The good: Compact size for a full-featured camera; optical image stabilization; Smart Touch user interface; 7x optical zoom; full manual shooting mode.

The bad: Lens cap a hassle to deal with; flimsy pop-up flash; cannot adjust volume during video playback; noisy images.

The bottom line: The NV7 is one of the smallest prosumer cameras but it could do better without the protruding lens and better image quality.

Read full review of the Samsung NV7 OPS »

By Damian Koh
Nov 20, 2006

When Samsung first announced its NV-series of cameras, we thought the Korean chaebol finally did something right, at least in terms of design. In pictures, the NV-series looked alluring with a matte black exterior. Three units were launched under the NV umbrella, which comprised the NV3, NV10 and NV7 OPS. The NV3 is a stylish remake of the Digimax i50 and i6, while the NV10 is Samsung's contender in the megapixel race with a resolution of 10 megapixels. With the NV7 OPS, the company rounds up the series with the optically stabilized shooter in its consumer digicam lineup.

Design

	A seven-by-six array of buttons allow you to navigate the menus.

The NV7 looks very much like the stylish 10-megapixel NV10, but once you slap a cylindrical tube on, it just doesn't quite cut it anymore. Even then, you can almost never go wrong with a matte black camera. We like the overall "smooth" feel to the shooter. However, the uneven weight distribution with the protruding lens takes a few brownie points off. Another quibble we have is with the removable lens cap, which can be a hassle, especially if you just want to turn on the unit and snap, instead of having to deal with the cover.

For most digicams, you'd almost inevitably be greeted with accompanying text labels for each button on the unit, but there is almost none of that on the NV7. For the record, the NV7 uses a new touch-sensitive menu navigation system. The 2.5-inch LCD panel is not a touchscreen, though. What you get is a row and a column of buttons, which will take you through the menus when you slide your fingers over them. Pressing the buttons will then confirm your selection.

	Flimsy pop-up flash requires delicate usage.

We got a shock during our initial hands-on with the NV7 when the pop-up flash, er, popped up on us. Though it feels a little flimsy, the way it is built is actually quite thoughtful. We can hold down the flash with our hand so that the light would point diagonally 45 degrees upwards, creating a pseudo bounced flash effect. Likewise, you can force the light to point diagonally downwards, but you won't be using that often since the protruding lens will cause your pictures to have a semi-circle shadow on the bottom edge of your shots.

The battery and SD memory card go into a compartment at the bottom of the unit, accompanied by a proprietary connector for the charger and a metal tripod receptacle.

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