Name: Galaxy Ace 3
Brand: Samsung

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Camera and video

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3's camera comes in it a pretty average 5MP, with a VGA sensor sat on the front. This puts it behind the HTC Desire 500, as that comes in with an 8MP sensor.

The camera can also be launched from the lock screen, which makes it a little quicker. Unfortunately, the slower processor meant that it took a second to load up, so you're left wondering if the Ace 3 was doing anything.

The dual-core processor made the camera app feel a little sluggish throughout, with autofocus taking a second. It wasn't a major problem, but was noticeable.

It also has the annoying habit of remembering which camera you were using last, so if you were using the front facing camera, you will be greeted by your face.

There are so many options to play with as well; Auto, Best Photo, Continuous Shot, Sound & Shot, Panorama, Sports and Night.

It is quite a comprehensive list, with each one being pretty self-explanatory. Samsung's venture into the camera market, with the Samsung Galaxy Camera, is really paying its dividends here.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 will never be a match for the Galaxy S4 Zoom for sheer photographic power, and the amount of photographic options is understandably less than on more expensive Galaxy models.

Buried within the settings menu are all the usual tools you'd expect to find on camera phones. There are two menus, one accessed via the menu button and one via the little on-screen gear button.

Quick settings allow you to toggle flash, autofocus, timer, video recording mode and automatic sharing. The latter of these allows you to share quicker with people that the Ace 3 detects in the photo, via ChatON or Wi-Fi Direct.

Deeper in the settings you can change the photo size, focus mode, metering and ISO levels.The Galaxy Ace 3 naturally shoots in 4MP wide mode, as the 5MP is saved for 4:3 photos.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 camera also comes with an single LED flash. It is bright enough in lower-light conditions, but will never be a match for the more powerful flashes on even the most compact of cameras.

It's disappointing that the Drama mode, Animated photo, Best and Beauty face modes don't make it over to the Galaxy Ace 3, but again, given the lower price tag this is just something to be tolerated. Samsung's Picture in picture is also unavailable. Such a shame.

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Video

Rather than having two separate apps (or one app with a little toggle switch in the corner), the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 continues the trend of bundling both the camera and video camera into one tidy app.

I got used to it, but initial plays with this app were a little confusing. I tapped the Video recording button, expecting it to switch to video mode, but it started recording. This took a few seconds get used to, but it is a bigger feature than it originally appears to be.

It means that switching between taking photos, and recording videos, is a lot smoother and easier. Disappointingly, unlike the HTC Desire 500, there was no option to take stills whilst filming.

The video recording also includes the ability to zoom whilst filming. This is a feature that is too often missed on other devices, even though it is probably just a minor feature. Anyway, it's there, so smiles all round.

The video recording quality is rather good, being able to record at 30fps at 1080p HD quality. HD video recording is slowly hitting more and more phones, but it is nice to be able to have higher-quality recordings, meaning it is suitable for a much wider range of occasions.