Samsung L210 Performance

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Samsung L210 Performance

Timing and Performance

About average performance overall, with some slower than average timings.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	2.8 seconds	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy and capture a picture.
Shutdown	2.0 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens.
Buffer clearing time	3.5 seconds (After 15 L/F JPEGs)	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.

About average times here, though startup is a hint slow.

Mode Switching
Play to Record, first shot	1.2 seconds	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to play	1.6 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture.
Display recorded image	1.4 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.

Mode switching times are on the slower side of average.

Shutter Response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus Wide	0.58 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.68 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Full Autofocus Wide Flash enabled	1.27 seconds	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position, with flash enabled.
Prefocused	0.25 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

Shutter response is again on the slower side of average at both wide angle and telephoto, at 0.58s and 0.68s respectively. Enabling the flash more than doubles shutter lag to 1.27s. "Prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure results in a lag time of 0.25 second, which is much slower than average.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	2.30 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Single Shot mode 1,024 x 768 JPEG	2.00 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Early shutter penalty?	Yes	Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous mode Motion Capture VGA only	0.16 second (6.33 frames per second); 30 frames total; 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 30 shots.
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG	1.39 second (0.72 frames per second); 15 frames total; 3.5 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous mode 1,024 x 768 JPEG	0.91 second (1.10 frames per second); 20 frames total; 3 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Flash recycling	7 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme III SD memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity also affects cycle times and burst mode performance, with higher ISOs generally increasing cycle times and reducing burst performance.

Shot-to-shot cycle times are a little sluggish, at about 2.30 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, though the camera does capture frames continuously at this rate. (That is, given a fast enough memory card, it doesn't have to pause every few frames to wait for the card to catch up.) Where the Samsung L210 performs is in its Motion Capture VGA mode, which captures 6.33 frames per second for a total of 30 frames. Though resolution is limited here, this is still a very fast frame rate. Normal Continuous shooting in large/fine JPEG results in a frame rate of 0.72 frames per second, which is a little slow. The flash takes about 7 seconds to recycle, which is about average.

Download Speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	4,309 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-769=USB 2.0 Low; Above 770=USB 2.0 High

Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, download speeds are very good.

Overall, the Samsung L210 is on the slower side of average, though results here aren't too bad overall. The camera's Motion Capture VGA setting outshines everything else, and at least provides some flexibility if you need to capture fast-paced action. Otherwise, the L210 isn't slow and it isn't fast, but it should definitely be able to handle everyday shooting needs without feeling too sluggish.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Average battery life for a lithium-ion design.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery, (Based on Samsung Measurement)	220

The Samsung L210 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a charger. Although battery life is pretty good, we recommend you pick up a spare battery and keep it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on Samsung's standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Samsung L210 accepts SD/MMC memory cards, and includes about 11MB of internal memory.

Image Capacity with 11MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal	Basic
3,456 x 2,736	Images	2	4	5
3,456 x 2,736	File Size	5.1 MB	2.7 MB	1.8 MB
3,072 x 2,304	Images	3	5	8
3,072 x 2,304	File Size	3.6 MB	1.9 MB	1.3 MB
2,592 x 1,944	Images	4	7	11
2,592 x 1,944	File Size	2.6 MB	1.4 MB	992 KB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	6	11	15
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	1.8 MB	960 KB	695 KB
1,024 x 768	Images	21	30	34
1,024 x 768	File Size	513 KB	364 KB	314 KB

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SDHC or SD memory card at least a 1GB card, preferably a 4GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings and video. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)