by Miserere

  

Note: The camera and accessories tested in this review were loaned to EtL by B&H Photo & Video store. To thank them for their generosity and allow us to receive more products for review, please consider purchasing your camera equipment through our affiliate B&H link (also found on the right sidebar). Thanks!

  

Introduction

When Panolympus announced in late 2008 the upcoming release of their first micro 4/3 cameras, Samsung stood up at the back of the assembly hall and, while jumping up and down waving their hand frantically, shouted ME TOO, ME TOO! Nobody really paid any attention, and why would they? Samsung made TVs, washing machines, microwave ovens…and yeah, P&S cameras. Oh, sure, they had a line of DSLR cameras and lenses, but these were juat rebadged Pentaxes (with Samsung firmware and image engine). OK, so they did design a 14MP APS-C CMOS sensor for the Pentax K20D (and Samsung GX-20) and then redesigned it to allow video for the Pentax K-7….but other than that, what have they ever done for Photography? Nothing.

Then at PMA 2009 Samsung said Oy, ‘ave a look at my li’l camera, guv’nor, innit cute? (no, I don’t know why a Korean company would speak with a cockney accent, but it’s my blog and my medication and I can combine them as I see fit). If you followed my PMA 2009 link and read it, you saw that what I was most excited about was precisely Samsung’s NX (as it was then called). This wasn’t just any old MILC (Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera), but one with an APS-C sensor (which I remind you covers 50% more area than 4/3). But still, all we got were photos and no real specs, which made most think Samsung was playing desperate catch-up but had nothing substantial to back up the hype. If talk is cheap, then Samsung must’ve bought it wholesale because Samsung CEO Sang-jin Park went on record as saying (emphasis mine):

We estimate that the hybrid digital camera market will be over 20% of the global digital still camera market by 2012. With the release of the NX Series, a digital camera that combines the strengths of a DSLR and compact digital camera, Samsung Digital Imaging will become a global leader in the new hybrid digital camera market and achieve the company’s goal to become the global leader in the digital camera market by 2012.

This means that what’s sitting on the table next to my computer right now, the NX10, is Samsung’s first major weapon deployed as part of its plan for World Domination.

And I thought it was just another camera…

  

Samsung NX10 Main Specifications

• Sensor: 14.0MP APS-C CMOS (1.53x crop factor)
• CMOS dimensions: 23.4mm x 15.6mm (3:2 aspect ratio)
• Kit lens: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
• Shutter speeds: 1/4000s — 30s (1/180s max. flash sync. speed)
• 3fps max. shooting speed
• RAW shooting (Samsung’s propriety SRW)
• Rear Screen: 3.0″ Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED), 614k pixels
• Electronic Viewfinder: VGA 921k pixels, 100% coverage, 0.86x magnification
• ISO range: 100 — 3200
• Built-in flash
• Hotshoe
• No in-body stabilisation (optical stabilisation available on select lenses)
• 720 HD video
• SD/SDHC card
• Rechargeable Li-ion battery
• Weight: 409g/14.4oz (body, battery and SD card), 608g/21.4oz (with 18-55mm lens)
• Dimensions: 123mm × 87mm × 40mm (4.8″ x 3.4″ x 1.6″)

  

What’s in the Box

• NX10 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens
• Lens hood
• Li-ion battery BP1310 (7.4V, 1300mAh)
• Li-ion battery charger BC1310.
• USB cable
• Shoulder strap
• Software CD-ROM
• Instruction manual
• Warranty card

  

Ergonomics

Talk about lasting first impressions. I held it in my hand as I was taking it out of the box and immediately felt comfortable with it. The kit lens makes it ever so slightly front heavy, but with the upcoming 30mm f/2 pancake I can imagine it being perfect. The body though, oh my, what a joy to hold; it feels great in my hands. As an aside, I went to a local camera store today to chat to the local street shooters that congregate there on Saturday mornings, and when I passed it on to the first guy for him to take a look, it took him less than 1 second to exclaim (in a loud voice) wow, this camera is so comfortable! They all loved its ergonomics, but understand that these are guys that like rangefinders and other small street cameras. If you like a big hunk of camera than can double as an industrial doorstop, then this isn’t the camera for you. On the other hand, if you’re like me and appreciate light, compact cameras that can be carried in a coat pocket, then you owe it to yourself to check out the NX10 at your local store. To hold it is to love it.

  

Buttons and Dials

If the E-PL1 was a bit light on direct access buttons, the NX10 is the opposite. Here is a list of functions accessible via a single button (or alternatively, parameters that are changed by depressing a button and using the dial wheel): ISO, White Balance, Metering, AF Mode, Exposure and/or Focus Lock, Exposure Compensation, Drive Mode, DoF Preview, focus point placement and Picture Wizard. That’s 10 (ten!) functions. Add to that the dial wheel that controls aperture or shutter speed (in Av or Tv), and you have 11 parameters that you can either change instantly or access with the press of a button. There is also a DISP (Display) button that cycles through different levels of overlay information on the LCD, and a Fn (Function) button that accesses a larger menu with the following settings: MP count and ratio (3:2 or 16:9), File type, AF single/multipoint/face-detect, Flash, Colour Space, Smart Range and Optical Stabilisation. There is also a “green” button (reminiscent of Pentax’s) that returns (some) settings to their default values—very handy when you’re in a hurry and want to return your AF point to the center.

  

The Strange Case of the Shutter Lag that Wasn’t

In my second day of using the camera I became convinced that there was a P&S type shutter lag, based mostly on the sound of the shutter. When I got home I took a stopwatch and proceeded to photograph it every 5s for a minute. Conclusion: There is not significant shutter lag. I guess it’s just how the shutter sounds, but I found it confusing to begin with. Now, after a week shooting the camera, I don’t notice it anymore.

  

Autofocus Speed

One word: Fast. Noticeably faster than the E-PL1. I think it’s actually faster than my Pentax DSLR! I can’t wait to try it out with the 30mm f/2, because if it’s that fast with the kit lens, it must be even faster with the pancake. It’s also accurate.

  

General Usage Speed

I’ve turned off the automatic sensor cleaning at power up, and as a consequence the camera turns on almost instantaneously. Note that in their Timings section, DPR state You cannot turn off the sensor cleaning, which adds substantially to this startup time; this is not true, you can turn it off (and run it whenever you want via the appropriate menu). Where it is slow is after taking a shot, taking longer than the E-PL1 to write the file to card. Please Samsung, give the camera a bigger buffer! Granted, I’m shooting RAW+JPEG with 14.6MP files; speed would be improved shooting just RAW or JPEG. Fortunately, the camera doesn’t freeze up and you can still use the LCD and take shots while it’s writing to card.

While the specs say frame rate is 3fps, this is only true for the first second! After that it’s more like 0.5-1fps depending on file type. Don’t buy this camera if you’re planning on shooting high-speed professional sports. I don’t shoot anything requiring high FPS so this limitation hasn’t caused me any problems, but a larger buffer would solve both this and the

  

Out-of-Camera JPEGs

I don’t like them, they’re too cold. I’m still messing around with the image controls to find the settings I’d be satisfied with. This doesn’t worry me because I normally shoot RAW, but JPEG shooters will have to play with the saturation, contrast, and tone sliders to find their desired combination. Samsung helps with different presets (stored under the menu item called Picture Wizard) such as Standard, Vivid, Cool, Landscape, Portrait, Classic, Retro, Calm, Forest and Unicorn. OK, so I made that last one up, but seriously, there is a Forest setting—apparently it’s Little Red Riding Hood’s favourite. All of them can be further tweaked with sliders controlling Colour, Saturation, Sharpness and Contrast; each slider has 9 positions. Furthermore, you can start from scratch and define up to 3 custom profiles.

  

The Kit Lens

I never expect too much from kit lenses, so I’m easy to please as long as they don’t suck too much. I don’t think this kit lens is quite as good as the Olympus 14-42mm in the corners, but it’s very usable and probably worth owning for those times when you want the flexibility of a zoom. To the right you can see how it compares in size with the Olympus (which offers a bit more range at the long end, I should say) and the Pentax kit lens (of identical specs). For some reason, the Samsung has a 58mm filter size while the Pentax is 52mm. While the Olympus looks a lot smaller, remember that you need to extend it when shooting. Click here to see these lenses at their maximum extension.

  

Electronic Viewfinder

This is my first encounter with a good EVF and I was looking forward to it. I’m pleased with it, and am happy it’s a giant leap when compared to the EVFs on bridge cameras which I’ve used in the past. While its resolution is slightly lower than that of the Panasonic G1 (or GH1 and G2, which all share the same EVF), it’s a bit larger in size and easy to see even with glasses. Using it to manually focus in indoor tungsten lighting was quite easy, which is all I need from a viewfinder.

While we’re not at the stage where an EVF can best an OVF in every situation, I give it 1-2 years before we get there.

  

Samasung’s RAW Files

The World needs another RAW format like it needs another camera mount. Lo and behold, Samsung have seen fit to give us both. This is somewhat surprising given that their DSLRs use the open DNG format as their RAW format. In any case, using ACR 5.7 I was able to open up the .SRW files from the NX10, although the camera profile tab said “Beta”.

I’ve been shooting RAW+JPEG, as I do with all review cameras so I can show direct-from-camera images. And I’ll leave you with one such image, an example of what I do for you, my dear reader. It’s hard work reviewing a camera, but I get up at the crack of dawn so I can bring you quality prose…and images such as this one, taken from the hip barely stopping enough time for the shutter to do its job. I’ll catch you in Part 2 of this ongoing 3-part review.

Part 2: Using the Camera ⇒

  

Please consider purchasing the Samsung NX10 or NX11 from B&H. We’ll get a small commission and you’ll get our eternal gratitude.

  

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1. Review – Samsung NX10, Part 2: Using the Camera
2. Samsung NX10 Arrives at EtL Headquarters
3. A Photowalk with the Samsung NX10 and 30mm f/2
4. Review – Canon S90, Part 1: First Impressions
5. Review – Olympus Pen E-PL1, Part 1: First Impressions