Samsung Galaxy NX Review

October 1, 2013 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Galaxy NX is Samsung's new flagship compact system camera. Running on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system, the Samsung Galaxy NX is the World’s first interchangeable-lens camera with built-in 3G/4G LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity. The metal-bodied Galaxy NX also features a 20.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, Hybrid Auto Focus (AF) system with both phase and contrast detection, ISO range of 100-25,600, 1080p HD movie recording, a 4.8-inch LCD touch-screen, 8.6fps continuous shooting, and a 1/6000th shutter speed. The remote viewfinder feature allows you to see what the camera sees on the display of your smartphone and take a picture from a distance. The Samsung Galaxy NX even offers voice control - you can command the camera to zoom in, zoom out and take a shot without touching it. The Samsung Galaxy NX costs £1299 / $1699 with the 18-55mm III OIS f3.5-5.6 kit lens and is available in black.

Ease of Use

The Samsung Galaxy NX is styled very much like a DSLR camera, albeit one with a massive 4.8-inch touchscreen LCD on the back. It marks a significant departure in terms of its design from the other NX-series cameras in the range, with the now defunct NX20 being its most similar predecessor. Measuring 136.5 x 101.2 x 25.7mm and weighing nearly 500g with the battery inserted, the Galaxy NX is the biggest and heaviest NX camera to date, and one of the largest compact system cameras. This is mostly because of the LCD screen, but also to accommodate the huge 4360mAh, which as well as powering the Android OS promises to take 440 shots before being depleted.

As with the other NX cameras, the Galaxy NX uses an APS-C sized sensor, which is around 1.5x physically larger than the Micro Four Thirds system and promises to rival the image quality of the majority of DSLRs. The Galaxy NX's sensor offers the same 20.3 megapixel count as the NX300, and the same on-sensor phase detection AF sensors which promise to make the auto-focusing system even quicker and more reliable.

The Samsung Galaxy NX has a mostly-metal body with a metal lens mount. First impressions of the Galaxy NX are positive, with similarly good build quality that we've come to expect from recent Samsung compact system cameras, although the few buttons that adorn the camera are plastic rather than metal. The Galaxy NX has a huge curved faux-leather handgrip on the front that has a textured area where your fingers rest and a curved corner on the rear panel for your thumb to sit, although the rear screen quickly became covered in fingerprints.

We tested the Galaxy NX with the supplied Samsung 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS III kit lens, which has built-in i-Functionality and a metal mount. The 18-55mm is also optically stabilised, important as the NX system doesn't offer in-body stabilisation. We'd advise choosing the 18-55mm lens rather than the alternative 20-50mm lens for this reason, which doesn't offer OIS, unless you really need the latter's smaller dimensions.

Optical image stabilisation can be turned on and off via the OIS menu option, rather than via a more handy switch on the lens barrel, with two different modes available. When enabled, the Galaxy NX automatically compensates for camera shake, which is a slight blurring of the image that typically occurs at slow shutter speeds when the camera is hand held. In practice we found that it does make a noticeable difference. You don't notice that the camera is actually doing anything different when anti-shake is turned on, just that you can use slower shutter speeds than normal and still take sharp photos.

The 18-55mm kit lens also features Samsung's now standard i-Function button, an innocuous looking button on the lens barrel which when pressed activates a sub-menu of key options and allows you to change them simply by turning the focus ring. Consecutive presses of the i-Function button moves through the five available settings - shutter speed and/or aperture, exposure compensation and/or white balance, ISO and the intelli-Zoom function. The latter two settings can optionally be turned on or off in the main menu, allowing a degree of user customisation.

As the Galaxy NX has an eye-level viewfinder, the i-Function button more logically provides a quick way of accessing certain key settings than on the other NX cameras that we've reviewed. You can hold the camera up to your eye, press the iFn button and turn the focus ring with your left hand, and grip the camera with your right, which for us is much more intuitive than trying to operate it at arm's length.

Samsung Galaxy NX Samsung Galaxy NX
Front Rear

On the front of the Samsung Galaxy NX is a small focus-assist and self-timer indicator lamp, plastic lens release button, and the metal NX lens mount. Located on the bottom of the camera is the shared microSD memory card slot, SIM card and battery compartment, protected by a plastic lockable cover. Commendably the Galaxy NX also offers a massive 16Gb of built-in storage, although this is also used by the Android OS and associated apps. Also found on the bottom of the camera is a metal tripod mount which is commendably located in-line with the centre of the lens.

Large metal neck strap eyelets are located on top of the Galaxy NX at the sides. Looking from the rear, on the left side of the body are slots for the built-in stereo sound and a plastic cover that houses a USB port and an HDMI port for connecting the Galaxy NX to a HD television or monitor. There's also an unprotected port for use with an optional remote shutter release.

The Galaxy NX has a built-in dust-removal system that vibrates the sensor 60,000 times per second to remove any unwanted specks from appearing in your images. By default this feature is turned off, something of an oversight by Samsung, so make sure to enable it so that it works every time you start-up the camera (it only takes about one second). You can also perform a manual sensor clean at any point.

The Galaxy NX has a built-in pop-up flash which is activated by a switch on the top of the camera. This useful pop-up unit offers a range of flash synchronisation modes, guide number of 11 at ISO 100, an X-sync speed of 1/180 to 1/8000 second, and coverage for a 28mm wide lens. The Galaxy NX also offers a flash hotshoe that will accept compatible Samsung flashguns (currently the SEF-42A, SEF-20A and SEF-15A models).

Also found on top of the Galaxy NX are the on/off button, a round thumb-operated dial for setting the shutter speed and zooming into and out of images during playback, a tactile shutter button and a one-touch movie record button. Hold the on-off button down for the first time and the Galaxy NX stutters into life, taking almost 30 seconds to display a series of graphical screens and switch to camera mode. The startup time from Standby is thankfully much quicker at just under 3 seconds, although no speed demon considering this is a compact system camera rather than a point-and-shoot compact. The thumb dial can additionally be clicked to access the Function menu, which provides quick access to the shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation and ISO speed.

The Galaxy NX features the same built-in electronic viewfinder with dioptre control as the older NX20 camera. It offers 0.68x magnification and 100% field of view, and the resolution is an impressive 1.44K dots, resulting in a detailed and bright display, but certainly not the best in class.

There's also a handy eye sensor which switches seamlessly between the LCD screen and the EVF when you hold it up to your eye, saving battery power and removing the unwanted distraction of the LCD display. As the EVF is reading the same signal from the image sensor as the rear LCD screen, it can also display similar information - for example, you can view and operate the Function Menu and see all the current settings, giving quick access to all the key camera settings while it's held up to your eye.

Samsung Galaxy NX Samsung Galaxy NX
Front Top

On the rear of the Galaxy NX is a massive 4.8-inch 1280 x 720 (HD) Super Clear touchscreen LCD (TFT), which is identical to the Samsung Galaxy Camera's screen. Samsung has lots of expertise in screen technology, and here that gives rise to deeper blacks and better contrast when both composing and reviewing shots, which, coupled with a respectable 614,000 dot resolution, to our eyes results in a more-than-life-like picture being relayed. The downside is that images may not look quite as dynamic as they did at the point of capture when subsequently viewed on your desktop PC. On the positive side, a sharp screen image ensures that menu options and function icons also look clean, crisp and legible.

As you'd expect given its screen size and lack of physical controls, the Galaxy NX relies heavily on its touchscreen interface, and its a very responsive one at that, with just the lightest of touches enough. All of the menu options can be changed via the touchscreen interface. You can also control image playback by touching the screen, with the ability to tap a thumbnail to see the full-size version and scroll through your images by dragging them from side to side.

The most immediately noticeable function is the ability to focus on your main subject simply by touching it on the LCD. It is a little too easy to accidentally press the screen and set the focus point to the wrong area for the current subject, but a simple tap in the middle of the LCD will center the AF point (or you can turn this feature off altogether). In the Tracking AF mode, the Galaxy NX cleverly follows the chosen subject around the screen using the the AF tracking function. If the subject exits the frame entirely, simply recompose and tap it again to start focusing. Impressive stuff that makes focusing on off-center subjects fast and intuitive. One touch shot automatically focuses on the subject and fires the shutter with a single tap on the screen, or you can use the on-screen camera icon to fire the shutter (or the physical shutter button).

If touching the screen is too much trouble, you can even take a picture using the power of your own voice, with "capture", "shoot", "smile" and "cheese" commands all available. Voice control can also be used to fire the flash, set the timer options, and change the shooting mode, amongst other settings.

The Galaxy NX, like several of its rivals, now features a Hybrid Auto Focus (AF) system. This combines phase- and contrast-detection autofocus methods to deliver an auto-focus system that's a little snappier and more accurate than a conventional contrast-detection system, particularly in low-light. There are four AF Area modes on offer, including Selection AF with a selectable focus area, Multi AF, Face Detection, and Self-Portrait Tracking, with Single, Continuous and Manual AF Modes available.

Manual focusing is assisted by the 'enlarged display' function. Once you have selected manual focus mode on the lens barrel, turning the manual focus ring automatically increases the magnification on the LCD display by 5x, which is a big help in getting the focus spot on. This is real, non-interpolated magnification, very useful for accurate manual focusing - provided you find a way to steady the camera. The screen cleverly returns to normal magnification when you stop using the manual focus ring for a few seconds. New to the Galaxy NX is the popular Focus Peaking function, which outlines the in-focus subject in white, red or green, with three strengths available (low, normal and high).

The Galaxy NX successfully achieves focus virtually all of the time with the 18-55mm kit lens, helped by the AF assist lamp - the Galaxy NX doesn't have any notable problems locking onto the subject in low-light situations. It takes about 1 second to store a single full-resolution JPEG image, allowing you to keep shooting as they are being recorded onto the memory card, with a brief LCD blackout between each image. Storing a single RAW image takes around 3 seconds, and it doesn't lock up the camera while the file is being written to memory.

Samsung Galaxy NX Samsung Galaxy NX
Home Screen Apps Screen

The Samsung Galaxy NX has a very good Burst mode which enables you to take 8.6 frames per second for up to 12 JPEG images at the highest image quality, or 6 RAW images. You can also choose a slower 5fps rate for 15 JPEGs. After the buffer is filled, you can continue taking shots, just at a slower rate, but you can't change the camera settings, which is a problem as the Galaxy NX can take up to a minute to write the files and clear the buffer - it's a good idea to use the fastest possible card with this camera. There's also a special Burst mode that records 30 frames per second, albeit only at 5 megapixel JPEG resolution, with slower 15 and 10fps options also available.

Metering options include Multi, Center-weighted and Spot, while the ISO range runs from 100-25,600. There are 7 white balance presets plus Auto and Custom settings and the ability to set a precise Kelvin value, and if you can't make up your mind the white balance and exposure settings can be bracketed.

The usual selection of Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual are available for the more experienced photographers, and the more beginner-friendly Auto and Smart Scene modes (30 in total), and a User mode for storing your settings, all accessed by pressing the soft Mode button on the right of the screen. As the Galaxy NX almost any physical controls, it's quite hard to use the Manual shooting mode. You have to use the thumb dial on the top of the camera to set the shutter speed, and then click it in to switch to change the aperture, which is a little slow and awkward in practice.

Smart Auto is Samsung's equivalent of the intelligent auto modes now found on most competitors models. You simply point the Galaxy NX at a scene or subject and the camera hopefully recognizes it from commonly used presets and automatically adjusts its settings to deliver optimum results. This means that it's not necessary for the user to manually delve into scene modes to call up the likes of 'landscape' or 'flower', essentially making the Galaxy NX's operation merely a case of point and shoot.

Touching the Settings icon in the top-left corner of the screen opens the very useful Smart Panel, which provides quick and easy access to virtually all of the most important camera settings (12 in total). This is an intuitive graphical interface that allows you to move around and choose the main camera settings via a combination of the LCD screen and the thumb dial.

The main menu system on the Galaxy NX is very straight-forward to use. There are four main menus - Camera, Movie, Sharing, and Settings - presented as a column of vertical icons, and due to the large LCD screen and restricting the number of on-screen choices to five, the various options and icons are clear and legible. If you have never used a digital camera before, or you're upgrading from a more basic model, reading the easy-to-follow manual before you start is a good idea. Unfortunately Samsung have chosen not to supply it in printed format, so you can't carry it with you for easy reference.

The Galaxy NX can record high-resolution Full HD 1080p 1920x1080 movies at 30/25fps and 720p 1280x720 movies at 60/50fps. There's also a more cinematic 1920x810 pixel, 24fps mode and a 640x480 at 60/50/25fps mode available. The Movie mode is accessed either via the dedicated one-touch record button on the top of the camera or the soft movie button on the LCD screen. Stereo sound is recorded during video capture via the small internal mics on the side of of the camera. The HDMI port allows you to connect the Galaxy NX to a high-def TV set, but unfortunately Samsung have decided to cut costs and not include a HDMI cable as standard in the box, which means that you'll have to purchase one separately to take advantage of this camera's HD connectivity.

Samsung Galaxy NX Samsung Galaxy NX
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

You can shoot movies using any of the creative modes, giving you lots of control over exposure, and you can also change the aperture and shutter speed during recording, albeit at the expense of recording the mechanism on the soundtrack. The Galaxy NX offers the ability to set the white balance and metering during video recording as well as still images. You can set a video to be played back at various slower or faster speeds (x0.25, x0.5, x1, x5, x10 and x20), the self-timer and image stabilizer can be used, a fade-in or out can be set, and a voice clip can be added.

You can also use a zoom lens during recording with the focusing set as for still images by half-pressing the shutter button. On the negative side, you'll find that if you choose continuous auto-focus, areas of the video will be blurred before becoming sharp again as the camera tries to refocus and the noise of the AF system is a little intrusive. Using manual focus is trickier but will ultimately produce better looking and sounding movies. On a more positive note, having the AF system is better than not being able to auto-focus at all, as with some DSLR cameras that offer video recording.

The Wi-Fi options here are many and varied, and include the ability to sync up with a smartphone and use it as a remote viewfinder. Users can email their images, upload them directly to Facebook, Picasa, Photobucket and YouTube, or instantly copy them to a home PC via Auto Backup. Samsung’s AllShare Play and Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud services provide free storage space that's accessible by anyone with an account. MobileLink allows you to directly send images to a compatible smartphone or tablet, while Remote Viewfinder utilises a smartphone as a live image previewer. Finally TV Link takes the place of a physical HDMI connection by playing back photos on any device that's connected to the same wireless access point as the camera.

In addition to wi-fi connectivity, the Galaxy NX is one of the first compact system cameras to feature NFC (Near Field Communication) technology (the same technology that's used for mobile payments), which allows you to connect the camera to a compatible internet enabled device or another NFC enabled camera by simply tapping them together. As with other smartphones, the Galaxy NX features an accelerometer, compass, gyro, proximity sensor, and a GPS receiver with support for both the GLONASS and A-GPS systems.

Pressing the Home icon in the top-left of the camera screen fires up the Galaxy NX's default screen, which displays the time and date, allows you to perform a Google Search, includes icons for the Camera and Gallery apps, plus Dropbox, Samsung Apps, Play Store and a further Apps icon which accesses all 41 default apps and the Widgets screen. Having the ability to connect to a wi-fi network (or cellular data if using a SIM card), then edit your images and video with either the Samsung apps, Instagram or any one of hundreds of other Android apps, and then upload them to your favourite online network quickly becomes compulsive and makes the traditional process of downloading to acomputer seem laborious and old-fashioned. If only all cameras offered the same out-of-the-box connectivity of the Galaxy NX. One crucial difference thing to note, though, is that the Galaxy NX doesn't have any telephony features other than support for Skype or Viber through Android, so it's not going to replace your mobile anytime soon, although it is possible to send text messages if you choose to install (and pay for) a SIM card.

We don't usually explain how to shut-down a camera (how hard can it be?), but in the case of the Galaxy NX, it's worth mentioning, as this camera works more like a smartphone. You have to hold down the power button on top for a few seconds, which opens a prompt on the touchscreen that gives you four options - Power Off, Data Network Mode, Flight Mode and Restart. Given the Galaxy NX's lengthy start-up time, we'd suggest that you leave the device turned on all the time, when it automatically switches to the power-saving Standby mode if you don't use it for a little while.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 20.3 megapixel SuperFine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 6.5Mb.

The Samsung Galaxy NX produced images of excellent quality during the review period. The 20.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS megapixel sensor used in the Galaxy NX produces noise-free JPEG images at ISO 100-800, with ISO 1600 also looking very good. ISO 3200 and 6400 only show a little noise, while the fastest settings of ISO 12800 and 25600 are quite a lot noisier and suffer from softening of fine detail and a loss of saturation, but the images are still perfectly usable for small prints and resizing for web use. The Galaxy NX does apply quite a lot of noise reduction to the JPEGs, as demonstrated by the RAW files which have more noise at the comparable high ISO settings.

The images were a little soft straight out of the Galaxy NX at the default sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting for JPEG files. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds and bulb mode of 8 minutes allowing you to capture plenty of light.

Noise

There are 9 ISO settings available on the Samsung Galaxy NX. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting, with JPEG on the left and RAW on the right.

JPEG RAW

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg
   

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

iso12800.jpg iso12800raw.jpg
   

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

iso25600.jpg iso25600raw.jpg

File Quality

The Samsung Galaxy NX has 3 different JPEG image quality settings available, with SuperFine being the highest quality option, and you can also shoot in RAW format. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

20M SuperFine (6.04Mb) (100% Crop) 20M Fine (3.89Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_superfine.jpg quality_fine.jpg
   
20M Normal (2.25Mb) (100% Crop) 20M RAW (28.5Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_normal.jpg quality_raw.jpg

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

sharpen1.jpg sharpen1a.jpg
   
sharpen2.jpg sharpen2a.jpg

Flash

The flash settings on the Samsung Galaxy NX are Smart Flash, Auto, Auto+Red-eye reduction, Fill-in, Fill-in+Red-eye reduction, 1st Curtain, 2nd Curtain and Off . These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (18mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (18mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (55mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (55mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are a couple of portrait shots. Neither the Auto setting or the Red-eye reduction mode caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
flash_on.jpg flash_on1.jpg
   

Red-eye reduction

Red-eye reduction (100% Crop)

flash_redeye.jpg flash_redeye1.jpg

Night

The Samsung Galaxy NX's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and there's also a Bulb setting of up to 4 minutes, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 200. The camera takes the same amount of time again to apply noise reduction, so for example at the 15 second setting the actual exposure takes 30 seconds.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

night1.jpg night1a.jpg

Optical Image Stabilisation

The Samsung Galaxy NX uses a lens-shift anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, we took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. With anti shake turned on, the images are noticeably sharper than with anti-shake turned off.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)

Anti Shake On (100% Crop)

1/13 sec / 27mm antishake1.jpg antishake1a.jpg
     
1/5 sec / 83 mm antishake2.jpg antishake2a.jpg

Dynamic Range

The Samsung Galaxy NX has a Dynamic Range expansion mode with three settings - Off, Smart Range+ and HDR, with the latter setting providing the biggest difference.

Off

Smart Range+

dynamic_range_01.jpg dynamic_range_02.jpg
   

HDR

 
dynamic_range_03.jpg  

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Samsung Galaxy NX camera, which were all taken using the 20.3 megapixel SuperFine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Samsung Galaxy NX enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Samsung RAW (SRW) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 at 24 frames per second. Please note that this 20 second movie is 41.1Mb in size.

Product Images

Samsung Galaxy NX

Front of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Front of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Front of the Camera / Pop-up Flash

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Side of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Side of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Side of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Side of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera / Home Screen

 

Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera / Apps Screen

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera / Camera Screen

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera / Settings Menu

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera / Quick Settings

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera / Shooting Mode

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera / Albums Screen

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Rear of the Camera / Power Off

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Top of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Bottom of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Side of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX

Side of the Camera

 
Samsung Galaxy NX
Front of the Camera
 
Samsung Galaxy NX
Front of the Camera
 
Samsung Galaxy NX
Memory Card Slot
 
Samsung Galaxy NX
Battery Compartment

Conclusion

To borrow a footballing analogy, the new Samsung Galaxy NX is very much a game of two halves. In the first it delights with excellent image quality and the compelling ability to edit and share your images via the Android OS, but in the second it fades away as the convoluted interface, slow processing times and sky-high price detract from the overall performance. The Samsung Galaxy NX is a brave but ultimately flawed first-generation product, too expensive to entice more casual users to invest in the better image quality that it delivers, and not professional enough to tempt keen enthusiasts away from rival interchangeable-lens systems.

In attempting to bring together the best features of the Samsung Galaxy and NX300 cameras, with a little sprinkling of the older NX20's DSLR-like design, Samsung have ended up with a product that ultimately won't satisfy any of its target user groups. That's not to say that we don't like the Galaxy NX - it delivers excellent image quality, fast and reliable auto-focusing, a rich feature-set, and a much better sharing experience than other comparable cameras - it's just that we can't see exactly who will stump up the eye-watering £1299 / $1699 asking price, especially as that doens't even include any data costs to take advantage of the 3G/4G connectivity.

Ultimately we think that the Galaxy Camera serves the consumer better, and the NX300 the keen prosumer - and that's not even looking outside the Samsung family. Despite its huge potential, we can't justify recommending the Samsung Galaxy NX until its price, performance and user interface issues have been addressed.

3.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 3
Features 4.5
Ease-of-use 3
Image quality 4.5
Value for money 2.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Samsung Galaxy NX.

Canon EOS 6D

The Canon EOS 6D is a new full-frame DSLR with a much more affordable price-tag than the 5D Mark III and a few tricks up its sleeve that its bigger brother doesn't offer. At over £1000 / $1000 cheaper than the 5D Mark II, have Canon cut too many corners for the 6D to be a real contender? Read our in-depth Canon EOS 6D review to find out...

Canon EOS 70D

The new Canon EOS 70D is not just another DSLR camera, thanks to its innovative Dual-Pixel CMOS AF system. This new technology aims to deliver much better Live View and Movie shooting than any other DSLR on the market. Read our in-depth Canon EOS 70D review to find out if it delivers on its promise...

Fujifilm X-Pro1

The Fujifilm X-Pro1 is a new premium compact system camera. Building on the popularity of the X100, the retro, rangefinder-styled X-Pro1 offers a brand new sensor that's claimed to rival full-frame DSLRs, an improved hybrid viewfinder, and a new X lens mount with three prime lenses available on launch. Read our Fujifilm X-Pro1 review to find out if it can emulate the runaway success of the X100...

Leica X2

The Leica X2 is a pocket camera for professionals, offering a 16 megapixel APS-C sensor, fast f/2.8, 36mm lens, improved autofocusing and the usual superlative Leica handling and build quality. Is that enough to justify the Leica X2's £1575 / $1995 price tag? Read our in-depth Leica X2 review to find out...

Nikon D600

The Nikon D600 is a new full-frame DSLR camera. Featuring a 24.3 megapixel full-frame sensor, the small, lightweight D600 also offers 1080p HD video, ISO range of 50-25600, a 39-point AF system, 3.2-inch LCD screen and a viewfinder with 100% coverage. Read our in-depth Nikon D600 review now...

Nikon D7100

The D7100 is a new prosumer DSLR camera from Nikon, succeeding but not replacing the popular D7000 model. The weather-proof D7100 features a 24 megapixel DX image sensor, 51-point autofocus system, 6fps burst shooting and a high-resolution 3.2 inch LCD screen. Read our detailed Nikon D7100 review to find out if it's the right DSLR camera for you...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 is a new compact system camera that promises to offer both high-quality still images and movies. The exciting GH3 features Full 1080p HD video with bit rates up to 72Mbps, a 16 megapixel sensor, a 3 inch swivelling touchscreen OLED, built-in wi-fi connectivity, a weather-proof body, and an extensive ISO range of 125-25600. Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 review to find out if it's the most complete video/stills camera yet...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 is an exciting new compact system camera aimed firmly at keen photographers. With a built-in tilting electronic viewfinder, 16 megapixel sensor, 3 inch tilting LCD touchscreen, pop-up flash, 60/50p high-definition video, integrated wi-fi and NFC connectivity, both lens and in-body image stabilization, and a stylish design, is the GX7 the ultimate interchangeable lens camera? Read our expert Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 review to find out....

Samsung Galaxy Camera

It's not very often that something entirely new enters the camera market, but the Samsung Galaxy Camera certainly fits that bill. Half travel-zoom camera, half smartphone, with a dash of the Android operating system and a pinch of wi-fi and 3G/4G connectivity, the Galaxy Camera is a very brave attempt to breathe new life into the declining compact camera business. Read our detailed Samsung Galaxy Camera review, complete with 90 full-size sample images, to find out if it's a success or not...

Samsung NX300

The Samsung NX300 is a new mid-range compact system camera featuring a 20.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, hybrid AF system, 3.3-inch tilting AMOLED touchscreen, 8.6fps continuous shooting, Wi-fi and NFC connectivity, full 1080p video, and an ISO range 100-25,600. Read our in-depth Samsung NX300 review now...

Sony A77

The Sony A77 is the flagship model in the second generation of Sony's SLT camera range. The A77 offers a 24.3 megapixel sensor, 12fps burst shooting, 1080p Full HD movies, high-resolution OLED viewfinder, 3-inch free-angle LCD, 19-point auto-focus with 11 cross-sensors, built-in GPS and an ISO range of 50-16000. Can it really challenge Nikon and Canon in the discerning prosumer market? Read our detailed Sony A77 review to find out...

Sony NEX-7

The Sony NEX-7 is a new compact system camera with a long list of photographer-friendly features. Offering a 24.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, 1080p HD movies, high-res 3 inch tilting screen, 10fps burst shooting, built-in electronic viewfinder and pop-up flash, the NEX-7 seems to be on paper at least a very exciting proposition. Read our full Sony NEX-7 review, complete with sample JPEGs, RAW files, and movies, to find out if this is the ultimate compact system camera...

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Samsung Galaxy NX from around the web.

pocket-lint.com »

The Samsung Galaxy NX is the first system camera to utilise Google's Android operating system, the same OS as found in many smartphones and tablets, which makes for easy on-the-go sharing and opens up a variety of additional uses.
Read the full review »

techradar.com »

The Samsung Galaxy NX was finally unveiled in all its Android 4.2 Jelly Bean-powered glory in June 2013, and we've now had a chance to test the camera fully.
Read the full review »

trustedreviews.com »

The short version is it’s the world’s first Android-based interchangeable lens camera, hence the confusing ‘Galaxy’ branding borrowed from the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and S4 Zoom. The longer version is its Samsung’s latest play to make cameras more connected, with Wi-Fi, NFC, 3G/4G and Android combining to make it easier than ever to share photos straight from your camera. Consider it a high-end version of the Samsung Galaxy Camera. Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-galaxy-nx_Digital-Camera_review#H6UFTW8ly1QWTZCl.99
Read the full review »

amateurphotographer.co.uk »

Could the 20.3-million-pixel Samsung Galaxy NX with Android operating system change the way enthusiast photographers use and think about their cameras? Read the Samsung Galaxy NX review...
Read the full review »

Specifications

Network/Bearer and Wireless Connectivity

Infra LTE 4G
LTE LTE
3G HSPA+
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4+5GHz
Wi-Fi Direct Yes
Bluetooth Profiles Bluetooth 4.0
Connectivity Support DLNA, HDMI 1.4
PC Sync. KIES, KIES Air

Image Sensor

Sensor Type CMOS
Sensor Size 23.5 x 15.7mm
Effective Pixel Approx 20.3MP
Total Pixel Approx 21.6MP
Color Filter RGB primary

Lens

Usable Lens Samsung Lenses
Mount Samsung NX

Image Stabilisation

Type Lens Shift
Mode OIS Mode1 / Mode2 / OFF

Distortion Correct

Mode LDC always / half shutter / off

Dust Reduction

Type Supersonic drive

OS

Android

Display

Type ScLCD
Size 4.77"
Resolution 1280 x 720 (HD)
Field of View Approx.100%

ViewFinder

Resolution SVGA
Field of View Approx.100%
Magnification Approx. 0.68X
Eyepoint Approx. 18.0mm
Diopter Adjustment Approx. -4.0 ~ +2.0m-1

Chipset

CPU Type Quad
CPU Speed / TYPE 1.6GHz

Memory

16GB

Sensors

Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity, Light, Gyro

Focusing

Type Phase Detection & Contrast AF
Mode Single AF, Continuous AF, MF, Touch AF
Focusing point Total AF Point: 105 points (Phase Detection AF), 247 points (Contrast AF, depends on display) Selection: 1 point ( Free selection ) Multi: Normal 21 (3 x 7) points (Cross point 1), Closeup 35points Face Detection: Max. 10 faces
AF-Assist Lamp Yes

Shutter Speed

Type Electronically controlled vertical-run focal plane shutter
Speed Auto:1/6000sec. ~ 30sec. Manual:1/6000sec. ~ 30sec. (1/3EV step) Bulb ( Limit time : 4min. )

Exposure

Metering System TTL 221 (17 x 13) Block segment Metering: Multi, Centre-weighted, Spot Metering range: EV 0 - 18 (ISO 100 - 30mm, F2)
Compensation ±3 EV (1/3EV step)
AE Lock Yes
ISO Equivalent Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600 (1 or 1/3EV step) ISO Step (1/3 Step / 1 Step) Auto ISO Range (Up to 3200)

Drive Mode

Mode Single, Continuous, Burst (5M size only), Self-timer, Bracket (AE / WB)
Continuous JPEG: High (8.6fps) , Normal (up to 5fps) selectable Burst: 10, 15, 30fps selectable, 30 shots by 1 release RAW: High (8.6fps), Normal (up to 5fps) selectable
Bracket Auto Exposure Bracket (±3EV), WB (AB - / +3, 2, 1 MG - / +3, 2, 1)
Self-Timer 2, 5, 10, 30sec
Remote Controller Micro USB port

Flash

Type Pop-up flash
Mode Smart Flash, Auto, Auto+Red-eye reduction, Fill-in, Fill-in+Red-eye reduction, 1st Curtain, 2nd Curtain, OFF
Guide Number 11 (at ISO 100)
Angle of View Coverage 28mm wide-angle
Sync. Speed Less than 1/180sec.
Flash Compensation -2 - +2EV
Internal Flash Pop-up flash
External Flash Samsung External Flash available
Synchro (Flash attachment) Hot Shoe

White Balance

Mode Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent (W, NW, D), Tungsten, Flash, Custom, Colour Temperature (Manual)
Micro Adjustment Each 7 steps in Amber / Blue / Green / Magenta axis

Dynamic Range Expansion

OFF / Smart Range+ / HDR

Shooting

Mode Auto, Smart Mode, Expert Mode (Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual, User), My Mode
Smart mode (1) Portrait: Smart Mode Suggest, Beauty face, Best Photo, Continuous Shot, Best Face, Colour Bracket, Kids, Vignett+, Golf (2) Scenary: Landscape, Dawn, Snow (3) Close-up / Indoor: Macro, Food, Party / Indoor (4) Pro Style: Action freeze, Rich Tone, Panorama, Waterfall, Animated Photo, Multi Exposure, Drama, Eraser, Sound & Shot, Miniature, Creative Shot, Interval (5) Night Scenary: Silhouette, Sunset, Night, Fireworks, Light Trace
Smart Filter No effect, Vignette, Grey-scale, Sepia, Vintage, Faded Colours, Turquoise, Tint, Cartoon, Moody, Rugged, Oil pastel, Fish Eye
Image Size JPEG (3:2):20.0M (5472 x 3648), 10.1M (3888 x 2592), 5.9M (2976 x 1984), 2.0M (1728 x 1152), 5.0M (2736 x 1824): Burst mode only JPEG (16:9):16.9M (5472 x 3080), 7.8M (3712 x 2088), 4.9M (2944 x 1656), 2.1M (1920 x 1080) JPEG (1:1):13.3M (3648 x 3648), 7.0M (2640 x 2640), 4.0M (2000 x 2000), 1.1M (1024 x 1024) RAW : 20.0M (5472 x 3648) * 3D Lens Image Size: JPEG (16:9) 4.1M (2688 x 1512), (16:9) 2.1M (1920 x 1080)
Quality Super fine , Fine, Normal, RAW, RAW + JPEG
RAW Format SRW(ver.2.0.0)
Color Space SRGB, Adobe RGB

Image Play

Type Gallery
Editing Photo Editor in Gallery
Smart Filter Filter in Gallery

Movie Clip

Format MP4
Compression Movie: H.264 , Sound: AAC
Mode Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual
Recording With Audio or without Audio
Smart Filter No effect, Vignette, Grey-scale, Sepia, Vintage, Faded Colours, Turquoise, Tint, Cartoon, Moody, Rugged, Oil pastel, Fish Eye
Image Size 1920 x 1080, 1920 x 810 (Cinema - 24fps), 1280 x 720 , 640 x 480, 320 x 240 for Sharing (Default: 1920 x 1080)
Frame Rate (1) NTSC: 1920 x 1080 - 30fps 1920 x 810 - 24fps 1280 x 720 - 60fps, 30fps 640 x 480 - 60fps, 30fps 320 x 240 - 30fps (2) PAL: 1920 x 1080 (25FPS) 1920 x 810 (24FPS) 1280 x 720 (50FPS) 1280 x 720 (25FPS) 640 x 480 (50FPS) 640 x 480 (25FPS) 320 x 240 (25FPS) * 3D Lens 1920 x 1080 30p (Side by Side)
Multi-Motion Recording 1/2x, 1/4x, 1/8 (Slow Motion Movie: VGA) 2x, 4x, 8x (Fast Motion Movie: 1920 x 1080, 1920 x 810, 1280 x 720, 640 x 480, 320 x 240)
Quality High Quality , Normal
Sound Stereo
Movie Editing Video Editor

Services and Applications

Samsung Apps Samsung Apps
ChatON, mFluent IM ChatON
Special Features Photo Suggest

Storage

Media 1) Built-in Memory (16GB) 2) Card Slot - Micro SD, SDHC (32GB), SDXC (64GB) Support
File Format RAW (SRW ver2.0.0), JPEG (EXIF 2.21), MPO (for 3D)
Capacity (2GB) 20.0M: RAW 39 20.0M (3:2): Super Fine 130, Fine 163, Normal 217 10.1M (3:2): Super Fine 277, Fine 356, Normal 505 5.9M (3:2) : Super Fine 471, Fine 570, Normal 727 2.0M (3:2): Super Fine 1053, Fine 1426, Normal 1941 Burst (5.0M): Super Fine 430, Fine 514, Normal 638 16.9M (16:9): Super Fine 153, Fine 190, Normal 251 7.8M (16:9): Super Fine 346, Fine 417, Normal 568 4.9M (16:9): Super Fine 512, Fine 670, Normal 896 2.1M (16:9): Super Fine 1015, Fine 1349, Normal 1700 13.3M (1:1): Super Fine 217, Fine 227, Normal 284 7.0M (1:1): Super Fine 336, Fine 465, Normal 592 4.0M (1:1): Super Fine 559, Fine 752, Normal 1203 1.1M (1:1): Super Fine 2149, Fine 2471, Normal 2819 * These figures are measure under the Samsung standard.

GPS

Type O

Interface

Digital Output Connector USB 2.0
Video Output HDMI 1.4b
External Release Yes

Physical Specification

Dimension Dimension (WxHxD) 136.5 x 101.2 x 25.7mm (37.65mm)
Weight 410g (without Battery)495g (with Battery)
Operating Temperature 0 ~ 40°C
Operating Humidity 5 ~ 85%

S/W and PC OS

Bundle PC S/W Adobe Lightroom

Battery

Capacity 4360mAh
USB Chargeable Yes
Still Image Capturing Up to 440 shots
Video Recording Up to 190Min
Audio playback Up to 104Hr
Video Playback Up to 14Hr
Internet use Up to 13Hr (3G), 13Hr (LTE), 16Hr (WiFi)

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