At a glance, the Samsung WB2200F ($449.99) looks like a scale model of a pro D-SLR like the Canon EOS-1D X. But in reality it's a bridge-style superzoom that incorporates a vertical shooting grip and controls into its design. Its lens covers a 60x range, but doesn't reach further than competing 50x models; instead, it covers a wider angle to achieve a longer zoom ratio. As you'd expect from a Samsung camera, Wi-Fi is built in for quick image sharing. It's not without its flaws; images are on the soft side and noise is an issue. If you can live with a shorter zoom range, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200( at Amazon) is a better choice, while the Fujifilm FinePix S1($448.00 at Amazon) is superior if you need an extreme telephoto reach.

Design and Features
The WB2200F($599.30 at Amazon) is big, but it's not as heavy as you'd expect from its size. It measures 4.8 by 4.7 by 4.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.3 pounds. Despite its large size, there's no hot shoe, so you'll have to live with the built-in flash. Other bridge cameras, like our Editors' Choice, the premium-priced Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10($698.00 at Amazon), include an expansion shoe. The RX10 is smaller at 3.5 by 5.1 by 4.1 inches, but magnesium construction and a larger lens combine to give it a 1.8-pound weight. The Sony has a larger (1-inch) image sensor, but its lens only covers a 24-200mm range at a fixed f/2.8 aperture. The WB2200F utilizes the same 1/2.3-inch sensor size found in most compact cameras, which makes it possible to cover a 20-1,200mm range, albeit at an aperture that starts at f/2.8 and narrows to f/5.9 by the time you've zoomed all the way in.

There's plenty of room on the body for physical controls, and Samsung has taken advantage of it. The top plate houses the mode dial, a control wheel, the shutter release and zoom rocker, the power button, and the Direct Link Wi-Fi button. The shutter release and zoom rocker, and the control wheel are mirrored on the vertical shooting grip so you can more comfortably control the camera when holding it in portrait mode; there's a locking switch to disable these secondary controls if desired.

You'll find an EVF toggle switch on the rear (there's no eye sensor to facilitate automatic switching between the rear LCD and EVF), as well as buttons to start video recording, access the menu, playback and delete images, and launch the Fn overlay display. It gives you quick control over the shutter speed, aperture, EV compensation, ISO, white balance, metering pattern, autofocus mode, focus point, face detection settings, flash output, image stabilization settings, and image size and compression settings.

A group of four controls surrounds the OK button; they adjust the flash output, macro focusing mode, self-timer and drive mode, and the amount of information displayed on the rear LCD. There are two EV compensation buttons, one at the top for use in landscape orientation and one at the bottom for portrait.

Samsung includes an iFn control on the lens barrel; it's similar in function to the control used on lenses for its NX mirrorless system. Its standard function gives you direct control over aperture, exposure compensation, ISO, and white balance. It can be set to an alternate mode, called iFn Plus; it changes the function of certain controls when pressed. The shutter button, zoom rocker, and exposure compensation button all have customizable secondary functions when used in conjunction with the iFn Plus system. One thing that is missing is a framing assist; other long zoom cameras like the Fuji FinePix S1 offer this control, which widens the field of view with one touch, allows you to reacquire your subject, and then returns the lens to its previous zoomed in position. It's a useful function when tracking subjects at telephoto distances, and is sadly missing here.

The rear display is 3 inches in size and features a 460k-dot resolution. It's a fixed panel without support for touch input, and doesn't look as sharp to my eye as the 921k-dot vari-angle display that Nikon includes on the Coolpix P600($246.50 at Amazon). There's also an EVF; it's a little small, but its 201k-dot resolution provides adequate sharpness. It's not on the same level as the larger 921k-dot EVF that Fuji puts in the FinePix S1, but it does get the job done.

As you'd expect from Samsung, Wi-Fi is built in. It works with the free Samsung Remote Camera app, and can connect via Wi-Fi or NFC. You can transfer images from the WB2200F directly to your phone (the camera broadcasts its on network), or use your handheld iOS or Android device as a remote control. There are some limitations; you can adjust the lens, control the flash output, set the self-timer, and fire the shutter, but you can't choose a focus point or adjust shooting controls, and when you're shooting in remote mode the file size is limited to 10 megapixels. If you connect to a home Wi-Fi network it's possible to send images and videos directly from the camera to your Facebook, Picasa, YouTube, or Dropbox account. Instagram and Twitter aren't built into the camera, so you'll need to first transfer images to your phone in order to post to those popular networks.

Performance and Conclusions

Performance and Conclusions
The WB2200F is a little slow to start and shoot, requiring about 2.2 seconds to do so. More troublesome is its focus speed; at its widest angle it requires 0.6-second to confirm focus and fire off a shot, and that slows to 1.9 seconds at its telephoto extreme. In field tests, the focus system occasionally failed to lock on to a static target, and required several attempts before it could manage an in-focus shot. Burst shooting is quick, at 6.9fps, but it stops after 7 shots and requires about 7.3 seconds for all of those images to be stored on a memory card. The Fuji FinePix S1 is a lot faster all around; it starts in 1.4 seconds, locks focus in 0.1-second at the wide end and 0.7-second at its longest focal length, and can capture a burst of 8 shots at 7.8fps.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness of images captured by the WB2200F. A center-weighted average score of 1,800 lines per picture height is required for an image to be deemed sharp, but the WB2200F falls short of that mark. It scored 1,774 lines on the test, which is quite close; the center third of the frame shows a lot of detail (2,036 lines), but the middle third is on the soft side (1,608 lines) and the outer third drops all the way to 1,247 lines. Some softness at the edges is normal for a compact camera, but the softness through the middle third is a problem. In high contrast scenes, such as branches or foliage against the sky, the WB2200F is prone to showing purple color fringing. Competing models like the Olympus Stylus SP-100 capture more detail throughout the frame; it scores 2,604 lines on the same test.

Imatest also checks images for noise, which can add unwanted grain and detract from detail as the sensitivity to light (measured in ISO) is increased. The WB2200F offers middling performance here, keeping noise under 1.5 percent through ISO 400. I took a close look at photos from our ISO test sequence on a calibrated NEC MultiSync PA271W( at Amazon) display; fine lines that are distinct at ISO 100 have already started to run together at ISO 400, and at ISO 800 they have melded into a ball of mush. The Fuji SL1000 fares better; it also keeps noise under 1.5 percent through ISO 400, but images show more detail at ISO 800 and it offers the Raw shooting capability that the WB2200F lacks.

Video is recorded in MP4 format at up to 1080p30 quality. The sharpness and colors are on par with other cameras of this type, but there are some issues; rolling shutter, which causes the bottom of the frame to appear to advance before the top, is evident, and the sound of the lens slowly refocusing as the scene changes is audible. By default, the sound cuts out completely while you're adjusting the zoom, which can be disconcerting; you can disable the Zoom Mute function via the menu. There's a micro HDMI port to connect to an HDTV, and a micro USB port for computer connectivity and charging. Samsung doesn't include an external battery charger, so you'll need to plug the WB2200F into the wall using the included AC adapter to recharge its battery in-camera. Standard SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards are supported.

The Samsung WB220F has a lens that covers an incredible zoom range, which can capture scenes at ultra-wide to extreme telephoto angles. Its control layout is solid, and while the integrated vertical shooting grip adds bulk, it makes capturing vertical shots at long focal lengths a bit more practical, especially when utilizing the EVF. Wi-Fi is built in for quick sharing, and limited remote control is possible via your smartphone. But it's not all good news; the camera is, at times, painfully slow to focus, its lens falls a bit shy of our sharpness requirements, and when the ISO is pushed beyond 400, images turns to mush. Given its asking price, we have a tough time recommending the WB2200F for purchase.

The Fujifilm FinePix S1 is available for $50 more and, while its 50x lens doesn't cover as wide of an angle and exhibits some color fringing, it offers a lot more for your money, and its focus performance is much faster. If you don't need such a long zoom, the Panasonic FZ200 is another excellent alternative; even with a lens that's "only" 24x, it can zoom to 600mm and maintains an f/2.8 aperture throughout its range. The absolute best bridge camera we've tested, our Editors' Choice Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10, has a much shorter zoom ratio, but its image sensor and f/2.8 Zeiss lens trounce the competition in image quality. But you'll have to lay down serious money to get it, as the RX10 is priced at $1,300.

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