Not to be deterred by the poor sales of the original Galaxy Camera, Samsung has gone ahead and unveiled its successor – the Galaxy Camera 2. Like its predecessor, the Galaxy Camera 2 boasts a 16MP BSI camera with a 1/2.33-inch sensor size, accompanied by an LED flash. 

Even the zooming range stays the same at 21x. However, the updated ISP and software algorithms means that the Galaxy Camera 2 should be able to produce better pictures than its predecessor.

“Consumers love the Galaxy Camera, and this next-generation version was designed to improve on the successful predecessor, with upgraded and new features that will enhance the photography experience,” said Myoung Sup Han, Executive Vice President and Head of the Imaging Business Team at Samsung Electronics.

Most of the changes on the Galaxy Camera 2 are under the hood and include a 1.6GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. The battery size has also been increased to 2000mAh, which coupled with software tweaks and enhancements should greatly boost the battery life of the camera compared to the original. Other notable hardware specs include 8GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and a 4.8-inch 720p resolution Super Clear Touch LCD display.

There are a lot of new goodies on the software side including Tag and Go, Photo Beam, Smart Mode, Remote Viewfinder and Mobile Link.  

Sharing is made simple with advanced Wi-Fi and NFC capabilities that accompany the Galaxy Camera 2. The all-new innovative ‘Tag & Go’ feature makes it easy to connect the Galaxy Camera 2 to NFC-enabled smartphones and devices. All it takes is a simple tap of the smartphone and camera and devices will be  automatically paired and transfer images swiftly using a host of clever functions. With Photo Beam, the picture being viewed on the camera is automatically sent to the paired smartphone, while Mobile Link, allows photographers to select images they wish to transfer to their smartphone at their leisure. For more creative shooting, Remote Viewfinder lets photographers control the camera using the smartphone, providing greater freedom for setting up and snapping shots.

Samsung has also laid emphasis on video recording this time by including a Smart Mode, which allows users to select from more than 28 different pre-set modes, especially optimised for video recording. There is also a Smart mode Selfie Alarm to make sure you capture that perfect selfie.

The Galaxy Camera 2 will be available for display at Samsung’s booth in CES, where the company will also unveil more information about the pricing and availability of the device.