Compact

Almost identical to the NV7 OPS we reviewed in October 2006, Samsung's new NV5 has the same 7x optical zoom lens and 'Smart Touch' user interface but lacks the CCD shift image stabilisation system of the earlier model. Instead there's the ISO-boosting ASR (Advanced Shake Reduction) system, which is less effective at counteracting camera shake and may reduce picture quality. ISO settings range from 100 to 1000.

Styling and construction are in line with other NV cameras. The black metal body is sturdy and well finished with a locking battery/card compartment and metal lined tripod socket in the base and a 2.5-inch LCD on the rear panel. Unmarked buttons below and right of the LCD (13 in all) access all camera controls except for zooming, which is adjusted via a small rocker switch.

To power up the camera you must press a small recessed button on the top panel. Beside it lies the shutter button with the mode dial at the right hand edge. Between the power button and the left edge is a pop-up flash with a hinged flash head to position the flash well above the lens axis, thereby reducing the incidence of red eyes in shots. A multiple pre-flash red-eye reduction mode is provided.

The Schneider-Kreuznach Varioplan lens dominates the front panel and makes the camera too big to be truly pocketable. Covering a range equivalent to 38mm at the wide angle setting to a useful 270mm for telephoto, it has the same rather crude clip-on lens cap that's a poor fit with the otherwise high quality of the rest of the camera (an additional, much better, clip-on lens cap with a tether point is also provided). Maximum apertures range from f/2.8 at wide angle to f/4.0 at telephoto, with a minimum aperture of f/7.3.

Eleven scene modes are provided for novice users, while more experienced photographers can opt to use the aperture- and shutter-priority settings in the ASM mode or adjust both settings independently. In ASM mode, apertures can be adjusted through 12 f-stops, an unusual facility in a digicam. You simply select the aperture setting with the vertical buttons and run a finger along the horizontal ones until you reach the desired value. Shutter speeds are set in a similar fashion, although there are many more choices available. The longest exposure is 15 seconds in the M or S mode.

Movie clips can be recorded with VGA or QVGA resolution at frame rates of 30 or 15 fps. You can record with or without sound and also use the optical zoom while shooting video. However, you can't adjust sensitivity, take close-ups with the Super macro setting or adjust colour, brightness or sharpness, although most of the colour settings in the Effects menu are available for video capture.

A range of editing functions is provided in the camera, enabling users to trim clips and combine clips into a single file. There's also a Successive Recording mode that lets you start and stop video recording by pressing the shutter button so you can record long video clips. Nineteen megabytes of internal memory is provided and the camera can use SD or MMC cards with capacities up to 2GB (but not the new SDHC cards).

The NV5 is supplied with an AC adaptor, which connects to a USB cable that has a 24-pin plug at one end. This plug slots into the base of the camera and allows the battery to be charged from the mains. The same cable is also used for connecting the camera to a PC so shots can be downloaded. An optional cradle is also available. Also supplied is a very nice zip-up camera case with a belt loop but no other carrying attachments.

Performance
The test camera's performance was very similar to that of the NV7 OPS. Outdoor shots showed slightly elevated contrast and saturation, along with obvious coloured fringing. Imatest testing showed resolution to be slightly below expectations, with a decline at high ISO settings. A fair amount of processing was applied to shots. JPEG compression was moderate, as shown in the table below.

Chromatic aberration was low across a range of apertures and focal lengths and a pronounced red shift was seen in all long exposures, regardless of the ISO setting.  Image noise became apparent in low light shots at ISO 400, increasing to the point where shots taken at ISO 1000 were visibly noise affected.

Close-ups had plenty of detail and rich, pleasing colours. Digital zoom shots were less artefact prone than shots from the NV7 OPS. The auto white balance setting handled fluorescent lighting better than incandescent lighting but failed to completely remove either colour cast. The manual pre-sets came closer to natural colour rendition and custom measurement produced natural looking colours. Unfortunately, the Kelvin adjustment was hampered by slightly inaccurate colour rendition on the camera's LCD.

It took just under two seconds to power up the camera for shooting and shot-to-shot times averaged 1.8 seconds extending to just over five seconds with flash. We measured an average capture lag of 0.6 seconds, which reduced to a consistent 0.1 second with pre-focusing. The standard continuous shooting mode recorded six 3.1MB JPEGs at intervals of 1.2 seconds, while the high-speed setting could only manage three shots at 0.4 second intervals.

IMATEST GRAPHS

SAMPLE IMAGES

Close-up

Digital zoom

Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting

Auto white balance with incandescent lighting

ISO 100

ISO 1000

Colour cast with long exposure at ISO 400.

Image sensor: 5.76 x 4.29 mm CCD with 7.4 million photosites (7.2 megapixels effective)
Lens: Schneider-Kreuznach Varioplan 6.3-44.7mm f/2.8-4.0 zoom (38-270mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 7x optical, up to 5x digital
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Exif 2.2); Movies – AVI (MPEG4)/WAV
Image Sizes: Stills – 2688 x 2016, 1920 x 1440, 1024 x 768; Movies – 640 x 480, 320 x 240 at 30 or 15 fps
Shutter speed range: Auto – 1/1500 sec; Manual/S Mode – 15-1/1500 sec; Night - 6-1/1500 sec; Fireworks – 4 sec.
Image Stabilisation: ASR processing (ISO boost)
Exposure Compensation: +/- 2 EV in 1⁄ 3 EV steps.
Focus system/range: TTL AF/manual focus; range 80 cm to infinity; macro 10-80 cm; Super Macro 1-10 cm
Exposure metering/control: Multi, centre, spot metering; P, A, S, M plus 11 scene pre-sets
ISO range: Auto, ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
White balance: Auto, daylight, cloudy, fluorescent (x2), tungsten, Custom, Manual, Kelvin adjustment (8 steps)
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto (with/without red-eye reduction), fill-in, slow synch, off; range 0.2-5.8 m
Sequence shooting:  2.5 fps normal; 7.5 fps M-Capture (up to 20 frames at 1024 x 768 pixel resolution)
Storage Media: 19MB internal memory plus SD/MMC expansion slot (up to 2GB)
Viewfinder:.n.a.
LCD monitor: 2.5-inch TFT LCD (230,000 pixels)
Power supply:  SLB-0837 rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Dimensions (wxhxd): 106 x 62.3 x 35.7 mm
Weight: 244 grams (without battery and card)