Last year the breakthroughs for digital compacts were better low light capabilities and larger screens.

This year it’s the turn of Face Recognition (FR) and ever-larger zooms crammed into ever-smaller bodies.

Though Samsung’s sophisticated, solidly built NV7 OPS misses out on FR, it does tick the other boxes and boast an impressive 7x optical zoom lens (38-270mm in 35mm film camera terms), the barrel for which stands defiantly proud of the 2cm-thin body when not in use.

As we know, shooting at the extreme telephoto end of such a zoom throws up the possibility of hand wobble blurring images – known as ‘camera shake’. To combat this Samsung has included Optical Picture Stabilisation (OPS) in tandem with Advanced Shake Reduction.

The NV7’s other talking point is its unique ‘Smart Touch’ operation whereby you get an L-shape of unmarked buttons surrounding the 2.5in viewing screen. Run your finger along the piano-like keys and their functions pop up on screen.

There is a more familiar mode dial atop the camera with the main shooting options accessible (including Mpeg4 video) – mirrored on screen with a virtual version to save taking your eyes away from it.

Next to this are a nicely springy shutter button, neat pop-up flash, and the recessed power button. Press this and the NV7 readies itself for the first shot in a speedy second.

Starting at maximum wide angle, the camera takes around three seconds to reach its full 270mm equivalent setting, the zoom mechanism making a slightly distracting mechanical sound. Though the screen image at the full extent of the zoom is slightly jittery, the reasonably weighty build means you can get a firm grip.

The images speak for themselves by being some of the most pleasingly crisp we’ve seen from a compact with such a range. There’s some purple fringing visible but only on close inspection.

Pictures are written to a 19MB internal memory, though there’s a slot for a SD memory card. Apart from the fact that the NV7 takes some patience to properly familiarise yourself with, it will reward you with vivid and razor sharp close-ups.

Vista compatible: N/A