Two strikes, it's out!

UPDATED:  I have to revise my review and give zero stars.  Our camera stopped working entirely.  The lens was stuck in the open position and wouldn't turn on, even after replacing the batteries.  We thought that maybe we got a bad one, so we exchanged it for a new camera.  That one lasted about a week before failing.  The second camera also had a stuck lens, but in that case the lens was crooked.  It went back too, and was replace with another brand of camera.

As a result, I no longer recommend the Samsung S860.
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The old review:


The Samsung S860 is a surprising little camera. For only $80, you get a pocket size, 8mp, 3x optical zoom camera with a lot of features. It's a little light, and has some quirks, but overall I am happy with the camera.

We purchased the S860 as a first camera for my 7 year old son. He is having a blast taking (surprisingly good) pictures and videos. The camera is easy to use – point and shoot. There is the usual variety of shooting modes. Facial recognition is available, and appears to work as promised. Menus can be a bit confusing, but once the initial set-up is taken care, of, you probably won’t care. Video performance is good, although the microphone is weak.  One of our favorite features is the ability to easliy capture stills from video.  Shutter lag is acceptable. The screen is adequately sized and looks good. Battery life has not been an issue even with all the video my son likes to take.

All of that is fine, but picture quality is why you buy a digital camera, and the S860 does not disappoint. Colors are true and detail is fairly sharp. Flash performance is decent. A 7 year old’s relatively unsteady little hands are able to take good, focused pictures.

It’s not all positive. The camera is very light and feels pretty flimsy, but has so far tolerated some abuse. The low battery indicator gives you exactly no warning – it appears briefly, then the camera shuts off, even if the lens is still open. Changing the batteries takes care of that, but it’s annoying.

It’s not the best camera in the house, but so far I’m happy with the Samsung S860.