Samsung NX10

The Samsung NX10 was unveiled earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas. However, news of this camera was already out last year when the Korean chaebol announced it was working on a hybrid camera system akin to the Micro Four Thirds format. The biggest advantage the NX shooter has over the mirrorless competition is the larger sensor which, in our tests, proved to deliver better shots. The NX10 also has a very good AMOLED display, and a solid build quality. But something about this camera, which you should know about before buying it, is that it simply doesn't have the same amount of peripheral support that Micro Four Thirds cameras get.

Design

The Samsung NX10 with 30mm F2 pancakle lens attached. On the left are the kit lens and telephoto optics. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)
At first glance, you may mistake the NX10 for a mini dSLR. With a slight hump on top of the camera to house the electronic viewfinder (EVF), the Samsung NX10 looks similar to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2. However, there are differences between these two models. The Korean shooter offers a shallower handgrip and this makes it just about as thick as the Olympus E-P1.

The NX10 is quite a curvy camera with no sharp corners and small enough (with the 30mm F2 pancake lens) to slip into a coat pocket. Its weight, however, is a tad hefty, but that's a good thing as it gives a firmer grip.

The button placement of the NX10 is a mix between a dSLR and a compact camera. On the top reside the mode dial, selection wheel, shutter button, drive mode and green button for function reset (we'll get to that in the Features section). The rear houses the navigation pad, menu and various keys for quick access to commonly used settings such as file size, white balance, ISO sensitivity and playback.

Unlike the Olympus E-PL1 or the Panasonic G2, the NX10 doesn't have a dedicated video-recording button. To capture movie clips, you'll have to turn the mode dial to video mode and press the shutter button to start or stop recording.

If you've handled a dSLR before, operating the Samsung camera shouldn't pose much of a problem. It helps that there is a proximity sensor near the eyepiece, which shuts off the LCD and activates the EVF when you hold the camera up to your eye. If you forget to switch off the NX10 while changing lens, the camera would go into a semi-hibernate state where you won't be able to operate it, which is a good thing since the powered-down sensor is less likely to attract dust or foreign particles. This is unlike Panasonic or Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras which remain functional even without lenses attached.

Shots of the NX10 with the E-P1, E-P2 and G2. Click for larger images:

Features

The highlight of the NX10, as well as its biggest advantage over Micro Four Thirds cameras, is its 14.6-megapixel APS-C-sized image sensor. The 23.4 x 15.6mm CMOS chip has approximately 50 percent more surface area to collect light compared with Micro Four Thirds sensors which measure 18 x 13.5mm. Before we delve deeper into the NX10's features, here's a quick look at how it stacks against the competition.

Specifications/model	Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Samsung NX10	Olympus E-P2
Sensor resolution	12 megapixels	14.6 megapixels	12 megapixels
Dimension/weight	124 x 83.6 x 74mm/371g	123 x 87 x 39.8mm/353g	121 x 70 x 36mm/335g
LCD size	3-inch, 460k-dot tilt and swivel LCD	3-inch, 920k-dot fixed AMOLED	3-inch, 230k-dot fixed
Viewfinder	Electronic	Electronic	Optional electronic viewfinder
Burst mode	3.2fps	Up to 7fps for 30 frames at reduced image resolution	3fps
ISO range	ISO 100 to 6,400	ISO 100 to 3,200	ISO 100 to 6,400
Flash (built-in)	Yes, pop-up	Yes, pop-up	No, with hotshoe
Image Stabilizer	Optical	Optical	Sensor-shift
Still image format	RAW and JPEG	RAW and JPEG	RAW and JPEG
Max. video resolution	1,280 x 720 pixels	1,280 x 720 pixels	1,280 x 720 pixels
Audio	Mono	Mono	Stereo
Memory media	SD, SDHC and SDXC	SD/SDHC	SD/SDHC
Related links	Review		Review

As with most entry-level dSLRs and Micro Four Thirds cameras, the NX10 has an auto mode (known as Smart Auto on Samsung shooters) which detects the type of scene you are shooting and determines the best parameters for it. This is useful for beginners who aren't quite sure how to make use of the more advanced PASM modes. Alternatively, there are a handful of scene modes for capturing shots at the beach. If you want to take a nice portrait shot, the Beauty mode smooths out wrinkles and skin blemishes.


Advanced users will appreciate the high-level of customization on the shooting options. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)
The menu interface on the NX10 is quite straightforward and allows advanced users to easily fine-tune certain settings. For example, you can select the type of white balance you want, and if the result is not satisfactory, you could further tweak the color settings to your liking. Following that, you can press the green button at the top to restore the function to its default value.

This brings us to the point about the green button. Its function on the NX10 is to reset certain features, but most users (especially amateurs) probably won't have a need for it. It is, however, a good-to-have function for advanced shutterbugs who like to tinker with shooting options. But we'll appreciate this more if we could map other functions, such as start/stop video recording, to the button.

The AMOLED display is also a plus point for the NX10. Not only does it have a low power consumption, this screen is by far one of the best we've seen on a mirrorless interchangeable lens system camera. Old AMOLED panels had a problem of low visibility under direct sunlight, but we didn't encounter such issues with the one on this Samsung shooter.

The NX10 can snap at full resolution for up to 3 frames per second (fps), which is on par with other mirrorless cameras. But this Samsung also has a faster burst mode that snaps up to 7fps at reduced resolution.

Samsung implemented a Picture Wizard feature in the NX10 which lets you alter the look and feel of a photo. For example, Vivid delivers more dramatic tones, while Forest emphasizes green hues, which is good if you're snapping shots of greenery. If the default results are not to your liking, you could further adjust the saturation, sharpness and contrast manually. The effects, however, are not as dramatic or as interesting as the Art Filters on Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras which have modes like Pinhole and Cross Process.


The 30mm F2.0 pancake lens is quite a good lens to use, but it's a pity it doesn't have image stabilizer. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)
The NX10 relies on optical image stabilizer (O.I.S.) to counter blur caused by shaky hands, and the lenses that have such a feature are the 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens and the 50-200mm F4-5.6 telephoto optics. The 30mm pancake lens doesn't have O.I.S. and we had difficulty taking shots with it using slow shutter speeds. This gives cameras like the E-P2 an advantage over the Samsung because the Olympus can use almost any lens and still have IS function.

The lenses have raise one of the most important points to note about the NX10. Currently, there are only the three lenses mentioned above for the NX system. While Samsung has promised more glasses to come later this year, the NX family just doesn't have the same quantity of lenses and accessories that are available for Micro Four Thirds cameras, which include adapters for almost every type of optics on the market. Consumers will have to take a leap of faith if they want to get the NX10, and hope that other manufacturers will soon unveil peripherals for the Samsung hybrid camera.

Performance

The NX10 started up almost instantly from power off. The operation felt responsive and we could tell the focusing was faster than the Olympus E-P1 or E-P2. When compared with the Panasonic G2, there was not much of a noticeable difference in focusing times. The shutter lag on the Samsung clocked approximately 0.1 second with prefocusing on a single AF mode. With continuous AF mode, it took a bit longer.


The optically stabilized kit lens did a good job in keeping this shot sharp even though the shutter speed used was quite slow. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)
The O.I.S. on the kit lens worked well in our tests, and we could easily shoot at slow shutter speeds of 1/15 second with good picture results. For the telephoto optics, we that recommend shutterbugs use it on a tripod if they are shooting at night because it's effective only if you're shooting with shutter speeds of 1/30 second or faster.


The NX10's metering was accurate for this shot, exposing the subject well despite the contrasty scene. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)
The 1,300mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery held up well over the period we reviewed the NX10. We shot close to 200 pictures and still the cell indicator reportsed full strength. This could be attributed to the power-saving AMOLED or the usage pattern which we employed, which consumes less power.

Image Quality

ISO comparison chart for the NX10. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)
On its own, the NX-10 produced very clean snaps at ISO 100 and 200. When we bumped this up to ISO 400, we noticed there were slight traces of digital artifacts in shadow regions. At ISO 800, the noise was more pronounced but you won't see it unless you view the image at 100 percent on a computer screen. Photos taken at ISO 1,600 and above had less fine details and some areas looked smudgy. This was probably due to the noise-reduction algorithm that is applied at high ISO settings.


ISO 400 and 800 shots from the NX10 and E-P1 compared. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)
The NX10's larger sensor helped to deliver less noisy shots at high ISO sensitivity compared with Micro Four Thirds cameras such as the E-P1. As you can see from the comparison table above, the Olympus shooter produced more noisy shots at ISO 400 than the Samsung snapper. Needless to say, the NX10 performed better than the E-P1 at ISO 800.


Colors were punchy but not overly saturated. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)
As for color reproduction, the NX10 did a good job in delivering punchy tones that weren't oversaturated. The colors were accurate, too, with the Picture Wizard set at Standard.

The NX10 can record HD-quality movies, and the results were pretty good in our tests. We could make out fine details in our clips, but it's a pity the camera doesn't have autofocus when recording.

Conclusion

The NX10 is a great first attempt by Samsung at a mirrorless interchangeable lens system camera. The specifications are top-tier, and its performance is on par with the competition. The best part of this shooter is its APS-C-sized sensor which, in our tests, showed it can deliver better pictures than a Micro Four Thirds snapper. But before you rush off to buy this camera, you will have to consider whether there are enough accessories for it. For now, Samsung is the sole provider of peripherals for the NX system, whereas Olympus and Panasonic have the support of each other, as well as third-party manufacturers like Voigtlander which makes adapters for other lenses to be used with Micro Four Thirds shooters.

We're really looking forward to the next Samsung NX camera and also other optics the chaebol will unveil in the coming months. Hopefully, by then, this family of snappers will have a better ecosystem to support them.