Also know as the L74 Wide, the L74W specialises in taking wide-angle shots. Its 3.6x zoom lens starts at a 28mm-equivalent angle of view, letting you fit more into your shot, which tends to be much more useful in everyday situations. For example, a 28mm-equivalent lens can get more people into a group photo, or frame a tall building without forcing you to step back as far as you would with a 35 or 38mm-equivalent lens. In an attempt to help keep your shots steady, the L74W includes Samsung's Advanced Shake Reduction, an electronic image stabilisation system that boosts ISO sensitivity and speeds up the shutter for high-speed and zoomed-in shots.
The solid-feeling L74W is actually rather slim, measuring approximately 25mm thick. Its metal body is a nick magnet, though; the black surface seemed to pick up scratches at the slightest tap. The camera itself feels quite durable, but you won't keep it in pristine shape for long. A 3-inch touch screen LCD takes up the entirety of the camera's back. It serves as the camera's primary control interface, supplemented only by two buttons and the zoom rocker. Every setting, from flash to white balance, must be changed through the touch screen menus. As with most touch screen interfaces, navigating with the L74W's screen feels awkward and unresponsive, and repeated taps are often necessary to access the right function.
The solid-feeling L74W is actually rather slim, measuring approximately 25mm thick. Its metal body is a nick magnet, though; the black surface seemed to pick up scratches at the slightest tap. The camera itself feels quite durable, but you won't keep it in pristine shape for long. A 3-inch touch screen LCD takes up the entirety of the camera's back. It serves as the camera's primary control interface, supplemented only by two buttons and the zoom rocker. Every setting, from flash to white balance, must be changed through the touch screen menus. As with most touch screen interfaces, navigating with the L74W's screen feels awkward and unresponsive, and repeated taps are often necessary to access the right function.
For jet-setting photographers, the L74W offers a unique feature, a useful little on-camera guidebook called the World Tour Guide. While it contains information for countries and cities all over the world, it's far from comprehensive; it mostly lists landmarks and places to visit, with a small snapshot and a short text blurb to go with each place. Unfortunately, the details are pretty sparse; descriptions of landmarks like the Empire State Building and the Bronx Zoo don't even list their addresses, never mind helpful details such as hours and events.
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