Samsung NX10

In summary

 An affordable, interchangeable-lens system camera that provides DSLR features in a compact and portable body.Samsung expanded the interchangeable-lens compact (ILC) camera category with the announcement of its mirrorless NX10 system in early January. Styled like a traditional DSLR camera, but significantly slimmer (thanks to a shorter flange-back resulting from the elimination of the mirror box), the NX10 competes head-to-head with the Micro Four Thirds models introduced recently by Olympus and Panasonic.  . . [more]

Full review

 

Samsung expanded the interchangeable-lens compact (ILC) camera category with the announcement of its mirrorless NX10 system in early January. Styled like a traditional DSLR camera, but significantly slimmer (thanks to a shorter flange-back resulting from the elimination of the mirror box), the NX10 competes head-to-head with the Micro Four Thirds models introduced recently by Olympus and Panasonic.

However, it uses a totally new lens mount that is incompatible with existing systems. Fortunately, a Pentax K-mount adapter will be offered to provide compatibility with Samsung’s GX lenses, although users will lose AE capability on the smaller body. The table below compares key features of the NX10 with the Olympus Pen E-PL1 and Panasonic G2 bodies.

	Samsung NX10	Olympus Pen E-PL1	Panasonic G2
Sensor size/type	23.4 x 15.6mm CMOS	17.3 x 13.0 mm High-speed Live MOS
Effective resolution	14.6 megapixels	12.3 megapixels	12.1 megapixels
Max. still image size	4592 x 3056 pixels	4032 x 3024 pixels	4000 x 3000 pixels
Max. video resolution	1280 x 720 pixels	1280 x 720 pixels	1280 x 720 pixels
Movie audio	Monaural		Monaural (stereo via adapter)
LCD monitor	3.0-inch Active Matrix OLED screen with 614,000 dots	2.7-inch Hypercrystal LCD with 230K dots	Adjustable 3.0-inch LCD touch screen with 460,000 dots
Viewfinder	EVF with approx. 921,000 dots; 100% FOV coverage, 0.86x magnification; 20.2 mm eyepoint	Optional EVF	EVF with 1,440,000 dots; 100% FOV coverage, 0.7x magnification; 14 mm eyepoint
Flash	Built-in, pop-up, GN 11	Built-in, pop-up, GN 10	Built-in, pop-up, GN 11
Flash synch	1/180 second	1/160 second	1/160 second
Shutter speed range	30 to 1/4000 seconds + Bulb (to 8 min.)	60 to 1/2000 seconds + Bulb (not specified)	60 to 1/400 seconds + Bulb (to 4 min.)
Max. burst speed	3 fps		3.2 fps
Stabilisation	Lens-based only	Up to 3 f-stops	Lens-based only
Shooting modes	Smart Auto, P (with program shift), A, S, M, Night, Portrait, Landscape, Scene, Movie	iAuto, P (with program shift), A, S, M, Scene select AE	Auto, P, A, S, M, Custom, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Macro, Night, Scene, Movie
Scene presets	Beauty Shot, Children, Close-up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow	Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night + Portrait, Children, High Key, Low Key, DIS mode, Macro, Nature Macro, Candle, Documents, Panorama, Fireworks, Beach & Snow	Sunset, Party, Baby (x2), Pet, Peripheral Defocus
Dedicated movie button	No	Yes	Yes
Still capture during movie recording		No – only last frame of clip	Yes
Power supply	BP1310; 400 shots/charge	BLS-1; 290 shots/charge	ID-Security Li-ion Battery; 360 shots/charge
Interface terminals	USB  2.0 Hi-Speed, HDMI (Anynet +); A/Video out (PAL/NTSC); DC In, wired remote	USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, AV out (PAL/NTSC), Mini HDMI (Type C)	USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, AV out (PAL/NTSC), Mini HDMI (Type C), wired remote/external microphone
Dimensions (wxhxd)	123 x 87 x 39.8 mm	115 x 72 x 42 mm	124 x 74 x 83.6 mm
Weight (body only)	353 grams	296 grams	371 grams
RRP with kit lens	$849	$999	$1299

The company is making a serious commitment to the new system, although it says the GX series of DSLRs (produced with Pentax) will continue. Offered in Noble Black, the NX10 boasts an APS-C-sized CMOS with an effective resolution of 14.6 megapixels plus Samsung’s latest DRIMe II Pro image processing engine.

Complementing the camera body are three new lenses: a standard 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 stabilised zoom lens that weighs only 198 grams; a 50-200mm telephoto zoom and a 30mm f/2 prime lens with a ‘pancake’ design. They will be followed by other lenses, as shown in the ‘roadmap’ graphic below.

The ‘roadmap’ of future M+NX System lens releases for the next 12-18 months. (Source: Samsung.)
Separate reviews of each of these lenses will be posted on the Photo Review website shortly. Although it’s early days for the NX system, Samsung also offers a good range of compatible accessories, including memory cards, cables, a wired remote shutter release, an AC adaptor, a camera strap and bag that accommodates the camera plus three lenses, filters, two flash units and separate battery packs.

Build and Ergonomics
The NX10 looks and handles like a down-sized DSLR but is noticeably smaller and weighs only 340 grams. Constructed from black polycarbonate over a metal chassis, it feels solid to hold and, despite a rather small grip, should suit most hand sizes – except, possibly, the very large. A slightly textured rubber coating on the grip enables users to shoot one-handed.

The lens mounts onto a solid, stainless-steel plate with eight electronic contacts. Buttons are provided on either side of the lens for depth-of-field preview and lens release and an AF-Assist LED is located just in front of the mode dial. This green LED doubles as a timer lamp.

Front view of the Samsung NX10 with the 30mm f/2 ‘pancake’ lens. (Source: Samsung.)

The layout of the top panel resembles that of a conventional DSLR, with a single mode dial and forward-positioned shutter button. The latter has a surrounding on/off lever and is backed by a rather small control dial wheel that is set into the camera body. A button for popping up the flash is located left of the flash, which has a hot-shoe on top for accessory flash units.

Close to the rear left corner are two buttons: a ‘green’ button and a button accessing the drive modes. Pressing the green button when you press another control button resets the selected function to its default position. The green button can be used for resetting Picture Wizard modes, white balance, timers, flash and bracketing and returning the AF point selection to the centre of the frame.

The mode dial carries settings for the ‘Smart Auto’ (fully automated), P, A, S and M shooting modes plus Night, Portrait and Landscape pre-sets. There’s also a Scene setting that accesses additional scene pre-sets and a movie mode. Scene sub-menu presets include Beauty Shot, Children, Close-up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks and Beach & Snow. In the Smart Auto mode, built-in scene recognition is applied, covering 16 common subject types (including five types of landscape shots, three portrait types, four types of close-ups, backlighting, sports and tripod-mounting).

Top view of the NX10 with the 30mm f/2 ‘pancake’ lens. (Source: Samsung.)

The rear panel boasts a 3-inch AMOLED (active matrix organic light-emitting diode) monitor with 614,000 dots, which uses a PenTile layout that is designed to compliment the complex mechanics of the eye-brain system and provide VGA viewing quality. It covers the sensor’s field of view and provides wide viewing angles – even in outdoor lighting.

Rear view of the Samsung NX10, showing the AMOLED monitor and main button controls. (Source: Samsung.)

According to Samsung, this category-leading screen provides 10,000 times faster response rate than conventional LCDs. It also has a far lower power consumption (which mean longer battery life) and a higher contrast ratio of 10,000:1 vs. 500:1 for conventional LCD screens. However, it only delivers its highest resolution in playback mode. For live view shooting, resolution is reduced, presumably to conserve power while supporting rapid refresh rates.

Perched above the monitor is an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of approximately 921,000 dots (VGA resolution). Despite its higher resolution, it lacks the contrast and saturation of the main monitor, which is disappointing.

The EVF’s viewing quality isn’t up to the standard of the Olympus VF-2 finder, which has a resolution of 1.44 million dots. However, it’s easier to focus the lens in dim lighting with the EVF than the main monitor, although the hard plastic surround makes it difficult to use when wearing glasses, when stray light can be a problem.

The EVF covers the full field of view of the sensor with approximately 0.86x magnification and has a 20.2 mm eyepoint. Focus adjustment of -4.0 to +2.0 dioptres is available via a knob on the left side. An eye-start sensor detects when the user looks through the viewfinder and puts the AMOLED screen on standby to conserve power.

Right of the LCD monitor is a standard button array around a five-button arrow pad that provides direct access to focus, white balance, ISO and metering modes. Below the arrow pad are the Playback and Delete buttons, while above it are the Fn (function) button that provides quick access to key camera settings, including image size/quality, AF area, flash, colour space, Smart Range and OIS (stabilisation). Buttons on the top right corner of the rear panel cover EV adjustment and AE lock.

The SD card slots in under a sliding cover on the right side panel and the NX10 accepts both SD and SDHC memory cards – but not the new SDXC media. The battery fits into a separate compartment in the base of the camera. Here you’ll also find the metal-lined tripod socket, which is located at the centre of the camera’s optical axis.

The left side panel carries the USB/AV Out, DC-in and HDMI ports plus a jack for connection the optional wired remote release. All are covered by a single, hard plastic lid that is hinged towards the front of the camera. The NX10 comes with built-in sensor-shift dust reduction that uses conventional ultrasonic vibrations. Image stabilisation depends on the lens fitted to the camera body.

The NX10 supports both auto and manual focusing, the former using a contrast-detection system similar to the systems used in the Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras – and most compact digicams. Three focusing modes are available: single, continuous and manual.

Users can also choose one of four AF area modes: Selection AF, Multi AF, Face Detection AF and Self Portrait AF. In the Selection AF mode you can adjust the size of the focus sensor by turning the control dial and move the sensor in the frame with the arrow pad buttons.

Manual focusing can also be set on some lens when the camera is in one of the AF modes. In manual focus mode, turning the focus ring on the lens enlarges the centre of the frame to fill the monitor screen. However, this 2x view only appears when the focus ring is being adjusted and it only works with Samsung lenses.

Sensor and Image Processing
The 23.4 x 15.6mm CMOS sensor in the NX10 has been developed and manufactured by Samsung, although with input from Pentax (which remains a ‘close’ collaborator). It boasts a total of 15.1 million photosites, with 14.6 megapixels effective. (These specifications are essentially the same as the Samsung-developed sensor in the Pentax K7, which also supports video recording.)

By adopting the larger, APS-C format, Samsung has given the sensor in the new camera approximately 50% more surface area than its Micro Four Thirds System rivals. This translates to greater light-capturing capabilities because, despite its higher resolution, the NX10 has a pixel pitch of approximately 5.1 microns, compared with 4.5 microns in the Panasonic GF-1 and 4.29 microns in the Olympus E-P2 and E-PL1.

The NX10 can record still pictures in the universal JPEG format (Exif 2.21) or Samsung’s proprietary SRW.RAW format. Three JPEG compression levels are provided: Super Fine, Fine and Normal, along with two aspect ratios – 3:2 and 16:9. The table below shows typical file sizes.

Format	Image Size	Aspect Ratio	Pixels	Compression
				Super Fine	Fine	Normal
Raw	14M	3:2	4592 x 3056	14.6MB
JPEG	14M	3:2	4592 x 3056	3.6MB	1.8MB	1.3MB
	12M(W)	16:9	4592 x 2584	3.0MB	1.6MB	0.8MB
	10M	3:2	3872 x 2592	2.6MB	1.3MB	0.7MB
	8M(W)	16:9	3872 x 2176	2.2MB	1.1MB	0.6MB
	6M	3:2	3008 x 2000	1.6MB	0.8MB	0.5MB
	5M(W)	16:9	3008 x 1688	1.3MB	0.7MB	0.4MB
	2M	3:2	1920 x 1280	0.7MB	0.4MB	0.2MB
	2M(W)	16:9	1920 x 1080	0.6MB	0.3MB	0.2MB
	1.4M	3:2	1472 x 976	0.4MB	0.2MB	0.2MB

Live View and Video
The design of the NX10 makes it likely many users will favour the Live View mode, which involves composing shots on the LCD monitor. Indeed, the camera powers-up in this mode with a display that’s a lot like those on typical compact digicams. Pressing the Disp. button lets you toggle through three options: scene only, scene plus shooting data and scene plus data and brightness histogram. The histogram is rather small.

In the User setup menu you’ll find a User Display sub-menu, where you can apply a grid overlay and switch the icons and histogram on and off. The second page of the setup menu contains sub-menus for adjusting the brightness and colour of the display as well as the power-off and quick-view times.

Page two of the setup menu in Movie mode.

This page also contains adjustments for audio volume (off, low, medium and high only) and a setting for turning sound recording off when recording video in AF mode (see below). There’s also a Button Sound setting that lets you switch the camera to a silent operating mode.

Unlike many large-sensor, video-capable cameras, the NX10 lacks a direct movie recording button. Instead, the camera must be set to movie mode and recording is initiated and cancelled by pressing the shutter button. It takes almost a second for recording to actually start after the shutter is pressed.

HD video clips are recorded at 1280 x 720 pixels, using the H.264 compression and MP4 codec. SD video recording is available at VGA and QVGA resolution and all video modes have a frame rate of 30 fps. The maximum clip length is 25 minutes – which represents about 1.5GB at the highest resolution. The table below shows typical video clip sizes with a 4GB memory card.

Resolution (pixels)	Frame rate	Total video capacity with 4GB card
1280 x 720	30 fps	60 minutes	1 hour 28 minutes
640 x 480	30 fps	2 hours 56 minutes	4 hours 24 minutes
320 x 240	30 fps	9 hours 40 minutes	14 hours

Two shooting modes are available for recording movie clips: Program and Aperture priority AE. The former adjusts aperture and shutter speed settings automatically while the latter lets the user adjust the lens aperture with the control dial, giving control over depth-of-field in shots. However, the aperture must be set before shooting begins.

Autofocusing is available for shooting movies but only with the Multi AF focusing pattern. Users can adjust focus while shooting clips by pressing the depth-of-field preview button. A second press cancels this function. However autofocusing is not supported with all lenses and Face Detection AF is not available.

Page three of the Shooting menu in Movie mode has a Fader setting that allows you to make the recording gradually brighter or darker. Four settings are offered: Off, In (fade in), Out and In-Out. You can’t control the speed or duration of the fade, which occurs over a period of roughly four seconds, with fade-ins beginning to show a picture about two seconds after the shutter button has been pressed to initiate recording.

The same menu page also contains a Wind Cut filter and a Voice recording mode. Both can be turned on or off but provide no intermediate adjustments.

Menu Controls
For stills photography, the NX10’s control system is straightforward. Controls are split between a main menu accessed via the Menu button, a series of direct buttons and a Function (Fn) menu that accesses functions not covered by the direct buttons – although included in the main menu.

The first page of the NX10’s main menu.

The User setup page in the main menu.

Pressing one of the direct buttons calls up a sub-menu of settings, which you can scroll through with the control dial. Fine-tuning is available for some settings with the arrow pad buttons, while pressing the Menu button exits that function. A similar system operates with the Fn button, with the horizontal arrow pad buttons selecting the required control and the vertical ones stepping into and out of the selected function.

Image size settings accessed via the Fn button.

White balance settings accessed via the arrow pad button.

In line with current trends, Samsung has provided a series of Picture Wizard settings that users can apply when shooting stills and video clips. These presets include Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm and Classic (B&W). All are fully adjustable with 20 steps of colour adjustment and +/- four steps for saturation, sharpness and contrast. Direct access to the Picture Wizard is available by pressing the Delete button in any shooting mode.

Picture Wizard customisation.

The User setup menu also provides an interesting Key Mapping setting that lets users ‘map’ different controls to the AEL and Preview buttons. Options for the former include setting AEL or AFL or combining AEL and AFL. The Preview button can be set to engage one-touch white balance or display an Optical Preview showing the depth-of-field with the current aperture setting.

The Key Mapping sub-menu.

Dynamic range adjustment is available in the P, A, S and M shooting modes via Smart Range setting, which his found on page 3 of the shooting menu. Only two options are available: on and off. Switching this function on changes the camera’s exposure parameters to favour highlight details and, at the same time, sets the minimum ISO sensitivity to 200 to capture one stop extra in the highlights.

The result is increased shadow noise and a tendency for deep shadows to block up. We also noticed a slight shift in colour rendition. On the plus side, even if the brightest highlights aren’t recorded, the transition between them and the next step down the tonal scale is made smoother.

Playback and Software
Playback options are pretty standard with full-screen image with shooting data below, n full-screen image with shooting data overlaid and a large thumbnail with shooting data and RGB histogram. You can zoom in on displayed shots to magnify them up to 7.2 times and use the arrow keys to scroll around the picture but, unlike some cameras, you can’t step from shot to shot at the zoomed-in position.

The playback mode also supports three index views: a three-up view with larger thumbnails ranged across the screen, a nine-up view of 3×3 thumbnails and a thumbnail view containing 20 images. Image files can be classified and displayed by the saved file format or the date or week on which they were taken.

The standard protect, delete and auto rotate functions are supported, along with DPOF tagging. Images can be played back as slideshows – with or without background music and transition effects. The music is pretty bland and electronic-sounding and the transition effects are randomised and not individually selectable.

The NX10 provides quite a generous range of in-camera editing controls, including resizing, rotating, red-eye fix, backlight adjustment and face retouching. Users can also apply Picture Wizard settings to shots post-capture and video clips can be trimmed and re-saved.

For Windows users, the software bundle provided in Australia is quite generous and includes a raw file converter based on the Silkypix application developed by the Ichikawa Soft Laboratory but specific to the NX10. The other applications on the software disk are Samsung Master for editing images and video clips, QuickTime Player 7.6 for viewing videos shot with the NX10 and Adobe Reader for viewing the user manual, which is also supplied in PDF format.

Mac users have to rely on their own software and the main problem they will face is finding a raw file converter. When we went to press, the latest iteration of Adobe Camera Raw (v. 5.7) did not support the *.SRW raw files from the NX10. Nor did the version of Camera Raw provided with the beta edition of Photoshop CS5, which we have been reviewing. Adobe is generally quick off the mark with updates when significant new cameras are released, so the wait should be fairly short.

Samsung Master v. 1.1.14, which has been developed by Stoik Imaging, is a fairly basic file browser and editor combination designed primarily for use with JPEG files. Its user interface has been designed more for hobbyists than serious photographers, although it contains most of the editing tools the latter need. However, the interface is more like Picasa than Photoshop Elements.

The browser window in Samsung Master v. 1.1.14.

The main editing window with the adjustment toolbars on the left hand side.  

A couple of the more useful functions include the Auto Exposure adjustments, which appear to take in a little white balance correction as well, and the colour ring-around, which also covers exposure bracketing (although only by +/- one step. However, a large focus is on special effects, most of which will be irrelevant to serious photographers (even though many are easily customisable).

Auto exposure adjustments.

The colour ring-around.

The Mosaic effect, showing the adjustments available.

One of the Solarisation effects.

Customisable frames can be added to images.

With its Silkypix parentage, Samsung Raw Converter 3 is a capable raw file converter with a wide range of adjustments but a slightly idiosyncratic user interface that has been refined very little since it was launched. There’s no shortage of adjustments – and you can pull up menu windows for most of them (or hide the ones you daren’t using).

The main editing window in Samsung Raw Converter 3 with most of the adjustment windows displayed.
You can save sets of adjustment parameters to ‘cloakroom’ folders and use them for subsequent batch processing. Converted images can be saved as JPEGs or TIFF files, with the option of 8-bit or 16-bit for the latter. The software provides plenty of options for setting the destination of converted files as well.

Conversion parameter settings.

Options for saving ‘developed’ image files.

Performance
We conducted the majority of our Imatest tests on the NX10 body with the 30mm f/2 ‘pancake’ lens because, being a prime lens, its performance characteristics have been optimised to provide both a larger maximum aperture and better image quality overall. Pictures straight out of the review camera were nicely sharp with a reasonable amount of detail recorded in both JPEGs and SRW.RAW files.

We observed a slightly warm colour bias in JPEGs but this was easily eliminated at the editing stage. Exposure metering was accurate in all three modes and the contrast-detection AF system was as fast and accurate as most entry-level DSLRs for shooting stills, although a little sluggish for video (as expected).

Blown-out highlights presented sporadic problems in bright, contrasty lighting. While switching on the Smart Range (dynamic range adjustment) setting produced some improvement, it was often necessary to use -0.3EV of exposure compensation to record usable details in the brightest parts of scenes. And this could increase shadow noise slightly.

Imatest showed resolution to be close to expectations for a 14-megapixel with the raw files that were converted into 16-bit TIFF files with Samsung Raw Converter 3. However, it was slightly below expectations for JPEGs. Overall saturation was high in JPEG shots, particularly in the red, yellow and purple bands of the spectrum. Colour shifts were seen in yellowish greens and skin hues were slightly off the mark. Most of these problems were corrected in the raw files captured at the same time, which showed more normal saturation levels.

Resolution held up well across the camera’s ISO range, with JPEG files coming in a little below SRW.RAW files, as expected, although not a huge gap between them. The graph below shows the results of our tests using shots taken with the 30mm f/2 lens.

 Very little noise was visible in high ISO shots, right up to ISO 3200 with flash. For long exposures, both pattern and colour noise could be seen in shots taken at ISO 3200 but neither was obvious at ISO 1600. Applying long-exposure noise-reduction processing softened images slightly but this was only evident at ISO settings of above 800. High ISO noise-reduction appeared to have little effect on image quality but visibly softened shots taken at ISO 3200.

Auto white balance performance was similar to most APS-C DSLR s we’ve reviewed. Shots taken under incandescent lighting retained a warm cast, while shots taken with fluorescent lighting were close to cast-free.

For both lighting types, the pre-sets slightly over-corrected colours but the manual measurement system delivered a neutral colour balance. Plenty of in-camera adjustments are provided for tweaking images as you shoot and white balance bracketing of +/- three levels in one-step increments is available for dealing with tricky lighting.

HD video from the review camera was generally clear and colour accurate and we found little evidence of the rolling shutter effect that plagues many large-sensor cameras, even in shots of fast moving subjects where the AF system had trouble keeping up. However, we did notice a lag of almost one second between when the shutter button was pressed and when recording actually began and clips were cut short slightly before the recording ended. There was a noticeable wait while the buffer memory was cleared – often of several seconds for clips longer than about a minute.

The review camera powered up in roughly half a second and shot-to-shot intervals averaged just under one second. In the still capture modes, we measured an average capture lag of 0.1 seconds when the viewfinder was used for shot composition and 0.4 seconds with the Live View mode. Pre-focusing reduced both lag times to less than 0.1 seconds.

It took 2.1 seconds to process a JPEG file, 5.1 seconds for each RAW file and 6.0 seconds for each RAW+JPEG pair. Most camera controls are inaccessible while files are being processed. In the Continuous mode, we recorded 10 Large/Fine JPEG frames in 2.8 seconds, which equates to just under 3.6 frames/second. It took 8.1 seconds to process this burst.

With raw file capture, we recorded three shots in 0.7 seconds. It took 14.6 seconds to process this burst. The camera captured three RAW+JPEGs frames in 1.2 seconds and took 17.2 seconds to process them. In the Burst mode, which records 1472 x 976-pixel images at up to 30 frames/second, the review camera captured the full 30-shot burst in only 0.9 seconds. It took 9.2 seconds to process this burst.

Buy this camera if:
– You want a compact SLR-like, interchangeable-lens digital camera that represents excellent value for money.
– You’d like an easy-to-use control suite.
– You require a built-in flash plus the ability to accept external flash units.
– You’d like to be able to shoot high-resolution still pictures plus HD video clips.
– You want good battery life.
Don’t buy this camera if:
– You require tracking AF for still capture plus fast autofocusing for shooting video clips.
– You want in-camera raw file processing.
– You require a wide range of interchangeable lenses. (Although more are promised, only three are available thus far.)
IMATEST GRAPHS

JPEG image files

 

Raw image files converted into 16-bit TIFF format with Samsung Raw Converter 3.

 

 

 

SAMPLE IMAGES

Auto white balance with incandescent lighting.

Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting.

Samsung 18-55mm lens at 35mm; ISO 100, 30 seconds at f/3.5.

Samsung 18-55mm lens at 35mm; ISO 800, 30 seconds at f/8.

Samsung 18-55mm lens at 35mm; ISO 3200, 20 seconds at f/13.

Flash exposure; Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS lens, 70mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/50 second at f/4.3.

Flash exposure; Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS lens, 70mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/50 second at f/4.3.

Flash exposure; Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS lens, 70mm focal length, ISO 3200, 1/50 second at f/4.3.

Smart Range off: Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS lens, 50mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/50 second at f/9.5.

Smart Range on: Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS lens, 50mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/100 second at f/9.5.

Samsung 18-55mm lens at 55mm; ISO 200, 8 seconds at f/6.3.

Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS lens, 145mm focal length, ISO 100, 10 seconds at f/5.6.

From SRW.RAW file: Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS lens, 100mm focal length, ISO 640, 1/13 second at f/4.3.

Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS lens, 200mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/80 second at f/5.6.
Additional sample images can be found with the reviews of the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS, 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS and 30mm f/2 lenses.
 

Specifications

 

Image sensor: 23.4 x 15.6mm CMOS sensor with15.1 million photosites (14.6 megapixels effective)
A/D processing: 12-bit
Lens mount: Samsung  NX
Focal length crop factor: 1.5x
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (3 compression levels), RAW (SRW), RAW+JPEG; Movies – H.264 HD (720p), MP4, monaural audio
Image Sizes: Stills –  3:2 aspect ratio 4592 x 3056, 3872 x 2592, 3008 x 2000, 1920 x 1280, 1472 x 976; 16:9 aspect ratio 4592 x 2584, 3872 x 2176, 3008 x 1688, 1920 x 1080; Movies – 1280 x 720, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 at 30 fps
Image Stabilisation: Lens-based
Dust removal: Supersonic  vibration of low-pass filter
Shutter speed range: 30 to 1/4000 second plus Bulb (8 minutes max.); X-synch at 1/180 sec.
Exposure Compensation: +/- 3 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps
Exposure bracketing: +/- 3 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps
Self-timer: Selectable from 2 to 30 seconds in 1-second increments
Focus system: Contrast Autofocus with 16 AF areas, Face Detect (up to 10 faces), single AF point selection
Focus modes: Single and continuous AF, manual focus  
Exposure metering: TTL 247-segment (19 x 13) metering with Multi-pattern, Centre-weighted average, and Spot metering modes
Shooting modes: Auto, P, A, S, M plus Night, Portrait, Landscape, Scene (Beauty Shot, Children, Close-up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow), Movie
Picture Wizard settings: Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Custom (x3); adjustable in contrast, sharpness, saturation, colour tone, and noise reduction; bracketing over 3 modes available
Colour space options: sRGB, Adobe RGB
ISO range: Auto, ISO 100-3200
White balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent (x3),  Tungsten, Flash, Custom, Kelvin plus fine tuning over 7 steps in magenta/green and blue/amber dimensions; WB bracketing over 3 shots in +/- 1 to +/-3 steps
Flash: Auto pop-up flash; GN 11; hot-shoe provided for accessory flash units
Flash exposure adjustment: +/- 2 EV in 1/2EV steps
Sequence shooting: Up to 3 fps for 3 raw images or 10 JPEGs; Burst mode – max. 30 shots at 30 fps at 1472 x 976 pixels
Storage Media: SD/SDHC memory cards
Viewfinder: Electronic viewfinder with approx. 921,000 dots; 100% FOV coverage, 0.86x magnification; 20.2mm eyepoint
LCD monitor: 3.0-inch Active Matrix OLED screen with 614,000 dots (VGA resolution) and wide viewing angle
Video Capture: Yes, 720p HD (MP4. H.264)
Data LCD: No
Playback functions: Single frame, playback zoom, index (3, 9 or 20 thumbnails), rotate, resize, red-eye fix, slideshow, face retouch, photo style editor, backlight compensation; highlight alert available
Interface terminals: USB  2.0 Hi-Speed, HDMI (Anynet +); Video output (PAL/NTSC selectable); DC In: 9.0V, 1.5A (100 ~ 240V)
Power supply: BP1310 rechargeable lithium-ion battery;  400 shots or 200 min./charge (CIPA standard)
Dimensions (wxhxd): 123 x 87 x 39.8 mm (body only, excluding projections)
Weight: 353 grams (body only)

 

Retailers

 

CamBuy

 

www.cambuy.com.au
Digital cameras, lenses and accessories with 100% genuine Australian manufacturer’s warranties.
Ph: (02) 9029 2219

Camera House

 

www.camerahouse.com.au
Ph: 133 686
The largest speciality photographic retail chain in Australia.

Camera Pro

 

www.camerapro.net.au
CameraPro Pty Ltd
Suite 607, 180 Queen St, Brisbane 4000
Tel: 07 3333 2900
Australian owned and run company based in Brisbane.

Camerasdirect

 

www.camerasdirect.com.au
Retailer of digital camera equipment and more.
Secure online shopping and delivery across Australia.
Ph: 1300 727 056

Camerastore.com.au

 Camerastore.com.au
Ph: 1800 155 067

Camera-Warehouse

 

www.camera-warehouse.com.au
Comprehensive range of digital cameras and accessories online (www.camera-warehouse.com.au) and an online print service (www.royalexpress.com.au).

Digital Camera Warehouse

 

www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au
174 Canterbury Road 367 High Street
Canterbury Northcote
NSW 2193 VIC 3070
Ph: 1300 365 220

Electronics Warehouse

 

www.electronicswarehouse.com.au
1300 801 885
Australian retailer of Vapex rechargeable batteries offering factory direct prices and fast, free shipping Australia wide.

 

 

Photographic Equipment & Supplies – Retail & Repairs. Click here for list of stores.

Ted’s Cameras

 

www.teds.com.au

1800 186 895
Big range of cameras and photographic products with stores in most states and online.

Rating

 

RRP: $849 with 18-55mm kit lens; $899 with 30mm ‘pancake’ lens

Rating (out of 10):

• Build: 8.5
• Ease of use: 8.8
• AF speed and accuracy: 8.8
• Image quality: JPEG 8.0; Raw 8.5; Video 8.5
• OVERALL: 9.0

See Samsung NX10 sample image eBook

Buy