It really is just for compositional purposes therefore. The rear LCD display is, fortunately, the regulation 3-inches in size in 4:3 aspect ratio and with 230k-dot resolution, the front panel being a low-ish 61k dots only. An 'Easy Self Shot' feature here allows only the front screen to be activated (the back turned off) when taking self-portraits. With a manufacturer's asking price of £179.99, we get a front screen 1.5-inches in size that is noticeably small by current standards, and in that respect is an echo of the similarly teeny backscreens of consumer digital compacts of a decade ago. Thus, in being one of three such enabled models for 2011 (the other two being the ST700 and PL120) the response the PL170 immediately prompts is 'why didn't anyone think of this before?' Enabling easier self-portraits, or the playing of an animation to mesmerize the kids long enough to snatch a decent portrait, it's one of those glaringly obvious yet inspired ideas.

Since 2009 Samsung has uniquely pioneered what it terms the 'dual view design' - back and front LCD screens on its digital compacts - and the latest affordable example is to be found in the PL170. The Samsung PL170 is available in black, silver, purple or pink, priced at £179.99 / $229.99. As part of this DualView system the PL170 also offers a large 3 inch rear LCD screen, plus there's a 5x, 26-130mm lens, 720p high-definition video recording, Smart Filter with various creative effects, and a clever Smart Auto mode which automatically chooses from 16 different scene settings. The Samsung PL170 is a new 16 megapixel point and shoot camera with a twist - it has a second 1.5 inch LCD screen on the front which makes it much easier to take self-portrait pictures and videos.

Samsung intelli studio review