Samsung NX: The next generation

The Samsung NX200 is a new mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera that has good performance and captures shots with excellent quality.

The NX200 is the latest addition to Samsung’s NX series of electronic-viewfinder interchangeable-lens cameras. Compared to its elder sister, the NX100, there are a lot of improvements.

The NX200 uses a 20.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor, compared to the NX100’s 14.6MP sensor. It has a magnesium-alloy body rather than a plastic one. The ISO sensitivity range reaches ISO 12,800, way up from ISO 6,400. It can also record Full HD 1080p video, compared to 720p with the NX100.

And the NX200 is much more compact, making it more convenient to carry around. It’s easy to operate and performs similarly to most digital SLR cameras thanks to the large sensor. But one of the beauties of a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera is the much smaller body. It can still be expanded with many choices of lens and other accessories compared to a compact.

Samsung Thailand offers an NX-format Pancake 30mm F2.0 lens for Bt8,990 and an F2.8 for Bt9,990, for example. You can buy a lens adapter for a Pentax-mount lens for Bt5,990. And more choices are expected, along with a GPS module for the hot shoe.

You can get the NX200 this month in a package with a 20-50mm f3.5-5.6 i-Function retractable standard zoom lens and an external flash kit. The NX100 system required the purchase of an optional external flash kit, essential indoors and in low light with lenses of a certain focal lengths and no built-in flash.

The i-Function lens is very handy. You can adjust the shooting parameters without having to free your left hand from the lens. You simply press the i-Function knob on the lens and use the first ring of the lens.

For instance, when you use full manual shooting mode, use the ring to adjust the aperture, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity and white balance. The aperture cannot be adjusted in Shutter Priority Mode, however.

The NX200 turns on and is ready to go instantly. I noticed no shutter lag – unless I used a special shooting mode that required software processing, like Beauty Shot.

Everything is intuitive. The on/off switch is on top along with the main exposure-mode dial and a vertically embedded control dial that can change the shutter speed and magnify photos in playback.

At the back are a few more buttons, including a combined rear-dial/four-way controller and your video on/off.

I was quite pleased with quality of most shots, especially those taken in good lighting or with the flash. Portrait shots were beautiful and clean, with good colours. The Beauty Shot mode brightens the subject’s skin for the appearance of youth.

I took many outdoor shots in my flooded neighbourhood and got some outstanding high-contrast details. The light reflection on the floodwater was captured beautifully, in acute contrast with the bright blue sky, as were the green trees and what little grass was still visible.

Shooting is very easy in SmartAuto 2.0 mode. It evaluates the light and, in most cases, selects the best scene mode. It properly selected landscape mode with backlighting when I aimed at trees silhouetted against the sun.

If you want to select the mode yourself, rotate the mode dial to Scene Mode. There are 15 choices – Beauty Shot, Night, Landscape, Portrait, Children, Sports, Close-up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Sound Picture, and 3D Photo.

I hope Samsung will have a firmware upgrade to include a handheld night shot so I can capture the lights of the night without a tripod, as is usually the case with most new cameras.

But if you want to learn to enhance your shooting skills, turn the dial to advanced modes – Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual.

The Lens Priority shooting mode makes the i-Function lens really useful. You can use the i-Function lens to select both Scene Mode and Smart Filter mode. The fun Smart Filter options are Vignetting, Miniature, Fish-Eye, Sketch, De-fog, Halftone Dots, Soft Focus, Old Film1, Old Film2, and Negative.

Magic Frame mode places portraits in a selected frame – like a newspaper front page or magazine cover or a giant billboard.

The Full HD video recording at 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second is facilitated with an HDMI mini-connector to plug into an LCD TV. 

I shot a short clip and watched it on my Sony TV and found the quality very good. 

But you should use a lens with manual or fixed focus, because the i-Function lens adjusts its focus automatically during recording, causing the picture to shake and adding the sound of the lens shifting to the clip audio.

The NX200 with a 20-50mm lens and external flash, is in shops for Bt27,990.

 

         Key specs

 

_ Image sensor: 20.3 megapixels CMOS

_ Lens mount: Samsung NX Mount

_ Shutter speed: 1/4000 ~ 30 seconds (1/3EV step), Bulb (limit four minutes)

_ Metering system: TTL 221 (17x13) Block segment, Multi, Centre-weighted, Spot

_ ISO equivalent: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800

_ Storage: SD, SDHC, SDXC (guaranteed up to 128GB)

_ Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI 1.3

_ Battery: Rechargeable BP1030 (1030mAh)

_ Dimensions: 116.5x62.5x36.2mm excluding projection part

_ Weight: 220.4g without battery and memory card