Samsung ST30 review

At the time of the launch, Samsung claimed the ST30 was the world's smallest digital compact camera with a zoom, and it is actually smaller than a credit card.

Inside the diminutive aluminium casing is a 10.1 megapixel CCD. The sensor is slightly smaller than many other digital compact cameras' at 1/3 inch which could cause problems with noise.

The Samsung ST30 is aimed at the point and shooter who wants to shoot parties etc and wants a camera that's small and looks good in front of friends and family. The camera is full of auto settings so that you don't have to think about anything apart from what to point the tiny lens at.

Because of the miniature size, the back of the camera is cluttered with buttons and the screen is slightly smaller than the standard size at 2.4 inches.

The function button is used to access a small menu with the most used features such as resolution, file compression, ISO, white-balance, face detection, focusing and metering options among others. This prevents you having to hunt through pages and pages of options in the main menu. Helpfully however, you can also access the function menu options in the main menu.

Most aspects are controlled automatically by the ST30, but it's still possible to select spot and centre weighted metering instead of the default multi metering.

Only two focusing modes are available, centre spot and multi spot. Interestingly, the camera defaults the centre focusing option.

For photographers that want to add their own individual style to their pictures, the ST30 sports nine picture styles including Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative and Custom RGB. They each apply an effect.