Samsung NX100 Brief Hands-on Preview

Preview based on a pre-production Samsung NX100

New new new samsung was the first company outside the Little Four Thirds wide range to launch a mirrorless interchangable relationships picture digital photographic camera. The incredibly DSLR-like NX10 designed little pressure about its mirrorless development, focusing instead on providing acquainted capbilities and actions in less scaly program with little relationships. Now its sibling design, the NX100 needs a a little bit different strategy - it eschews the conventional design of the NX10 and instead preserves the easier review of a lightweight picture digital photographic camera. And, although its stylistic minimalism makes it appear somewhat monolithic, it's almost similar in sizing to its apparent co-workers - the Panasonic GF1 and Olympus E-P2.

The power digital camera's more lightweight measurements sound right of Samsung's formerly declared 20-50mm F3.5-5.6 'compact zoom capability ability capability lens' that comes together with the NX100. It's a sinkable zoom capability ability capability that is instantly just like the Olympus 14-42mm kit zoom capability ability capability for Little Four Thirds. It isn't picture continuous and, beginning at 30 mm comparative, isn't quite as versatile as most kit zooms (which usually start at 27 or 28mm equiv), but it does mean the picture digital photographic camera program continues to be awesome and little even with the zoom capability ability capability set up.

The actual requirements is quite just like the NX10 - it uses the same 14.6 mega-pixel indication, power and wonderful VGA-equivalent OLED display but it income a wide range of features and modifications that NX10 entrepreneurs will wish to get later on firmware up-dates. However there's one significant omission - the NX100 doesn't have a built-in display.

Probably the greatest obtain is a operate New new new samsung has known as i-Function. The two relationships released together with the NX100 - there's a 20mm F2.8 primary as well as the 20-50mm - both operate an 'iFn' option on their staying flanks that allow the concentrate jewelry to be used to control various picture digital photographic camera features. Based on getting operate iFn can be used to improve shutter quantity, aperture and visibility contract with the option to add ISO and shiny stability, determined by on how you way to use the picture digital photographic camera.

In addition there are a sequence of changes that help create the picture digital photographic camera more personalized - the option to choose the greatest ISO value the picture digital photographic camera will use in Vehicle ISO, for example. In themselves these are little changes but they're the types of solutions that allow customers to better modify the picture digital photographic camera to their way of managing, which we like to see.

The NX100's unadorned design makes it look rather large but it's of a similar size to the Olympus E-P2 (and, consequently Panasonic's GF1), despite using a larger sensor. It can't compete with the whittled-down minimalism of Sony's NEX-5 though.
When the standard kit zooms are taken into account, the NEX loses some of its size advantage, particularly against the Samsung and Olympus which have retractable zooms. However, while the Olympus and Sony both offer ranges of around 28-82mm equivalent, the Samsung offers the more restrictive 30-75mm. It's also worth noting that both the other combinations here offer image stabilization, either in the camera or in the zoom lens, which the Samsung doesn't.

Accessories

Alongside the NX100, Samsung has launched a range of accessories, including a flashgun, GPS unit and EVF that slots into the back of the camera.

	The SEF-15A flash has a guide number of 15 (at ISO 100), giving it a similar output to the built-in units in most DSLRs. It's powered by two AAA batteries and, though it can cover focal lengths as wide as 28mm equivalent, it cannot be tilted or bounced.
	Samsung has gone down the now familiar sub-hot shoe accessory port route.
	This allows connections of the optional EVF10 viewfinder. It's a 201,000 dot unit, giving an effective resolution of 320 x 224 pixels. It offers 0.83x magnification and 98% coverage.
	There's also a GPS unti available that slots into the hot shoe. There are a series of menu options on the camera to control it but, having only seen a mockup it's not clear the degree to which the unit will communicate with the camera.

Original Article:www.dpreview.com

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Samsung NX20: First Impressions Review

Positioned here to the left of the new NX210, the NX20 is Samsung's flagship mirrorless camera, and like its predecessor the NX10 it features a DSLR-like form factor with an electronic viewfinder.

On a recent trip to Samsung's Seoul headquarters I got the opportunity to use the new NX20, and get a feel for how it performs. I only had a short time with a pre-production camera, but overall, my impressions of its handling and performance are very positive. Certainly, anyone who has used and liked the NX20's predecessor, the NX10, will find little to complain about in the new model, and much that is very familiar.

Where it sits in the lineup

The NX20 sits at the top of Samsung's totally refreshed NX lineup, above the NX210 and NX1000. All three are based around the same 20MP CMOS sensor and all offer eight frame-per-second continuous shooting and Wi-Fi-connectivity and control, but the NX20 includes a handful of feature unique within the range.
The NX210 doesn't include a viewfinder, nor is its OLED screen articulated - making it less expensive - but it steps forward from the NX200 by adding Wi-Fi, faster continuous shooting and the option to use a cable shutter release and proprietary external microphone. The NX1000 is less expensive still, and features a plastic body, VGA rear screen and retractable kit zoom. Here we'll mainly look at the features of the NX20 that it offers over these other cameras, since they are what makes it the range-topping model.

Articulated 'Clear' AMOLED display

Externally, the most obvious difference between the NX20 and its predecessor is an articulated rear screen. The 3" AMOLED display offers VGA-equivalent resolution in the now-familiar Samsung 'pentile' arrangement, giving a perceptual resolution higher than its relatively-low dot-count of 614k dots might suggest. It's the same underlying OLED panel that we've seen on all of the NX models so far, and as such it is contrasty and detailed, with a wide viewing angle. Articulation makes the screen that bit more usable, of course, especially when it comes to shooting video or stills from high and low angles.

In terms of handling, the NX20 improves on its predecessor by adding both articulation to the rear display screen, and a higher-resolution electronic viewfinder.

The NX20's display itself might offer the same specification as the previous-generation NXs, but there is one significant design change - the air-gap between the display and protective covering has been eliminated by filling it with a UV-cured resin that reduces internal reflections to improve contrast and visibility in bright lighting conditions. Samsung claims that this 'Clear AMOLED' display offers a 20% improvement in contrast ratio and, although I wasn't able to test the NX20 alongside an NX10, it does seem to deliver a genuine benefit in terms of clarity, and I was impressed by how usable the screen is in direct sunlight.
Aside from the articulated screen, the NX20 handles in a very similar way to the NX10. The main difference from more recent cameras like the NX100 and NX200 the provision of an electronic viewfinder, but the grip too has been changed - it is now more pronounced, making the NX20 a generally 'rounder' and more comfortable camera to hold. Where the NX200 looks sharp and stylish, the NX20 looks softer, curvier and more welcoming.

At the heart of the NX20 is a 20.3MP Samsung-made CMOS sensor - the same sensor as that used in the NX200 (and the other newly-released NXs).	From the rear, you can see the NX20's 3in Clear AMOLED screen, which is articulated along its leftmost edge, and its SVGA electronic viewfinder.
From the top, the NX20 looks a lot like the original NX10, but there are are two significant additions to its exposure mode dial - 'Wi-Fi' and 'C', for accessing the camera's wireless functionality and custom shooting banks, respectively.	As you can see from this image, despite the DSLR-style form factor, the NX20 is an impressively compact camera.

The softer, more rounded design belies a serious feature set though - 8fps at full-resolution and an electronic first-curtain shutter allowing a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 sec with reduced shutter lag (40 milliseconds) are both pretty impressive. These improvements will be welcomed by enthusiast photographers, as will a new 'Custom Mode' feature that allows you to save up to three shooting setups as custom shooting modes. These can then be recalled, either from the Smart Panel, or from a dedicated 'C' position on the exposure mode dial.
Custom shooting modes can be named using an on-screen text-entry dialog or if you're in a hurry, saved automatically by date. Existing features have been given a refresh too - we've been very impressed by the evolution of Samsung's 'iFn' on-lens function feature in the NX range, and iFn 2.0 adds even more options. It's great to see an electronic spirit level added to the NX20, too, which indicates roll and pitch.

All three of the new NX models feature an electronic spirit level which indicates up-down movement away from the parallel, and left/right tilt.

The 100% coverage electronic viewfinder is the key differentiator between the NX20 and the NX210, and although I was using an early sample which I was told may not have been up to production quality, I enjoyed using the finder for image composition. The resolution of the NX20's EVF is SVGA (800 x 600 pixels, 1.44M dots), and in my experience remains pleasantly contrasty and detailed in all but the strongest side light (where like the NX10, the screen image is prone to 'flaring out').
The only serious annoyance that came out of my short time with the NX20 was related to the position of its direct movie recording button. I shot a lot of movie clips on the NX20 when I used it, but most of them were recorded accidentally thanks to the prominence of the movie record button on the upper right shoulder of the camera.

The NX20's movie record button is positioned on the upper-right shoulder of the camera, in precisely the right (or rather wrong) position to be knocked accidentally by the thumb of the right hand. On a few occasions during my time with the camera, even shifting my grip after lowering the NX20 from my eye was enough, I found, to accidentally bump this button, causing movie recording to initiate.

Apart from this minor irritation though the NX20 is, like its predecessor, a pleasant camera to use, with an interesting and competitive feature set. The addition of Wi-Fi is of huge significance to Samsung as a step on the way to achieving its stated aim of creating a generation of 'connected cameras' and refinements like increased continuous shooting speed and display articulation add real benefit in day to day shooting.
I wasn't able to save (or even closely examine) images from the NX20 that I used in Korea, but there is nothing to suggest that image quality won't be broadly in line with our expectations based on experience with the NX200, which uses the same 20MP CMOS sensor. We should be receiving an NX20 shortly, and we will publish a more in-depth assessment and sample images as soon as possible.

Source:www.dpreview.com

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Samsung NX210 Review

Review based on a production Samsung NX210

The Samsung NX210 is, apart from the addition of a Wi-Fi mode, as good as identical to its predecessor Samsung NX200. In this article we have therefore concentrated on the new features of the camera but also included our usual studio test scene. However, to get the full set of test data and information that you expect from a dpreview review please also read our Samsung NX200 review from earlier this year in addition to this article.

The Samsung NX210 was announced in April 2012, only 7 months after its predecessor, the NX200. This very short product cycle (even by digital camera standards) is explained by the fact that the NX210 is near-identical to its predecessor in terms of both design and technology. The only major difference between the two models is the addition of Wi-Fi connectivity on the NX210. It allows you to share images wirelessly, transfer them to a smartphone, or use a smartphone to remote-control the camera.
This upgrade is part of Samsung's strategic move toward a entirely Wi-Fi-enabled NX mirrorless system line. Along with the NX210 the Korean manufacturer announced two more 'Smart' cameras - the top-of the line NX20 (successor to the NX10), and the new entry-level model NX1000. All three cameras are built around Samsung's 20MP sensor that debuted in the NX200.
Other, more minor changes include a slightly increased maximum frame rate in continuous shooting (8 vs 7 fps), optional USB remote control and hot-shoe mounted external microphone, a selective color shooting mode, and compressed raw files on the new model. The latter should help reduce the NX200's very long processing and write times. The new 18-55mm OIS kit lens has also been slightly modified, and version III now comes with a metal, rather than plastic mount.
Visually there are no differences between the two cameras, apart from a Wi-Fi position on the NX210's mode dial. Both models come in an attractive all-metal body that looks classy and is described by Samsung as 'Retro Modern'. It's a great improvement on the slightly unlovable NX100, which looked less like it had been styled and more like the NX10's internals had been dipped in molten plastic. Instead the NX200 and NX210 have a sleek black metal body with a soft-feel paint coating to the grip, that gives a real impression of quality.
The NX210 can shoot stills at up to 8 fps, and on the video side of things is capable of capturing 1080p30 footage with control over shutter speed and aperture. The user interface offers the 'Smart Panel' option that we've first seen on the NX200. This is a simple interactive control screen that allows for clear and quick access to all the key shooting settings.
While the NX210 produces image quality that is identical to its predecessor, and is also identical in most other aspects, it should be an interesting option for those who want to share their images on the go. We've tested it's Wi-Fi capabilities and shot our usual studio scene with the camera. You can see on the following pages how the camera performed, but if you are interested in the NX210 please make sure you also read our NX200 review to get the full picture.

• 20.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor
• ISO 100-12800
• 1080p30 HD video
• 8 fps continuous shooting
• Clip-on external flash supplied
• 641k dot VGA-equivalent 3" OLED screen
• Wi-Fi connectivity

Source:www.dpreview.com

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Samsung NX200 Review

Review based on a production Samsung NX200 with firmware 1.02

The New new new samsung NX200 is the organization's fifth NX electric digital camera but only the third system style, and symbolizes a significant level up for the sequence. It's developed around a definitely new 20.3MP APS-C CMOS indication and secured in the series' first all-metal system. The outcome is a eye-catching electric digital camera of identical dimension to Sony's NEX designs but one that requires a rather different strategy.

Rather than providing a super-simplified personal interface for customers improving from point-and-shoots, then a very different way of more knowledgeable electronic digital photography lovers looking for to use the PASM techniques, Samsung's NX200 has just one, ongoing personal interface across all techniques. The organization seems to believe that a well-designed personal interface can be employed to newbies without decreasing the prospective for more knowledgeable customers. To this end, it has energized its personal interface, along with a simple exciting management show that it phone telephone phone calls 'Smart Board,' which provides obvious and immediate admittance to all the key getting alternatives.

Then there's the external style, which the organization explains as 'Retro Contemporary.' To us it looks like a more latest take on the style of the organization's NV100HD compact: fashionable, under-stated and unique. It's a great enhancement on the a little bit unlovable NX100, which seemed less like it had been developed and more like the NX10's internals had been rained with demolished distressing. Instead the NX200 has a smooth black steel system with a soft-feel colour defending to the keep that give a actual impact of quality.

Underneath it all, the NX200 becomes the first in the sequence to level away from the 14.6MP indication that can find out its history back to the processer used in the Pentax K20D/Samsung GX20. The newest indication uses definitely new structure that contains involved analogue-to-digital adjustment (an strategy Panasonic has used for some time now) that is developed to reduce disturbance.

In inclusion to the new plastic, New new new samsung has also re-worked the key components that go at the front part of it - a remodeled colour narrow variety to provide higher understanding and improved microlenses with small holes between them to improve mild catch, placed better the indication so that they can better cope with the mild getting the advantages of the indication at very indirect opinions from wide-angle relationships. The NX200 also functions a less significant noticeable low-pass (anti-aliasing) narrow and modern moiré-suppression handling.

On it cut part, the NX200 income 1080p30 movie ability and improved management over visibility in movie function, when in contrast to the NX100. The NX200 hasn't just obtained immediate admittance to movie getting, it's obtained M and S visibility techniques when in the devoted movie function.

So on documents the NX200 is obvious enhancement over its forerunner and places absolutely into the partner place within the mirrorless system electric digital camera place of the picture electric digital camera market. We've put the NX200 though our regular in-depth dpreview assessing, so research on to find out how the numbers and requirements change into real-life performance.

Samsung NX200 specification highlights

• 20.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor
• ISO 100-12800
• 1080p30 HD video
• 7 fps continuous shooting
• Clip-on external flash supplied
• 641k dot VGA-equivalent 3" OLED screen

Compared to the Samsung NX100

	Samsung NX200	Samsung NX100
Sensor	• 20.3MP APS-C CMOS	• 14.6MP APS-C CMOS
Body construction	• Magnesium Alloy/Plastic	• Plastic
Maximum shooting rate	• 7fps (up to 11 JPEG)	• 3fps (up to 10 JPEG)
ISO Range	• 100-12,800	• 100-6400
Accessory connector	• No	• Yes
Image processing	• 10 Smart Filters + 13 Magic Frames	• 7 Smart Filters
Video	• 1080p30	• 720p30
Video exposure modes	• P,A,S,M	• P,A
Battery life (CIPA standard)	• 320 shots	• 420 shots

Compared to the Sony-NEX-5N

The Samsung isn't quite as supermodel skinny as the NEX-5N but, overall, these two APS-C format cameras aren't too dissimilar in size.
The NEX is slightly smaller than the NX in every dimension, though, and so is its 18-55mm kit zoom lens compared to the Samsung 18-55mm OIS. The NX200 does offer a standard hotshoe, however, which the NEX doesn't. The NEX, in return, can accommodate an electronic viewfinder though, which the Samsung can't.
The NX uses its additional size to offer a more conventional control layout. The screen is also larger (they're both 3.0 inches diagonally, but the NX200's has an aspect ratio of 4:3 whereas the NEX-5N's is 16:9).

NX System lenses

Along with the NX200, Samsung has also been quietly expanding the NX system with a number of new lenses, resulting in one of the more comprehensive ranges amongst mirrorless systems. The shot above shows the NX200 surrounded with four new lenses Samsung had scheduled for release in 2011. From left to right:

• NX 60mm F2.8 Macro ED OIS SSA. This image-stabilized lens is capable of 1:1 macro, and uses an ultrasonic-type 'Super Sonic Actuator' autofocus motor, allowing full-time manual focus.
• NX 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 ED OIS. This superzoom also includes optical image stabilization, and has a switch to lock the zoom at 18mm for carrying.
• NX 85mm F1.4 ED SSA. A rather chunky, fast short telephoto 'portrait' lens, that currently has no direct equivalent in other mirrorless systems. This also uses an SSA autofocus motor, allowing full-time manual focus, and includes a distance scale.
• NX 16mm F2.4. This usefully-fast, wideangle pancake prime is just marginally larger than the popular 30mm F2.

In addition to the lenses above, Samsung had also promised a 16-80mm F3.5-4.5 OIS zoom. However, as far as we can tell, neither that lens nor the 85mm F1.4 have so far hit the shelves at the retailers. Nevertheless all the lenses, whether currently available or not, include 'iFn' buttons. For the 16mm F2.4 and 18-200mm F3.5-6.3, this allows the manual focus ring to be used to change a range of other functions, just like on Samsung's previous lenses. However because the manual focus rings of the 60mm F2.8 macro and 85mm F1.4 are mechanically coupled to the focus groups, these lenses both include dedicated slimline iFunction rings placed close to the camera body.

Source:www.dpreview.com

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