Samsung GX-20 Review
Review Date: July 24th 2008
Author: Mark Goldstein
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Conclusion
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Ratings
(out of 5) |
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| Design | 4.5 |
| Features | 4.5 |
| Ease-of-Use | 4.5 |
| Image Quality | 4.5 |
| Value for Money | 4 |
At first glance the Samsung GX20 simply looks like an incremental upgrade of the GX10, with relatively few additions on offer apart from the headline-grabbing 14 megapixel resolution. Whilst the increased image size is certainly worthy of attention, Samsung have made a substantial number of improvements underneath the surface that add up to make the GX-20 a really compelling DSLR camera.
Samsung have made some notable improvements with the GX-20 in terms of it's responsiveness and ease-of-use, in particular offering much quicker file write times that really speed up using the camera. If you have a collection of Samsung or Pentax lenses, you'll love the new AF Adjustment custom function, which allows you to precisely calibrate each one to the GX-20, and the Dust Alert feature shows you exactly where the dust is on the sensor. Studio photographers can now seriously consider the GX-20 because of the welcome addition of an X-sync socket, and the camera still offers dust and water-resistance and effective anti-shake and dust-removal systems.
The new 14.6 megapixel Samsung CMOS sensor manages the tricky feat of offering comparable image quality to the 10 megapixel sensor in the GX-10, whilst obviously increasing the image size and allowing you to create bigger prints from the native file. The quality between the two cameras is very similar when comparing the ISO speeds - both produce noise-free images from ISO 100-800 and both start to suffer at 1600, and on the new GX-20, the highest settings of 3200 and 6400. Whist the three fastest speeds are certainly useable, they don't compare that well with the Canon EOS 40D and Nikon D300, which are better bets for low-light photography. If you don't require fantastic image quality at high ISO speeds, then the GX-20 certainly holds its own against the competition, whilst again offering that extra resolution.
The one improvement that feels more like an after-thought is Live View. Samsung's marketing literature isn't making a big deal out of this feature, and after using it you can certainly understand why. Live View on the GX-20 only really makes sense if the camera is mounted on a tripod, and even then it offers very little feedback to the photographer. Even worse, you can't actually change any of the important camera settings like the aperture or shutter speed when it's activated. If Live View is one of your must-have features, we'd advise you to look elsewhere.
It really is a case of spot-the-difference between the Samsung GX-20 and the very similar Pentax K20D. The GX-20 has a slightly different menu and external control layout, which I preferred to the K20D, but there a few missing features, most notably the the expanded dynamic range function, own-brand RAW format, and tethered shooting application. None of these will be deal-breakers for most people though, so choosing between these two excellent cameras is going to come down to brand loyalty and price.
Despite the half-baked Live View mode and an increase in price over the GX-10, the Samsung GX20 is a significant improvement on its predecessor. The shutter release mechanism and auto-focusing system are still noisy, and we'd upgrade the supplied 18-55mm kit lens as soon as possible to get the best out of the sensor, but overall the GX-20 remains one of the most innovative and well-built mid-range DSLRs currently available, which we can easily highly recommend.
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