Samsung PL50 | SL202

Samsung's PL50 came out in 2009 as a plain, easy little camera — the kind you hand to anyone. There's not much to fiddle with: point it, press the button, done. What it does have is a bright-ish wide lens for indoor shots, a light body that vanishes in a pocket, and that warm, slightly soft older-camera look people are chasing now. In purple it's the most playful of its colours.

THE LOOKS

In purple, the PL50 is a rounded little rectangle in a soft, muted violet — 89 × 56.5 × 21.5mm, 116g. The screen takes up most of the back, the lens sits just left of centre, and the buttons are few and simple. There's no grip and no bumps; it's a smooth slab that slides into a pocket and stays put, light enough that you forget it's there. Also in black, silver, grey, and pink.

THE SPECS

The lens starts nice and wide — good for fitting a group or a room in — and opens fairly bright at that end, so indoor shots hold up better than you'd expect from a cheap camera. The sensor gives that warm, slightly soft look these are loved for. A handy Frame Guide lets you take a photo, then use it as a faint outline to line up the next one exactly — great for swapping who's in the group shot. One honest note: no stabiliser and barely any zoom, so keep still and shoot in decent light. Records simple video, not HD. 89 × 56.5 × 21.5mm, 116g.

DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS

• A wide lens that copes indoors: starts wide to fit a group and opens fairly bright, so dim-room shots hold up better than most cheap cameras.
• Frame Guide for perfect group shots: take one photo, then line the next up against a faint outline of it — swap who's in the picture, keep the framing.
• That warm, slightly soft look: the older-style sensor gives photos the early digital feel people are hunting these cameras down for.

THE VERDICT

The PL50 doesn't have a headline feature and doesn't pretend to — it's a simple, cheap, cheerful camera. What you get is a wide lens that copes indoors, that warm early look people want, and a body light enough to carry without thinking. There's no stabiliser and barely any zoom, so it's happiest in daylight shooting people and scenes close by. In purple it leans into the fun, unfussy side of what it is.