convince you that their newest greatest smartphone was better then your friend's interchangeable lens camera.
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