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Samsung adds Wi-Fi to cameras and camcorders, announces $379 WB850F with 21x zoom

Samsung adds Wi-Fi to cameras and camcorders, announces $379 WB850F with 21x zoom

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Samsung announced a refresh to its camera line today at CES, with Wi-Fi connectivity headlining the cameras' new features.

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Samsung WB850F
Samsung WB850F

Samsung makes just about every gadget under the sun, and the company's starting to realize the value in connecting all its devices together. That's why it's adding Wi-Fi connectivity into a number of its new point-and-shoot cameras, introducing the new Smart camera lineup. Chief among the new cameras is the $379 WB850F, the latest in Samsung's line of superzoom cameras. The WB850F offers 21x optical zoom in an f/2.8 lens, and a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor. It also has a 3-inch AMOLED screen, which should look familiar to Samsung Galaxy S owners, along with GPS and 1080p video recording capability at 30 frames per second. But the WB850F's hallmark new feature, like the also-new DV300F (which was announced last week), WB150F, and ST200F cameras and QF20, Q20, and W300 camcorders, is its Wi-Fi radio. The new models can wirelessly upload photos and video to Facebook, YouTube and the like, or back media up using Samsung's new Auto PC backup feature. The connected devices can also work as ad-hoc Wi-Fi networks, so you can connect the cameras to your computer or smartphone without needing a Wi-Fi hotspot nearby.

On the lower end of the spectrum, Samsung announced the ST76 and ST66, two basic point-and-shoot cameras that pack solid specs for $129 and $119, respectively: f/2.5 aperture, 5x optical zoom, and 720p video recording. All of Samsung's new cameras will be out in this quarter, with the majority coming in March and April.