Samsung NX10

In launching a completely new NX camera system, Samsung has taken the brave step of trying to win over new consumers with the Samsung NX10, but will it pay off?

While Samsung has been busy releasing compacts, it’s been over two years since its last D-SLR, the GX-20, was launched back in January 2008. This is no surprise, as the Korean electronics manufacturer announced in 2009 it was developing a new NX camera system. Looking to cash in on the market’s appetite for smaller D-SLR-style cameras, the new NX system promised interchangeable lenses and a large APS-C sensor, all housed in a body with the mirror box removed. Step forward the NX10…

Features & build
Recent evolutions in camera design have seen the traditional D-SLR mirror box removed to enable the construction of much smaller cameras, and this has been the principle behind the Olympus and Panasonic Micro FourThirds offerings. The Samsung NX10 has similarly modest proportions and, when compared to entry-level D-SLRs like the Nikon D3000 or Canon 1000D, it’s noticeably smaller. It has a body-only depth of just 39.8mm, although this increases to around 100mm
with the standard 18-55mm lens attached.
Despite its modest dimensions, the build quality is very good and it feels reassuringly solid. The plastic finish is the mottled variety, which gives the exterior a more refined feel and there’s a rubberised finish to the handgrip and rear thumb-rest.
The NX10 is no lightweight when it comes to features, either. At its heart is a 14.6Mp APS-C size CMOS sensor, which records both high-resolution stills and HD movies. With its target audience in mind, the NX10 also features 6 point-and-shoot modes including a Scene mode with 9 options for subjects like Children or Dawn. There’s also a Smart mode that uses scene recognition to automatically select the appropriate exposure with a good degree of accuracy. For those more familiar with creative shooting modes, however, there’s Shutter and Aperture priority, alongside full Manual exposure.
The NX10 uses contrast-detect autofocus, so comparisons with the number of selectable phase detection autofocus targets doesn’t apply here, and you’re not limited to 7, 9 or 11 selectable targets. Instead you can move the point to virtually any part of the screen, and it’s also possible to adjust the size of the autofocus target even down to a spot target for very precise focusing. The downside is that the autofocus is  not as fast as you’d get on a D-SLR. It’s also prone to hunting in low-contrast scenes, although there is an autofocus assist beam which helps and if you prefer manual focus there’s a magnified view, which enlarges to fill the whole screen. The screen itself is a large 3in AMOLED model, instead of the regular LCD screen found on most cameras.
The advantages of AMOLED is a faster refresh rate and great contrast that provides a clear and bright display. Even when shooting in bright sunlight we had no problems, but if you prefer a more traditional way of framing up, there is a viewfinder. Without a reflex mirror, which allows a  through-the-lens (or TTL) view, the viewfinder has to be the electronic EVF variety. This has the advantage of providing 100% frame coverage, but only offers a VGA (640x480 pixel) resolution, which doesn’t resolve an image
as sharply as an optical variant, and if you’re used to the latter then the EVF will take a bit of getting used to.
HD movies are captured at 720p/30fps and although there’s no external microphone socket for plugging in an accessory mic, there is an HDMI interface which allows you to play back movies you’ve recorded on an HDTV.
The NX10 boasts a range of photo styles in its Picture Wizard menu, where you can apply effects such as vivid or classic black & white, and you can select a picture style pre-capture and have the effect previewed on screen. In image playback mode, hit the Fn button and you can also apply effects post-capture, but not only that, you can adjust many other settings, including the resolution of the shot.
The NX10 features a built-in pop-up flash and there are two accessory flashguns available which attach via the hotshoe. There are also three lenses so far – a 55-200mm f/4-5.6 OIS zoom (£150) and a 30mm f/2 pancake lens (£200) alongside the standard 18-55mm f/4-5.6 OIS kit lens. The latter will provide adequate coverage for most users, although if you’re after a super-wide or ultra-long lens you’ll have to wait!
 

Performance & handling
If you’re familiar with D-SLRs you’ll feel right at home with the Samsung NX10, as there are plenty of body-mounted buttons for changing your shooting options. This includes a 4-way D-pad for quick access to things like metering mode and ISO, and the centre button lets you change the size and position of your autofocus target. The majority of other settings are available in the Function menu, which is intuitive to navigate, and on those occasions where you want to delve into the main menu it’s clear, concise and uses a stylish grey, blue and white colour palette.
Framing up shots in Live View may feel unnatural to many traditionalists, but it will feel perfectly normal if you’re stepping up from a digital compact. If you do choose to switch between the screen and EVF, Samsung has included a handy eye-start activation sensor which automatically turns off the Live View feed as you put your eye up to the ‘finder. Your shooting settings are displayed on both the AMOLED screen and in the EVF.
Shooting both RAW and Super Fine JPEGs, the NX10 took, on average, 7secs to process the files, which is pretty pedestrian by today’s standards, although it does have to process large 14.6Mp files, and you can take another photo while some images are processing. However, take too many and the buffer will clog up.
For continuous shooting, the NX10 features an incredible 30fps burst mode, but it only records files at 1.4Mp, which are no good for printing. In Continuous mode a burst of 10 Super Fine JPEGs can be captured before the buffer slows, but for both RAW and JPEG files it only manages three.

Value and Verdict
As this is the first interchangeable lens camera to incorporate an APS-C sized sensor, placing the NX10 within a market context is a bit tricky. We’ve made a few comparisons to entry-level D-SLRs as the NX10 handles like one, and at under £500 its natural competitors would be the Nikon D5000 or Canon EOS 500D. In terms of features and image quality, the NX10 can stand up to these guys, but where it falls down is in its slow performance and limited range of accessories. It’s also up against the Micro FourThirds contenders from Panasonic and Olympus, which have proved to be extremely popular, but the inclusion of an APS-C image sensor, AMOLED screen and built-in flash makes the NX10 an attractive proposition.
It’s a bold move to create a brand new camera system and other manufacturers will be watching closely to see if the NX system is a retail success. We like what it does and the way it does it, and think it has a promising future.


AT A GLANCE
Street price: £490 (with 18-55mm OIS kit lens)
Resolution: 14.6Mp
Sensor: APS-C CMOS
Lens mount: Samsung NX
Focal length multiplication: 1.5x
Viewfinder: EVF 921k dot (640x480px)
Focusing: Contrast AF
ISO range: 100-3200
Monitor: 3.0in AMOLED
Shutter range: 30secs-1/4000sec, Bulb
Live view: Yes
Burst rate: 3fps (3 RAW / 10 JPEG)
Video: 1920x720 @ 30fps
Storage: SD / SDHC
Weight: 353g
Dimensions: 123x87x39.8mm (WxHxD)

www.samsung.com/uk