Samsung WB750 – A compact camera with low-light abilities

At first sight, the Samsung WB750 looks like many other recent compact cameras: it has a thin design, a large 3” LCD display (480×320) in the back and few manual controls on its body. However, the real coolness of the Samsung WB750 is its sensor. This camera uses a Back Side Illuminated (BSI) image sensor which is much more sensitive to light than standard ones.

The idea behind BSI is that there are less layers between the light and the sensing surface of the chip when compared to standard sensors. Because the light has less layers to travel through, the loss of information is greatly reduced.

In the real world, this means that the camera manufacturers can use this breakthrough to increase image quality, or reduce pricing (by using smaller sensors). In this instance, Samsung has chosen to improve the WB750’s low-light abilities.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to test one in low-light conditions, so we can’t vouch for the actual results, but on paper, the theory holds up. Actually, the same type of sensors are starting to make it into smartphones.

If you are curious about the standard photos specifications, the WB750 has a 12.5 Megapixel sensor and a lens that has a 24-432mm focal length, which means a 18X optical zoom! There is a built-in optical image stabilizer, which is supplemented by a digital stabilizer. There is no information on the ISO sensitivity for the aperture range, so I can’t even “guesstimate” the low-light performance, but in theory, it should be good for its category.