Samsung NX100 Review

November 10, 2010 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The Samsung NX100 is the second new mirrorless compact system camera this year from Samsung, following the more DSLR-like NX10 model. In addition to a lighter and more compact body and a boost in ISO speed to 6400, the biggest innovation is the NX100's lens. The i-Function button on the new 20-50mm and 20mm pancake kit lenses allows users to control the NX100 by scrolling through manual settings (shutter speed, aperture, EV, WB, and ISO) and using the focus ring to change the parameters for each setting. The NX100 also has a special i-Scene lens priority mode, which automatically selects scene options that are optimized for the lens currently being used. Just like the NX10, the NX100 has the same 14.6 megapixel APS-C sized CMOS sensor, 720p movie mode, dust reduction system and fixed 3-inch AMOLED screen. The NX100 also has a fast contrast auto-focus system, wide range of manual controls, a Smart Auto function which automatically selects the best shooting mode, and a Smart Range feature that captures detail in both the bright and dark areas of the picture. The Samsung NX100 is available in black, white and brown and costs around £449.99 / $599.99 with the new 20-50mm kit lens.

Ease of Use

Samsung may not have been first to market in the increasingly popular Compact System Camera category, but they're certainly making a big effort to capture as much share as possible. Following hot on the heels of the DSLR-like NX10 comes the release of the more compact NX100, which is smaller, lighter, less complicated and cheaper than its big brother. It uses exactly the same APS-C sized sensor as the NX10, which is around 1.5x physically larger than the Micro Four Thirds system, theoretically giving it the edge in terms of all-round image quality, whilst still maintaining a small camera body that is very similar to the likes of the comparable Olympus E-PL1. Since the launch of the NX10, things have moved on at a rapid pace, with Sony's NEX system also boasting an APS-C sensor and a much smaller body (although the lenses are bigger) and Panasonic's new DMC-GF2 making the overall size of a Compact System Camera and lens even smaller. With rumours of Nikon joining the fray, it's clear that the so-called CSCs are here to stay.

Just like the NX10, the Samsung NX100 is an unashamedly clear attempt to capture the mass-market, with an all-plastic body and 20-50mm kit lens with a plastic mount, which goes some way to explaining just how Samsung have managed to hit such an aggressive price point - a street price of under £400 / $500 for a pocketable APS-C camera complete with a lens is a real eye-opener, undercutting the main competition by some margin and competing with high-end compacts like the Canon PowerShot G12, Panasonic DMC-LX5 and Nikon Coolpix P7000. Despite this low cost, first impressions of the NX100 are positive, with the usual high build quality that we've come to expect from recent Samsung cameras - there really are no compromises here.

The NX100 sports a more futuristic look than either its main rivals or the traditional NX10, with a two-tone silver and black colour, rounded edges and a pronounced curve which forms the otherwise unadorned handgrip. While its more pleasing on the eye, we missed having something to get a real grip on, with the smooth plastic body proving difficult to hold firmly. On the plus side the NX100 does offer a logical and intuitive interface that belies the fact that this is a first generation product, striking a great balance between providing easy access to the main features and achieving an uncluttered control system whilst still managing to cater for both beginner and prosumer alike.

At 120.5 x 71 x 34.5mm, the NX100 is smaller and slimmer than the NX10, principally through the removal of the latter's electronic viewfinder and built-in pop-up flash. While the NX100's target audience probably won't notice the lack of an EVF, being more used to holding a camera at arm's length than holding one up to their eye, they will undoubtedly miss having a flash. This is provided for by an optional accessory (SEF-15A) which slots into the Smart Shoe on top of the camera, but it's an extra expense, adds to the bulk of the camera, and obviously isn't as well integrated as some of its main rivals. There's also an optional EVF (EVF10) which slots into the same connector, with the same caveats regarding cost and size, and you can obviously only use the EVF or the flash at one time. Neither are provided in the standard kit or were additionally provided for this review, so we can't comment further on their performance.

Two new lenses are being introduced at the same time as the NX100, the 20-50mm F3.5-5.6 and the 20mm F2.8 pancake, and both are available in kit form with the body. The standard zoom provides an unusual 35mm equivalent focal range of 30-75mm, not quite as wide or as long as most kit lenses. It also employs a lockable retracting design a la the Olympus 14-42mm (the Samsung lens is marginally shorter and a little lighter), which makes it easier to store in a coat pocket but slower to start shooting with the camera as you have to remember to unlock the lens (the NX100 prompts you to do this). Note that unlike the existing Samsung 18-55mm lens which shipped with the NX10, the new 20-50mm isn't optically stabilised, and as the NX system doesn't offer in-body stabilisation, this means that the NX100 completely misses out a key feature, something which compromises its effectiveness in low-light and also an important factor to bear in mind when comparing systems.

Samsung NX100 Samsung NX100
Front Rear

Both lenses feature the new i-Function button, an innocuous looking addition to 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, white balance and ISO. The latter two settings can optionally be turned on or off in the main menu, allowing a degree of user customisation. While the i-Function button does provide a quick way of accessing certain key settings, I can't help feeling that the idea is best suited to a camera with an electronic viewfinder where you can hold it up to your eye, press the button and turn the focus ring with your left hand, and grip the camera with your right. Holding the NX10 at arm's length to view the settings while pressing the i-Function button and rotating the focus ring just seems cumbersome, especially when you can also use the rear control wheel to perform the same actions, something that I found myself doing by default.

Large metal neck strap eyelets are located on top of the NX100 at the sides, with the rear dominated by the fixed 3 inch LCD screen. On the left side of the body is a large cover that houses four different ports - DC In, HDMI for connecting the NX100 to a HD television or monitor, Remote socket for use with the optional remote shutter release, and AV Out. Having all of these connections in one location makes perfect sense. Next to this compartment is a small innocuous looking button marked with a C, which actually activates the Optical Preview (essentially a digital Depth of Field Preview) by default and can be alternatively set to either One Touch White Balance or One Touch RAW+, allowing further user customisation of the camera.

On the front of the Samsung NX100 is a small focus-assist and self-timer indicator lamp, lens release button, and the metal NX lens mount. Located on the bottom of the camera is the shared SD / SDHC / SDXC memory card slot and battery compartment, protected by a plastic lockable cover. The BP1310 battery provides up to 420 shots under the CIPA testing standard, on a par with the NX100's main rivals. 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 mount.

The NX100 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 NX100 has a so-called Smart Shoe that will accept compatible Samsung flashguns (currently the SEF-42A, SEF-20A and new SEF-15A models) and other accessories such as the previously mentioned EVF and the new GPS unit (GPS10). Also found on top of the NX100 are the mono mic, on/off switch, a small dial for setting the shutter speed and zooming into and out of images during playback, and a tactile shutter button. There's a traditional round dial with a positive click for the different exposure modes, which is a typical feature of DSLR cameras and enables you to quickly change between the various options. The usual selection of Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual are available for the more experienced photographers, and the more beginner-friendly Scene modes, Smart Auto and i-Scene mode are also accessed via this dial.

Samsung NX100 Samsung NX100
Side Front

When the new i-Scene shooting mode is selected, the NX100 automatically recognise what type of lens has been attached and suggests a list of scene modes to choose from that are tailored to that specific lens. While this helps to narrow down the usual vast number of choices, it would have been more effective if combined with the Smart Auto shooting mode, rather than being a stand-alone mode, as you still have to pick from the scene modes that are presented to you.

Smart Auto is Samsung's equivalent of the intelligent auto modes on competitors from Panasonic (its Lumix range), Sony (the latest T-series Cyber-shots) and Canon (Digital IXUS family). You simply point the NX100 at a scene or subject and the camera hopefully recognizes it from 16 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', making the NX100's operation merely a case of point and shoot.

In practice the Smart Auto system works very well, with the NX100 usually picking the most appropriate combination of settings for the current situation. Obviously not all situations are covered by the 16 scene modes that the system uses, but it does work for the majority of the time. It makes it possible for the less experienced photographer to easily take well-exposed, sharp pictures of people, scenery and close-ups by simply pointing and shooting the camera and is more intuitive than the traditional scene modes (which are still available).

Completing the mode dial is the familiar Video icon. The NX100 can record high-resolution HD 720p 1280x720 movies in the 16:9 aspect ratio and standard VGA 640x480 or 320x260 movies in the 4:3 aspect ratio, all using the H.264 format at 30 frames per second. The Movie mode is accessed by selecting the Movie option on the shooting mode dial and then pressing the shutter button to begin recording. Only Mono sound is recorded during video capture via the small internal mic on the top of of the camera. The HDMI port allows you to connect the NX100 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.

You can shoot movies using the Program or Aperture-priority modes, giving you some control over exposure, and you can also change the aperture during recording, albeit at the expense of recording the mechanism on the soundtrack. The NX100 offers the ability to use any of the 9 Picture Wizard settings during video recording as well as still images, which instantly lends an interesting art-house effect to your home movies, the self-timer can be used, a voice clip can be added, and the Wind Cut function reduces the unwanted intrusion of wind noise.

Samsung NX100 Samsung NX100
Top Side

You can also use a zoom lens during recording with 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 most current DSLR cameras that offer video recording. Hand-holding the NX100 during movie recording inevitably leads to obvious shake, so for best results you'll need a dedicated video tripod.

Turning to the rear of the NX100, the NX100's 3-inch, 614,000-dot rear LCD screen is very impressive, incorporating AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology that provides a number of key advantages over traditional LCD screens. These include easier viewing in bright sunshine and a very wide viewing angle, 10,000 times faster refresh rate than conventional LCDs, less power consumption and a high contrast ratio of 10,000:1.

Above the LCD screen is a small DISP button which cycles through the various display modes on the LCD screen and the accessory port for connecting the optional Electronic Viewfinder, protected by a removable plastic insert. To the right of the LCD is a familiar round navigation pad with four buttons above and two below. Starting at the top are very handily placed buttons for locking the exposure and setting exposure compensation, then the Menu button.

The main menu system on the NX100 is very straight-forward to use. There are seven main menus presented as a row of horizontal icons, much like Canon's DSLR camera range. Due to the large LCD screen and restricting the number of on-screen choices to six, 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 fourth button is the useful Fn, which provides quick and easy access to 7 of the most important camera settings, which are presented as a horizontal row of icons in the EVF or LCD screen. Used in combination with the four directions on the navigation pad that set the Focus type, White Balance, ISO and Metering, you really can access most of the NX100's key options with one press of a button, although changing them takes a couple more presses. Completing the rear controls are buttons for playing back and deleting your images, with the latter also doubling up as the Green button which is used in conjunction with other controls to reset them to default values, for example the exposure compensation.

Samsung NX100 Samsung NX100
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

Surrounding the four navigation pad buttons is a circular control wheel which is used for, amongst other things, changing the aperture by turning from left to right and back again. As with the shooting mode dial, this is a common feature found on some DSLR cameras, so you'll be right at home if you've used a DSLR before - compact camera users will need to become accustomed to using this dial. In the Shutter Priority and Manual modes things are actually unexpectedly easy, as the Zoom dial on top of the camera comes into play. You simply turn the rear control wheel to to change the aperture and use the Zoom dial to set the shutter speed.

Unlike a conventional DSLR camera which uses a phase detection auto-focus system, the NX100 employs the same Contrast AF system that is commonly used by compact cameras. Experienced photographers will now be tutting loudly at the thought of having to use a traditionally slower system, but thankfully this decision hasn't resulted in a slow and unpredictable AF - quite the contrary in fact. The Samsung NX100's focusing speed is on a par with the speedy Panasonic G1 / GH1 cameras and most DSLRs. This means that it is noticeably quicker to lock onto the subject than the Olympus PEN series which crucially suffer from a 1/2 second lag. There were also very few occasions when the NX100 failed to lock onto the subject, especially when using the centre AF point, which can be usefully set to one of four different sizes.

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. The NX100 also has a useful AF Priority function that begins focusing as soon as you point the camera. 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, 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. Metering options include Multi, Center-weighted and Spot, while the ISO range runs from 100-6400. There are 6 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, exposure and even the Picture Wizard settings can all be bracketed.

The start-up time from turning the NX100 on to being ready to take a photo is impressively quick at around 1 second. The NX100 successfully achieves focus most of the time with the 20-50mm kit lens, helped by the AF assist lamp - the NX100 doesn't have any notable problems locking onto the subject in low-light situations. It takes about 1 second to store a 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 4 seconds, but thankfully it doesn't lock up the camera in any way - you can use the menu system or shoot another image while the first file is being written to memory. The Samsung NX100 has a fairly good Burst mode which enables you to take 3 frames per second for up to 10 JPEG images at the highest image quality, or 3 RAW images. The interesting Burst mode shoots at 30fps for 30 shots with a single press of the shutter button, but only for 1.4 megapixel JPEGs.

Once you have captured a photo the Samsung NX100 has a fairly good range of options when it comes to playing, reviewing and managing your images. You can instantly scroll through the images that you have taken, view thumbnails (up to 20 onscreen at the same time), zoom in and out up to 7.2x magnification, view slideshows, delete and protect an image and set the print order. The Image Edit option offers a number of different ways to alter the look of an already-captured photo, including redeye fix, backlight, changing the photo style, resizing, rotating, face retouch and apply smart filters. The DISP button toggles detailed settings information about each picture on and off, such as the ISO rating and aperture / shutter speed, and there are small brightness and RGB histograms available.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 14.6 megapixel SuperFine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

The Samsung NX100 produced images of excellent quality during the review period. The large 14.6 megapixel APS-C CMOS megapixel sensor used in the NX100 produces noise-free JPEG images at ISO 100-400, with ISO 800 also looking good. ISO 1600 only shows a little noise, while the fastest settings of ISO 3200 and 6400 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 NX100 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 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.

The images were a little soft straight out of the NX100 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. Colours were vibrant without being over-saturated in the default Standard Picture Wizard mode, and you can always choose Vivid if you want even more punch or one of the other seven presets to change the mood of your JPEG images, with three customisable settings alo available. Smart Range is quite a useful feature that increases visible detail in both highlight and shadow areas of the image, albeit at the expense of reducing the colour saturation a little.

Noise

There are 6 ISO settings available on the Samsung NX100. 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)

   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Samsung NX100 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.

14M SuperFine (4.5Mb) (100% Crop) 14M Fine (2.8Mb) (100% Crop)
   
14M Normal (1.9Mb) (100% Crop) 14M RAW (25.5Mb) (100% Crop)

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)

   

Night

The Samsung NX100's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and there's also a Bulb setting of up to 8 minutes, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 25 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like. 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 Shot

Night Shot (100% Crop)

Picture Wizard

Samsung's various Picture Wizard options are similar to Olympus' Picture Modes, Nikon's Picture Styles and Canon's Picture Controls, offering preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone settings, all of which can be changed. The nine available Picture Controls are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences. There are also three additional Custom styles so that you can create your own looks.

Standard

Vivid

   

Portrait

Landscape

   

Forest

Retro

   

Cool

Calm

   

Classic

 
 

Smart Range

The Smart Range feature noticeably increases the visible detail in both shadow and highlight areas, as shown in the example below, although it does tend to wash-out the stronger colours in the process.

Off

On

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Samsung NX100 camera, which were all taken using the 14.6 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 NX100 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 quality setting of 1280x720 at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 10 second movie is 11.5Mb in size.

Product Images

Samsung NX100

Front of the Camera

 
Samsung NX100

Front of the Camera

 
Samsung NX100

Isometric View

 
Samsung NX100

Isometric View

 
Samsung NX100

Isometric View

 
Samsung NX100

Isometric View

 
Samsung NX100

Rear of the Camera

 
Samsung NX100

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

 
Samsung NX100

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

 

Samsung NX100

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

 
Samsung NX100

Rear of the Camera / Function Menu

 
Samsung NX100

Rear of the Camera / i-Function Menu

 
Samsung NX100

Top of the Camera

 
Samsung NX100

Bottom of the Camera

 
Samsung NX100

Side of the Camera

 
Samsung NX100

Side of the Camera

 
Samsung NX100

Front of the Camera

 
Samsung NX100

Front of the Camera

 
Samsung NX100

Memory Card Slot

 
Samsung NX100

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Samsung NX100 is a natural evolution of the expanding NX-series, providing a more compact and lighter overall package than the existing NX10 model which competes more clearly with the Panasonic GF, Olympus EP and Sony NEX cameras. The NX100 isn't quite as small or as well-realised as we'd have liked, but it's currently by far the cheapest way to buy into the Compact System Camera revolution.

The reduction in the size of the NX100 has come at the cost of the loss of a built-in electronic viewfinder and, more crucially for its target market of compact camera upgraders, a built-in flash. While most of the NX100's potential owners won't mind the lack of an EVF, they will miss the versatility of a pop-up flash, something that several key rivals offer. Sure, you can fit an optional flash unit to the NX100 via the Smart Shoe, but its more inconvenient and also prevents additional use of either the EVF or the intriguing GPS unit at the same time. On a more practical level we also missed having a proper grip, especially given the NX100's smooth surface, although in most other respects the user interface is commendably well-thought-out for such a new product.

The jury's out on the new i-Function button, though, with opinions divided about whether it's a genuinely useful innovation or just another way to differentiate the NX system from its competitors. Being able to change the camera's key settings via the focus ring makes sense when holding it up to eye-level, but just seems plain awkward when it's held at arm's length, something that most of this model's target audience will do by default. We think i-Function is a better fit for the NX10 with its built-in EVF, which has recently been made compatible with the two new i-Fn lenses through a firmware upgrade.

On the subject of lenses, the new 20-50mm kit lens that we reviewed the NX100 with is a lot smaller than the existing 18-55mm lens that ships with the NX10, with a couple of important caveats. Firstly its retractable design means that the startup of the camera is slowed down as you have to unlock the lens, and secondly this lens isn't stabilised, an important oversight as the NX system doesn't offer in-body stabilisation. Samsung have boosted the ISO speed up to 6400 on the NX100, but the results aren't pretty and don't make up for the lack of OIS in the lens.

As the NX100 shares exactly the same sensor as the NX10, it also offers all the advantages that a large APS-C DSLR sensor offers, namely better performance at higher ISOs than the smaller Micro Four Thirds format. I'd be happy to regularly shoot with any setting from 100-800, and even 1600 is handy at a push. The fastest settings of 3200 and 6400 are less useful though and not quite on a par with the high ISO results from the Sony NEX series. The movie mode is also not quite as sophisticated as some rivals, with no stereo sound or option to connect a microphone, no one-touch record button and no ability to change the shutter speed or take a still image during recording.

One factor that the Samsung NX100 certainly does have in its favour is price. The official RRP of £449.99 / $599.99 with the new 20-50mm kit lens is competitive enough, but we've already seen prices below £400 / $500 from reputable dealers, giving incredible value for money and the cheapest entry into the CSC market for a new product. The Samsung NX100 undercuts its main rivals by a considerable margin and also further blurs the boundaries between high-end compact cameras and Compact System Cameras. Despite our slight misgivings about the NX100's size, lack of built-in flash and the new kit lens, it's still a very good camera with a high-quality APS-C sensor and Samsung's massive financial backing behind it, making it an easy recommendation if you want to test out the Compact System Camera waters without having to invest too much money.

4 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 3.5
Features 4
Ease-of-use 4
Image quality 4.5
Value for money 5

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Samsung NX100 from around the web.

pixiq.com »

he second Samsung interchangeable-lens camera without a reflex mirror or pentaprism, the NX 100 is much smaller and lighter than the NX10. The downsizing was achieved by omitting the electronic viewfinder and the built-in flash. This is a strategy that Sony has used for the NEX cameras; some Olympus PEN cameras also omit these features to meet the increasing demand greater portability. And this Samsung model is downright tiny when used with the unusually slim 20mm f/2.8 "pancake" lens for great overall portability.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Usage note
(1) Auto ISO upper level is selectable. (Up to ISO 1600)
(2) Included battery may vary depending on sales region

Image sensor Type CMOS
Sensor size 23.4 x 15.6mm
Effective Pixel Approx. 14.6 Mega-pixels
Total Pixel Approx. 15.1 Mega-pixels
Color Filter RGB primary colour filter
Lens Mount Samsung NX Mount
Usable Lens Samsung Lenses for Samsung NX Mount
Image Stabilization Type Lens Shift (depends on Lens)
Mode OIS Mode1 / Mode2
Distortion Correct Mode LDC On / Off (depends on Lens)
Dust Reduction Type Super sonic drive
Display Type AMOLED
Size 3.0"
Resolution VGA (640 x 480) 614k dots (PenTile)
Field of View Approx. 100%
User Display Grid (4 types), Histgram, Icons : On / Off
Viewfinder Type EVF (Optional)
Focusing Type Contrast AF
Focusing point Selection: 1 point (Free selection) Multi: Normal 15 points, Close Up 35 points Face Detection: Max. 10 faces
Modes Single AF, Continuous AF, MF
AF-assist lamp Yes (Green LED)
Shutter Type Electronically controlled vertical-run focal plane shutter
Speed Auto: 1 / 4000sec. ~ 30sec. Manual: 1 / 4000sec. ~ 30sec. (1/3EV step) Bulb (Limit time: 8 min)
Exposure Metering System Metering: Multi, Centre-weighted, Spot Metering range: EV0 ~ 18 (ISO100•30mm F2.0)
Compensation ±3EV (1/3EV step)
AE Lock AEL button
ISO Equivalent Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (1EV or 1/3EV step) Extension settable : ISO 6400 (1)
Drive Modes Modes Single, Continuous, Burst, Self-timer, Bracket (AE, WB, PW)
Continuous JPEG: 3fps up to 6shots (LDC: On) 10 shots (LDC: Off) Burst mode: 10, 15, 30fps selectable, 30 shots by 1 released RAW: 3fps up to 3shots
Bracket Auto Exposure Bracket (±3EV), White Balance Bracket (±3 step), Picture Wizard Bracket (Selectable 3 modes)
Self-timer 2-30sec. (1sec. step)
Remote controller Wired: SR9NX01 (Optional)
Flash External Flash Samsung External Flash available (SEF42A, SEF20A, SEF15A: Optional)
Synchro (Flash attachment) Hot Shoe
White Balance Modes Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent (W, N, D), Tungsten, Flash, Custom, K (Manual)
Micro adjustment Each 7 steps in Amber / Blue / Green / Magenta axis
Dynamic Range Expansion   Smart Range On / Off
Picture Wizard Modes Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Custom (1 - 3)
Parameter Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation, Colour
Shooting Modes Smart Auto, Lens Priority, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority , Manual, Scene, Movie
Scene Mode Beauty shot, Children, Close Up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Night, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Sound Picture
Sound Picture JPEG OnlySound Recording Time (Before and after shooting each 5 or 10sec.)
Image Size JPEG (3:2): 14M (4592 x 3056), 10M (3872 x 2592), 6M (3008 x 2000), 2M (1920 x 1280), 1.4M (1472 x 976): Burst mode only JPEG (16:9): 12M (4592 x 2584), 8M (3872 x 2176), 5M (3008 x 1688), 2M (1920 x 1080) JPEG (1:1): 9M (3056 x 3056), 6.7M (2592 x 2592), 4M (2000 x 2000), 1.6M (1280 x 1280) RAW: 14M (4592 x 3056)
Quality Super fine , Fine, Normal
RAW Format SRW
Color Space SRGB, Adobe RGB
Movie Format MP4 (H.264)
Compression Movie: H.264, Sound: AAC
Mode Program, Aperture Priority
Movie Clip With Audio or without Audio (user selectable, recording time: 25 minutes)
Image Size 1280 x 720, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 (Default: 1280 x 720)
Frame rate 30fps
Sound Mono Sound
Movie Editing Still Image Capture, Time Trimming
Image Play Type Single image, Thumbnails (3/9/20 images), Slide show, Movie
Highlight Warning Available
Editing Red eye fix, Back light comp., Photo Style Selector, Resize, Rotate, Face Retouch, Smart Filter
Smart Filter Vignetting, Miniature, Fish-Eye, Sketch, De-fog, Halftone Dots,Soft Focus JPEG (3:2): 6M (3008 x 2000), 2M (1920 x 1280), VGA (640 x 424) JPEG (4:3): 6M (3008 x 2256), 2M (1920 x 1440), VGA (640 x 480)JPEG (16:9): 5M (3008 x 1688), 2M (1920 x 1080), VGA (640 x 360) JPEG (1:1): 4M (2000 x 2000), 1.6M (1280 x 1280), VGA (480 x 480)
Photo Style Selector Soft, Vivid, Forest, Autumn, Misty, Gloomy, Classic,
Storage Media SD, SDHC
File format RAW (SRW), JPEG (EXIF 2.21), DCF, DPOF 1.1, PictBridge 1.0
Capacity (1GB) 14M: RAW 34 14M (3:2): Super Fine 141, Fine 282, Normal 423 10M (3:2): Super Fine 195, Fine 391, Normal 587 6M (3:2): Super Fine 320, Fine 640, Normal 961 2M (3:2): Super Fine 732, Fine 1465, Normal 2198 Burst (1.4M): Super Fine 1161, Fine 2322, Normal 3484 12M (16:9): Super Fine 166, Fine 332, Normal 499 8M (16:9): Super Fine 232, Fine 464, Normal 696 5M (16:9): Super Fine 376, Fine 752, Normal 1129 2M (16:9): Super Fine 850, Fine 1703, Normal 2550 9M (1:1): Super Fine 210, Fine 420, Normal 630 6.7M (1:1): Super Fine 288, Fine 576, Normal 864 4M (1:1): Super Fine 470, Fine 940, Normal 1411 1.6M (1:1): Super Fine 1041, Fine 2083, Normal 3121 Movie: 1280 x 720: High Quality 15min., Normal 22min. 640 x 480: High Quality 44min., Normal 66min. 320 x 240: High Quality 145min., Normal 210min.? These figures are measured under the Samsung standard
Languages   16 (Korean, English, Danish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, Czech, French, Portuguese, Polish, Finnish, Russian, Simplified / Traditional Chinese)
Direct Printing   PictBridge
GPS Type Geo-tagging w / Optional GPS Module (WGS84)
Function - Location Name (OSD) (English and Korean only) - Google Map Link (with intelli-Studio)
Interface Digital output connector USB 2.0 (HI-SPEED)
Video Output NTSC, PAL (user selectable) HDMI 1.3: (1080i, 720P, 576P / 480P)
External Release Yes
DC Power Input Connector DC 9.0V, 1.5A (100 ~ 240V)
Power Source Type Rechargeable battery: BP1310 (1300mAh) Charger: BC1310AC Adaptor: AD9NX01 (Optional) (2)
Battery Life Still: 420 shots / 210min (CIPA Standard) Movie: 130min
Physical Specification Dimensions (WxHxD) 120.5 x 71 x 34.5mm (excluding the projecting parts of the camera)
Weight 282g (without batterY and memory card) 340g (Battery and memory card included)
Operating Temperature 0 ~ 40°C
Operating Humidity 5 ~ 85%
Software Application Intelli-studio 2.1, Samsung RAW Converter 4 Adobe Reader
System Requirement in general For Windows PC with processor better than Intel Pentium III 500MHz (Intel Pentium 800MHz or higher recommended) Windows XP / Vista / 7 Minimum 256MB RAM (512MB or more recommended) 250MB of available hard disk space (1GB or more recommended) USB portCD-ROM drive1024 x 768 pixels, 16-bit colour display compatible monitor (24-bit colour display recommended) Microsoft Direct X 9.0c or later
For Macintosh Power Mac G3 or laterMac OS 10.4 or laterMinimum 256MB RAM (512MB or more recommended) Minimum 110MB of available hard-disk spaceUSB portCD-ROM drive
System Requirements for Samsung Raw Converter For Windows Windows XP / Vista / 7 Intel Pentium, AMD Athlon Processor (Intel Pentium 4, Athlon XP or later recommended) 1GB or more RAM recommended Minimum 100MB of available hard disk space 1024 x 768 pixels, Full Colour (24-bit or higher) colour display compatible monitor
For Macintosh Mac OS X v10.6 / v10.5 / v10.4Power PC / Intel Processor-based or compatible computer (Core 2 Quad or later recommended) 1GB or more RAM recommendedMinimum 100MB of available hard disk space 1024 x 768 pixels, 24bit colour display compatible monitor

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