Full Review

INTRO
I seem to go through digital cameras quicker than the average consumer...I also seem to be a little more choosy. Though the Samsung L85 might be more bulky than you're used to, you'll forget about that when you learn to use all of its features. Basic simple operation remains intact, with every possible feature and control ability hidden within its intuitive interface. Let's get started...

FEATURES
My main reason for choosing the L85 is because it offers a full manual control mode. Though I definitely consider myself an amateur photographer, I intend to improve...and having the ability to adjust aperture, shutter speed, focus, and everything else is very handy. An assist mode lets you choose aperture-priority or shutter-speed priority to compose your shot...this is sort of a "semi-automatic" mode :)
> Automatic mode can be used, allowing the camera to analyze & readjust itself for just about any picture being taken.
> Prog Mode is semi-automatic, offering the user some additional control over exposure bias, coloring, and ISO. (One should note that the ISO range of this camera is only 50-400...though that seems to be good enough to use with all the additional control features)
> What's "Motion Capture Mode" you ask? Most cameras have the ability to capture several photos in rapid succession. The Samsung L85 can do that. But the special motion capture mode provided by the L85 allows you to actually film a short duration of video, and it converts every frame into a digital still shot. Perfect for analyzing a golf swing, etc.
> Wide Screen Mode seems unnecessary to me...it basically just takes a photo like any other only sizes it with a 14:9 ratio instead of 4:3. Anyone that wants to bother with the included software can learn to crop a photo to match this effect.
> Scene mode provides an abundant array of presets, ranging from Beach & Snow, Night, Sunset, Dawn, Fireworks, Closeup, and Portrait. Most of these modes allow virtually no control over anything except the flash. But for a simple snapshot I'd say this is preferred!
...Other than these shooting modes, an ample supply of special effects and adjustment features can be found in the one-button push of the menu. Changing auto-focus options, image compression, and more high-end configurations is also much simpler & quicker than in any other digital camera I've used.

PHOTO QUALITY / SHOOTING
Right out of the box, the photos taken by the L85 were more or less perfect. Basic point & shoot pictures around my condo turned out fairly sharp with accurate colors. Powerup time was shorter than expected; Time between charging the flash & taking pictures was exceptionally short. After I skimmed a few pages of the manual and played around with the Aperture-Priority shooting mode...I was able to catch some unbelievably sharp photos containing focused closeups and some great composition effects. Whenever I cranked the resolution up to the full 8.1 megapixels, any shot that I spent time focusing & previewing turned out absolutely professional. Other reviews of this camera mention that there is some minor "fringing" that occurs often. In summary, I'll say that this is referring to a minor blur that would occur when taking shots containing sharp contrast. I took some photos of palm trees against a clear blue sky, some closeup silhouette shots of grass blades, etc. These all seemed crisp and perfect...so my overall advice is that photos taken with this camera are usually perfect and sometimes SUPERB.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS
The L85 lets you choose from a few "Sharpness" settings from its menus; The highest of which is called TIFF. I looked into this term, and it is the highest available lossless compression method for a digital photo. I've never even seen this feature in a digital camera...though one should note that a photo taken with this sharpness is somewhere around 23mb at full resolution! Other than this, I noticed that the autofocus gets a little slow in low light, so you should always use the AF assist lamp that lights up your subject to have something to focus on! Deleting photos and viewing them in different ways after shooting is all simple and fast...with intuitive interface design and a clear TFT screen to see every detail. The lens of this camera is heavily recessed in the zoom, giving it some extra protection against dust or accidental contact. Every button on the L85 is in the right place...the important ones are big, the advanced ones are small. Superior engineering and artful details make this camera rise way above its class. If you can't afford a digital SLR quite yet, just buy this and you'll basically get the same features!

CONCLUSION
I was lucky enough to find a crazy deal for this camera, I paid only $200. It retails for around $350 and I would have paid that too. If you don't care that it's a little bulky, I assure you this camera will pull you into the artform of photography. Though it's intimidating variety of features may seem overwhelming to a complete beginner, a few minutes spent with the manual should allow any person to enjoy everything the L85 has to offer. Highly recommended.