Go IT World: Samsung NX100 Review from CNET

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Samsung NX100 Review from CNET

Following is a review of Samsung NX100 from CNET.com.

The Samsung NX100 is the company's third mirrorless interchangeable lens system camera, after the launch of the NX10 in January and subsequently the NX5. What's new about this shooter is not just its design, but also the features which the firm has implemented into the accompanying lenses.

Currently, four brands have mirrorless system cameras under their belts--Olympus and Panasonic back the Micro Four Thirds format, Sony has the NEX standard and Samsung with the NX line. For the NX100, its closest competitor in terms of specifications and design is probably the Olympus E-P2. Check out some comparison pictures we have below of these two cameras, as well as a more in-depth look at the Samsung shooter.

Design

According to Samsung, the NX100's design was inspired by a dew droplet forming on a leaf. Hence, this explains the curves around the body, which is most accentuated near the shutter button area.
In terms of body size, the NX100 feels a tad thick, but it is definitely lighter. The firm said the shooter's chassis is made with a type of plastic which isn't used by other camera manufacturers (though it didn't specify what kind), and this makes the snapper more durable.

The front of the NX100 is pretty standard, though you can see the portion near the shutter button drooping downward slightly.

On the top you'll find the hotshoe, mode dial and a command wheel to adjust different exposure parameters, depending on which setting the camera is set to. You'll also notice the handgrip area is slightly thicker.

Round the back of this Samsung camera is a 3-inch AMOLED display and other controls to access the menu or other options. Above the screen is the accessory port which allows users to attach the electronic viewfinder (EVF) or GPS module.

The side of the camera has a flap to hide the USB, mini-HDMI, remote control and DC charging ports. The C button is used to activate depth-of-field preview.

Here are some pictures of the NX100 (left) and its closest rival, the Olympus E-P2 (right).

Features

One new feature the NX100 has is the Lens Priority mode. When the camera is in this setting, new optics which has i-Function will tell the camera what exposure options to use. These new lenses also have icons on the barrel to indicate what type of pictures--landscape and/or portrait--they are most suited for.

i-Function is not just limited to overriding the camera system. There is a button on the side of the lens barrel which allows you to toggle between different options such as exposure compensation, aperture, shutter speed, white balance etc, and use the focusing ring to adjust the accompanying parameters. Currently, settings are changed via the camera on the body for interchangeable lens system shooters, so the i-Function feature is a new way for shutterbugs to use their lenses. However, there are compacts which come with a similar function. The Canon PowerShot S90 and S95 allow users to change settings by using a ring around the lens barrel.

One thing we noticed about using the focus ring to adjust settings is that it rotates a bit too smoothly. While turning it, we sometimes overshot the intended setting. Hopefully, when these optics go on sale, it will have a bit more resistance for a more intuitive operation.

Samsung also told CNET Asia that NX10 and NX5 owners can use i-Function equipped lenses on their cameras, though they would require a firmware update to employ the Lens Priority feature.

We tried the EF-100F EVF on the NX100 and compared it with the VF2 which the Olympus E-P2 uses. The Samsung EVF has a resolution of 201k dots while the VF2 has 1,440k dots. The Olympus EVF shows a much bigger display than the Samsung, but we found no discernable differences in terms of how fine the dots appear to be. But one advantage the VF2 has over the EF-100F is that it is able to tilt upward, while the Samsung EVF is fixed in position.

Sample shots

Below are some sample pictures we took with the NX100. Note that it is a preproduction unit, so the image quality is not definitive of the final product. The photos were shot with the new 20-50mm F3.5-5.6 lens at ISO 400 in Program mode.