Anyone who's ever tried to take a self-portrait, arms stretched out full for that signature MySpace pose, will know it normally takes a few attempts to get a decent shot. Without being able to see what you're shooting it can be tricky to take a photo without heads being chopped off or horizons being wonky.

Having another preview monitor on the front of the camera is such a simple solution, but oddly something that had never been done until Samsung released its ST500 and ST550 compacts. Boasting both a large 3.5-inch wide touch-screen LCD monitor on the back, and a rather sneaky 1.5-inch LCD screen on the front, this innovative design gives you the chance to preview your composition whether you're behind or in front of the camera.

There are hardly any control buttons on the slim and glossy Samsung ST-500, meaning most of the camera settings have to be adjusted using the rear touch-screen monitor. Responsive and intuitive, the touch-screen's haptic vibration settings make it feel as natural to operate as a button control camera. Not only that, but a built-in sensor means the camera is intelligent enough to know when you tilt the device so you can operate menu functions such as playback simply by gesturing the camera left and right.

It's an odd technique at first and does mean that even the most stubborn of photographers will have to check out the instructions on how to operate rather than plunge right in. However, once you've been playing with the camera for a while and have got used to its Smart Gesture functions it feels natural and speedy enough.

One of the problems of the touch-screen is that you need to do a bit of background reading on functions and menu options if you want to make sure you can operate your camera swiftly (especially if you don't want to run the risk of missing an important shot). Unlike button control cameras, which allow you to scroll through menu options, you have to commit to an option in the menu, with only small graphic icons as a guide. Once you've played around with the settings and have become familiar with the options this isn't so much of a problem. But it's worth bearing in mind that the time needed to get acquainted with this device may be a little longer than usual.

With the ST500 powered off it's almost impossible to spot the front LCD monitor. However, power up the device and gently tap the glossy space next to the lens and the front display kicks into action. This monitor provides two functions; in most general shooting modes it acts as a handy composition preview, meaning you are able to frame your shots perfectly and experiment with a few more creative angles than you would if you were simply relying on guesswork. Switch the shooting mode to ‘Children', however, and the monitor plays a looped clown animation, designed to attract the attention of younger eyes and hopefully making it easier to capture a more interactive shot.

Venture into the shooting modes menu and you'll find the Samsung ST500 has a boastful selection of options; many of which focus on helping the photographer to capture better portraits. Smart Face Recognition allows you to store up to 20 faces in the camera's internal memory, prioritising focussing and giving you the option to search for friends and family in playback. For improved groups shots, Blink Detection Mode and Smile Mode can be set to automatically take a shot when everyone has their eyes open, or are smiling. Additionally, to cut down on post-production, the Beauty Shot mode will smooth out skin tones and adjust brightness levels to reduce rosiness.

When using the Samsung ST500 with the front monitor activated for self-shot purposes we did notice a small problem with eye contact. With the Smile Shot function in tow and the camera held at arm's length it was tricky at first to remember to look at the lens before smiling and activating the shutter. As the monitor sits left of the lens this does mean you sometimes end up with shots of you looking sideways. It takes a bit of training to remember to only use the front screen for composition.

Housing a 27mm Wide Angle lens that proves useful for larger group shots, the Samsung includes a 12.2-megapixel sensor as well as a 4.6x optical zoom, operated using a well-positioned zoom control situated on top of the camera body. Whilst the 27-124mm equivalent Schneider lens is coated to help prevent ghosting and flaring, we found most of the shots captured on the ST500 tended to look a little desaturated and lacked punchy colour. The camera didn't perform very well when it came to noise either, with shots captured at even the lowest ISO settings plagued with grain.

Image quality was also a problem with the ST500's video recording function. Although handy and very easy to switch from stills capture to video, the grainy footage seemed no better than movies shot on a mobile phone.

Verdict
The Samsung ST500 is a fun camera to operate. As well as looking slick and sophisticated, its original features, including its second front-facing monitor, large and tactile touchscreen monitor and Smart Gesture recognition, certainly stand this compact out from the crowd. Although it's a good model for partying and its Smile Recognition and Blink Detection make light work of group shots, don't expect much in the way of image quality. It's fine for snapshots but the lack of punchy colour and the presence of noise may trouble more enthusiastic photographers.

Company: Samsung

Contact: 0845 726 7864

Tags: liquid crystal display camera myspace samsung group touchscreen wide-angle lens zoom lens facial recognition system