Samsung NX3000 Review

August 14, 2014 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Samsung NX3000 is a new entry-level mirrorless compact system camera. The plastic-bodied NX3000 features a 20.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, 3-inch flip-up LCD screen with wink-shot mode, ISO range of 100-25,600, 1080p HD movie recording, built-in Wi-Fi and Near Field Communication (NFC) connectivity, 5fps continuous shooting, 1/4000th second top shutter speed, Sweep Panoramas and Samsung's unique i-Function lens. The Samsung NX3000 is available in White, Black and Brown and costs £350 / $529 in a kit with the new 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 Power Zoom ED OIS lens and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.

Ease of Use

The NX3000 employs the same 20.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor as all the other NX-series cameras (apart from the NX Mini), 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, whilst still maintaining a small camera body that is very similar to the likes of the comparable Sony NEX, Olympus PEN, Fujifilm X and Panasonic G-series.

The all-plastic NX3000 does at least have a metal lens mount and tripod socket, very commendable considering its budget price-tag. First impressions of the NX3000 are positive, with satisfying build quality. Our review sample has a functional look with an attractive, slightly retro two-tone black and silver colourway and subtly rounded edges. There's a faux-leather textured area which covers the front of the camera, including the tactile curved handgrip, which sadly isn't very deep. The same leatherette finish extends around the right-hand flank and covers the small rear thumb panel too.

Measuring 117.4 x 65.9 x 39mm and weighing 230g without the battery fitted, the NX3000 is slightly smaller and lighter than the NX2000 that it replaces. Once again there's no viewfinder or built-in pop-up flash, and while beginners 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, while the reverse is probably true for more experienced photographers.

Flash is instead provided for by a supplied accessory (SEF-8, guide number of 8 meters at ISO 100) which slots into the Smart Shoe on top of the camera, which adds to the bulk of the camera and isn't as well integrated as some of its main rivals. Another accessory is the EM10 external microphone, which features adjustable levels, a built-in headphone jack and no external cabling and is commendably compatible with all the Samsung NX models, including the NX3000. Note that there is no external EVF option for the NX3000.

We tested the NX3000 with the new Samsung 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 Power Zoom ED OIS lens, which has the built-in i-Functionality, a metal mount and more crucially optical stabilisation, important as the NX system doesn't offer in-body stabilisation. It's also smaller and more compact than the 20-50mm kit lens that shipped with the NX2000. Samsung's now standard i-Function button is present and correct, 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 four available settings - shutter speed and/or aperture, ISO, exposure compensation, and white balance.

While the i-Function button does provide a quick way of accessing certain key settings, we still 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 NX3000 at arm's length to view the settings while pressing the i-Function button and rotating the focus ring just seems a little cumbersome, especially when you can also use the rear controls to perform the same actions, something that we found ourselves doing by default.

Samsung NX3000 Samsung NX3000
Front Rear

Protruding metal neck strap eyelets are located on the NX3000 at the sides, with the rear dominated by the new flip-up 3 inch LCD screen. The left side of the body is devoid of any controls, while on the right is a plastic cover that houses a HDMI port for connecting the NX3000 to a HD television or monitor and a USB port. The latter port can be used as a remote socket for use with the SR2NX02 remote shutter release.

On the front of the Samsung NX3000 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 MicroSD / MicroSDHC / MicroSDXC memory card slot and battery compartment, protected by a plastic lockable cover. The BP740AE (1130mAh) battery provides up to 370 shots under the CIPA testing standard. Also found on the bottom of the camera is a metal tripod mount which is located in-line with the centre of the lens.

The NX3000 uses the same built-in dust-removal system as the original NX100 and NX10 models, which 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 NX3000 has a so-called Smart Shoe that will accept compatible Samsung flashguns and other accessories. Also found on top of the NX3000 are two holes for the stereo sound and one for the speaker, a tactile shutter button, small on/off switch, and the Mobile button, which can be configured to quickly access one of the Wi-fi modes.

Completing the top of the NX3000 is a traditional shooting mode dial The usual selection of Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual are available for the more experienced photographers in the Expert mode, and the more beginner-friendly Smart Auto and Smart Scene modes, plus the Wi-fi menu (more on this later).

Smart Auto is Samsung's equivalent of the intelligent auto modes now found on most competitors models. You simply point the NX3000 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 NX3000's operation merely a case of point and shoot.

In practice the Smart Auto system works very well, with the NX3000 usually picking the most appropriate combination of settings for the current situation. Obviously not all situations are covered by the 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).

Samsung NX3000 Samsung NX3000
Front Top

The NX3000 can record high-resolution Full HD 1080p 1920x1080 and 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 30/25 frames per second. The Movie mode is accessed via the dedicated one-touch record button on the rear of the camera. Stereo sound is recorded during video capture via the small internal mics on top of of the camera. The HDMI port allows you to connect the NX3000 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 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 NX3000 offers the ability to set the white balance, metering and use any of the Picture Wizard settings during video recording as well as still images, which instantly lends an interesting art-house effect to your home movies. You can set a video to be played back at various slower or faster speeds (x0.25, x1, x5, x10, 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. 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.

Completing the NX3000's shooting modes is the Wi-Fi mode. The NX3000 offers built-in Wi-Fi, with an array of options available. 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. GroupShare connects the camera to multiple smartphones, while MobileLink allows you to directly send images to a compatible smartphone or tablet and Remote Viewfinder utilises a smartphone as a live image previewer. Home Monitor essentially allows you to use the camera as a baby monitor or security device by pairing it with a smartphone, while Samsung Link allows you to copy your photos to Samsung's cloud service.

On the left of the body is the NFC logo. The NX3000 is the latest 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.

Turning to the rear of the NX3000, we find a 3-inch, 460k dot LCD screen, one of the main differences between the NX3000 and the NX2000, which had a much larger, higher-res screen with a touchscreen interface. One plus point in the NX3000's favour is that the screen can be flipped-forwards through 180 degrees to make the ubiquitous selfie even easier to take, especially as you only have to wink at the camera to trip the shutter! You can also cleverly turn the camera on by simply flipping the screen up.

Instead of a touchscreen, the NX3000 uses a suite of physical controls located to the right of its screen. In addition to the one-touch movie record button, there are Menu and Function buttons which above a traditional navigation pad, which can also be spun left and right to select the aperture/shutter speed and other operations. Underneath that is a Playback button and a Custom/Delete button.

Samsung NX3000 Samsung NX3000
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

The main menu system on the NX3000 is very straight-forward to use. There are four main menus - Camera, Movie, Custom, Settings - presented as a row of horizontal 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 Function menu provides quick and easy access to virtually all of the most important camera settings (12 in total) via the very useful Smart Panel. 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 navigation wheel.

Unlike a conventional DSLR camera which uses a phase detection auto-focus system, the NX3000 employs the same Contrast AF system that is commonly used by compact cameras. Thankfully this decision hasn't resulted in a slow and unpredictable AF - quite the contrary in fact. The Samsung NX3000's focusing speed is on a par with most DSLRs, with an autofocus algorithm that delivers precise autofocusing in as little as 100ms. As well as the out-and-out speed, there were also very few occasions when the NX3000 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 three AF Area modes on offer, including Selection AF with a selectable focus area, Multi AF, and Tracking AF, with Single, Continuous and Manual AF Modes available. Manual focusing is assisted by the 'enlarged display' function. Once you have selected manual focus mode, the zoom ring on the lens barrel automatically changes to control the focusing distance, with the +/- zoom buttons setting the focal distance. Turning the manual focus ring then 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 100-25,600. 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, exposure and even the Picture Wizard settings can all be bracketed.

The start-up time from turning the NX3000 on to being ready to take a photo is impressively quick at around one second. 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 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.

The Samsung NX3000 has a good Burst mode which enables you to take 5 frames per second for both JPEG and RAW images, but be prepared to wait for quite a long time for the camera to process all the images. 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.

Once you have captured a photo the Samsung NX3000 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 40 onscreen at the same time), zoom in and out up to 14.2x 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 RGBY histograms available.

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 8Mb.

The Samsung NX3000 produced images of excellent quality during the review period. The 20.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS megapixel sensor used in the NX3000 produces noise-free JPEG images at ISO 100-800, with ISO 1600 also looking very good. ISO 3200 only shows a little noise, while the fastest settings of ISO 6400 and 12800 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 NX3000 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 NX3000 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 4 minutes allowing you to capture plenty of light.

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 presets to change the mood of your JPEG images, with three customisable settings also available. The Panorama shooting mode and range of Smart Filters are welcome inclusions, as is the Dynamic Range expansion mode.

Noise

There are 9 ISO settings available on the Samsung NX3000. 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 NX3000 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 (8.26Mb) (100% Crop) 20M Fine (5.00Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_superfine.jpg quality_fine.jpg
   
20M Normal (3.34Mb) (100% Crop) 20M RAW (25.5Mb) (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 NX3000 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 (16mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (16mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (50mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (50mm)

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 NX3000'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 100. 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

Dynamic Range

The NX3000 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  

Picture Wizard

Samsung's various Picture Wizard options offer preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone settings, all of which can be changed. There are also three additional Custom styles so that you can create your own looks.

Standard

Vivid

picture_wizard_01.jpg picture_wizard_02.jpg
   

Portrait

Landscape

picture_wizard_03.jpg picture_wizard_04.jpg
   

Forest

Retro

picture_wizard_05.jpg picture_wizard_06.jpg
   

Cool

Calm

picture_wizard_07.jpg picture_wizard_08.jpg
   

Classic

 
picture_wizard_09.jpg  

Smart Filters

The NX3000 offers four creative filter effects that can be applied to both stills and movies.

Vignetting

Miniature

smart_filter_01.jpg smart_filter_02.jpg
   

Sketch

Fish Eye

smart_filter_03.jpg smart_filter_04.jpg

Panoramas

The Panorama mode captures a Live Panorama, which allows you to also capture subject movement at several points during a sweeping panorama.

panorama1.jpg

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Samsung NX3000 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 NX3000 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 pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 20 second movie is 39.2Mb in size.

Product Images

Samsung NX3000

Front of the Samsung NX3000

 
Samsung NX3000

Front of the Samsung NX3000

 
Samsung NX3000

Front of the Samsung NX3000 / Flash Closed

 
Samsung NX3000

Front of the Samsung NX3000 / Flash Raised

 
Samsung NX3000

Side of the Samsung NX3000

 
Samsung NX3000

Side of the Samsung NX3000

 
Samsung NX3000

Side of the Samsung NX3000

 
Samsung NX3000

Side of the Samsung NX3000

 
Samsung NX3000

Rear of the Samsung NX3000

 
Samsung NX3000

Rear of the Samsung NX3000 / Image Displayed

 
Samsung NX3000

Rear of the Samsung NX3000 / Turned On

 
Samsung NX3000

Rear of the Samsung NX3000 / Main Menu

 
Samsung NX3000

Rear of the Samsung NX3000 / Function Menu

 
Samsung NX3000

Rear of the Samsung NX3000 / Mobile Connection Menu

 
Samsung NX3000

Rear of the Samsung NX3000 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Samsung NX3000

Rear of the Samsung NX3000 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Samsung NX3000

Rear of the Samsung NX3000 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Samsung NX3000

Top of the Samsung NX3000

 
Samsung NX3000
Bottom of the Samsung NX3000
 
Samsung NX3000
Side of the Samsung NX3000
 
Samsung NX3000
Side of the Samsung NX3000
 
Samsung NX3000
Front of the Samsung NX3000
 
Samsung NX3000
Front of the Samsung NX3000
 
Samsung NX3000
Memory Card Slot
 
Samsung NX3000
Battery Compartment

Conclusion

While the new Samsung NX3000 loses some of the more impressive features of the NX2000 model that it replaces, most notably the massive touchscreen display and faster burst shooting mode, it offers more than enough beginner-friendly features at a very competitive price to once again earn our Highly Recommended award.

With its new selfie-friendly flip-up display and clever wink mode, the Samsung NX3000 continues to take the entry-level NX-series in a more smartphone-like direction, although we're disappointed that the touchscreen interface has been dropped for a less intuitive external control system. Still, with its large APS-C sensor and advanced wi-fi functions, the NX3000 is a very capable device, with performance and quality that outperforms its modest price-tag.

The NX3000's 20.3 megapixel sensor delivers excellent still image quality, with a very usable ISO range of 100-6400, plus 1080p HD video at a range of frame rates complete with auto-focusing, full control over the exposure settings, stereo sound and a wealth of other options. The NX3000 offers all the advantages that a camera with a large APS-C DSLR sensor has, namely better performance at higher ISOs and greater depth-of-field than the smaller Micro Four Thirds format, although the trade-off comes in the form of comparably bigger lenses.

The NX3000's news kit lens is a big improvement on the 20-50mm optic that shipped with the NX2000, offering built-in image stabilisation, a metal mount, zoom buttons and near silent operation making it well-suited to video work. The jury's still out on the i-Function button, too, with opinions divided about whether it's a genuinely useful innovation or just another way to differentiate the NX system from its competitors, especially true given the lack of an eye-level viewfinder. A second control dial in addition to the rear navigation wheel and an integral flash would also have been nice-to-have features, and we're not pleased to see the continued adoption of the Micro SD/SDHC/SDXC format in such a large camera.

With a lower price-tag, better lens and selfie-friendly design, for us the Samsung NX3000 is a bigger but better camera than the similarly priced NX Mini, and is also very well-appointed when compared with its main rivals. The inclusion of a touchscreen interface would have been the icing on the cake, but nevertheless the new Samsung NX3000 is a logical and affordable choice if you've outgrown your Galaxy smartphone...

4.5 stars

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

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Samsung NX3000.

Canon EOS M

The Canon EOS M is a new compact system camera that boasts 18 megapixels, full 1080p high-definition videos with continuous auto-focusing, and a touch-screen interface. Other key features of the EOS M include a 3-inch LCD screen with 1,040k dot resolution, ISO range of 100-25,600, and a flash hotshoe. Is Canon's new mirrorless model a real contender? Read our Canon EOS M review to find out...

Fujifilm X-A1

The Fujifilm X-A1 is a new entry-level compact system camera. The retro-styled X-A1 offers a 16 megapixel APS-C sensor, built-in flash and hotshoe, wi-fi connectivity, 5.6fps burst shooting, tilting LCD screen and Full HD video recording. Read our in-depth Fujifilm X-A1 review now...

Nikon 1 S2

The Nikon 1 S2 is the new entry-range model in Nikon's compact system camera line-up. The S2 offers 14 megapixels, 20fps burst shooting with continuous autofocusing, Full HD 60p video capture, built-in pop-up flash and RAW support. Read our in-depth Nikon 1 S2 review now...

Olympus E-PL5

The Olympus E-PL5 is a new compact system camera that offers a lot more than first meets the eye. Also known as the PEN Lite, the EPL5 has exactly the same image sensor and processing engine as the flagship OM-D E-M5. It also boasts the World's fastest autofocus system, a 3 inch tilting LCD display, full 1080p HD movies, and an extensive range of creative filters. Read our in-depth Olympus E-PL5 review to find out if it's a true bargain or not...

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....

Pentax Q7

The new Pentax Q7 is the smallest compact system camera on the market. Offering a new 1/1.7"-type back-illuminated CMOS sensor, improved low-light auto focus and an upgraded Shake Reduction mechanism, can the Q7 compete with its bigger rivals? Read our Pentax Q7 review to find out...

Sony NEX-5T

The NEX-5T is the latest mid-range compact system camera from Sony. With a 16 megapixel APS HD CMOS sensor, 1080p HD movies, high-res 3 inch tilting screen and external flash, the Sony NEX-5T also features a touchscreen user interface, fast hybrid auto-focus, built-in wi-fi and NFC connectivity, downloadable PlayMemories Camera Apps and a new 16-50mm kit lens. Read our full Sony NEX-5T review, complete with sample JPEGs, RAW files, and movies...

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Samsung NX3000 from around the web.

ephotozine.com »

The Samsung NX3000 is the entry-level mirrorless camera from Samsung, and updates the NX2000. The NX3000 features a 20.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, 1/4000 shutter speed and 5fps continuous shooting, the NX3000 has a retro design along with built in Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity. The camera has a 3-inch flip up display with Wink Shot, allowing you to take selfie photos by winking to activate the shutter.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Image Sensor

  • Type

    CMOS
  • Sensor Size

    23.5mm x 15.7mm
  • Effective Pixel

    20.3MP
  • Total Pixel

    21.6MP
  • Colour Filter

    RGB Primary

Lens Mount

  • Mount

    Samsung NX Mount
  • Usable Lens

    Samsung NX Lens (3D Lens not supported)

Image Stabilisation

  • Type

    Lens Shift (depends on Lens)
  • Mode

    OIS Mode1 / Mode2 / off

Distortion Correct

  • Distortion Correct

    LDC On / Off (depends on Lens)

i-Function

  • i-Function

    Yes (Aperture / Shutter speed / EV / ISO / WB)

Display

  • Type

    TFT-LCD
  • Size

    75.2mm (3.0")
  • Resolution

    HVGA (320 x 480) 460.8k dots
  • Field of View

    Approx. 100%
  • Guide Display

    Yes

ViewFinder

  • Type

    N/A
  • Resolution

    N/A
  • Filed of View

    N/A
  • Magnification

    N/A
  • Eyepoint

    N/A
  • Diopter Adjustment

    N/A

Focusing

  • Type

    Contrast
  • Focusing point

    Selection: 1point ( Free selection )Multi: Normal 21points, Closeup 35pointsFace Detection: Max. 10 facesObject Tracking AF
  • Mode

    Single AF, Continuous AF, MF
  • AF-Assist Lamp

    Yes

Shutter

  • Speed

    Auto:1/4000sec. ~ 30sec. Manual:1/4000sec. ~ 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

    CUSTOM Key applicable
  • ISO Equivalent

    Auto, 100~25600 (1 or 1/3EV step)

Drive Mode

  • Mode

    Single, Continuous, Burst (5M), Self-timer, Bracket (AE/WB/PW/Depth)
  • Continuous

    JPEG: 5 fps onlyBurst: 30fps / 15fps / 10fps (5M) selectable RAW: 5 fps
  • Bracket

    Auto Exposure Bracket (±3EV), WB, PW, Depth Bracket(P / A Mode Only)
  • Self-Timer

    2 - 30sec. (1sec. step)

Flash

  • Type

    External Flash only (Optional)
  • External Flash

    Samsung External Flash available
  • Synchro (Flash attachment)

    Hot Shoe

White Balance

  • Micro Adjustment

    each 7 steps in Amber / Blue / Green / Magenta axis
  • Mode

    Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent (W, N, D), Tungsten, Flash, Custom, K(Manual)

Dynamic Range Expansion

  • Dynamic Range Expansion

    OFF,Smart Range+,HDR

Effect

  • Picture Wizard

    Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Custom (1~3)
  • Smart Filter

    Miniature, Vignetting, Sketch, Fish Eye

Still

  • Mode

    Smart Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Panorama, Smart, Wi-Fi
  • Smart

    Beauty Face, Best Face, Landscape, Macro, Action Freeze, Rich Tone, Waterfall, Silhouette, Sunset, Night, Firework, Light Trace, Continuous Shot, Kids, Food, Party / Indoor
  • Image Size

    JPEG (3:2):20M (5472 x 3648), 10.1M (3888 x 2592), 5.9M (2976 x 1984), 2M (1728 x 1152), 5M (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), 7M (2640 x 2640), 4M (2000 x 2000), 1.1M (1024 x 1024) RAW: 20M (5472 x 3648)
  • Quality

    Super fine / Fine / Normal / RAW RAW + S.Fine / RAW + Fine / RAW + Normal
  • Colour Space

    sRGB,Adobe RGB

Video

  • Format

    MP4 (H.264)
  • Compression

    Movie: H.264 , Sound: AAC
  • Mode

    Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual
  • Image Size

    1920 x 1080, 1280 x 720 , 640 x 480, 320 x 240 for Sharing (Default: 1920 x 1080)
  • Frame Rate

    30fps (NTSC), 25fps (PAL)
  • Multi-Motion Recording

    x0.25 (640, 320 only), x1, x5, x10, x20
  • Quality

    High Quality,Normal
  • Sound

    Stereo

Image Play

  • Type

    Single image, Thumbnails (15 / 28 images), Slide show, Movie

Edit

  • Still

    Smart Filter (Miniature, Vignetting, Soft Focus, Sketch, Fish Eye, Classic, Retro, Oil Paint, Cartoon, Ink Painting, Cross Filter, Zooming Shot), Red-eye fix, Crop, Resize, Rotate, Face Retouch, Brightness, Contrast, Auto adjustment, Saturation, RGB adjustment, Color Temperature, Exposure
  • Movie

    Still Image Capture, Time Trimming

Memory

  • External Media

    Micro SD,Micro SDHC,Micro SDXC,UHS-1 MicroSD
  • Capacity (2GB)

    20.0M : RAW 57(Raw Only Case)

Languages

  • Languages

    32 Languages (Korean, English, Danish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, Czech, French, Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Finnish, Russian, Norsk, Simplified / Traditional Chinese, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, Thai, Greek, Hungarian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Serbian, Croatian, Vietnamese, Romanian)

Network and Wireless Connectivity

  • Wi-Fi

    IEEE 802.11b/g/n support (Smart Camera 3.0) . AutoShare . Remote Viewfinder Pro (Full manual Control) . Mobile Link (Group Share up to 4 people) . Photo Beam (Play back) . Auto Backup . Samsung Link(TV Link) . Home Monitor +
  • NFC

    Yes

Interface

  • Digital Output Connector

    USB 2.0 (micro USB Jack)
  • Video Out

    NTSC PAL (user selectable)HDMI (1.4a)
  • USB

    Yes

Battery

  • Capacity

    Rechargeable battery: B740AE / B740AC / B740AU / B740AK (3.8V / 2330mAh) * The battery specifications or model may differ depending on your region.
  • Charging

    DC 5.0V, 0.55A via Micro USB port
  • Still Image Capturing Time

    185 min / 370 shots (CIPA standard)

Physical specification

  • Dimension (WxHxD)

    117.4 x 65.9 x 39 (26.8)mm
  • Weight

    230g (without battery)

Operating Environment

  • Operating Temperature

    0 ~ 40°C
  • Operating Humidity

    5 ~ 85%

Software

  • Application

    Adobe Light Room 5 / iLauncher / Samsung DNG Converter

System Requirement

  • Windows

    Intel Core 2 Duo® 1.66 GHz higher, AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core 2.2 GHz higher, Minimum 512MB RAM (1GB or more recommended), Windows 7 / 8, 250MB of available hard-disk space (1GB and above recommend), USB 2.0 port, CD-ROM drive, nVIDIA Geforce 7600GT or higher / ATI X1600 series or higher, 1024 × 768 pixels, 16-bit color display compatible monitor (1280 x 1024, 32-bit color display recommended), Microsoft DirectX 9.0c or later
  • Macintosh

    Mac OS 10.5 or higher (except PowerPC), Minimum 256MB RAM (512MB or more recommended), Minimum 110MB of available hard-disk space, USB 2.0 port, CD-ROM drive

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