Samsung NX100

After the NX10 mini-SLR, Samsung has now released a genuinely compact camera with interchangeable lenses, the NX100. This new market segment has been gaining ground since spring this year, and is currently largely dominated by Sony's NEX-series cameras. So does Samsung's model have what it takes to compete?

Handling

The first compact cameras with interchangeable lenses had a fairly retro design, championed by Olympus, but which was then slightly modernised by Panasonic. Then, Sony came along and changed the rules of the game with the ultra-compact, ultra-stylish NEX range, with a sleek metallic finish replacing the classic matte paint job of the models already on the high street. Compared with the shiny and seductive Sonys, Samsung's compact camera with interchangeable lenses looks a bit drab. The NX100 is a big compact that lacks character, with a smooth plastic body and a kind of grey plate that sticks up from the top (the brand's designers are keen to point out that the bulge to the right of the camera is inspired by the shape of a leaf, on which the shutter release button is said to represent a drop of dew). The back of the camera couldn't be more unexciting, with a series of buttons to the right of the excellent AMOLED screen. However, the layout of the controls is different to Samsung's other expert cameras, the NX10 and EX1.


The main new design feature is the iFn settings button located directly on the lens (see insert), which is a nice touch. Apart from that, the NX100 is pretty unexceptional, and although perhaps more refined than the Panasonic GF1, it's certainly less stylish than the Sony NEX or Olympus Pen ranges.

The main problem with this leaf-like design is that there's no handle, so the camera isn't particularly easy or comfortable to hold on to. You have to keep your left hand under the lens to keep it stable and, above all, there's no built-in flash, as this would apparently have broken the smooth, flowing lines of the upper part of the camera. There's a hot-shoe for an external flash unit but, at the time of writing, it doesn't look like this will be included as standard. Compared with the Panasonic GF1 and Olympus E-PL1, the lack of built-in flash could be a real set-back for this newcomer to the market.

Another thing that's verging on unacceptable is the new 20-50 mm kit lens supplied. This new lens isn't a genuine wide angle (it starts at an equivalent of 30 mm) and, more importantly, has no integrated stabilisation system! Given that all other compacts with interchangeable lenses are supplied with a stabilised zoom lens or with a speedy pancake lens, it's a little hard to understand why Samsung opted for a non-stabilised model.


Compromising features to keep things compact can't be used as an excuse for everything, especially since even in its most compact, retracted 'travel' position, the NX100 is still too big to fit into a pocket. Interestingly, Samsung does use a sensor-based stabilisation system in its dSLRs (made by Pentax), but this hasn't been included in the NX range.

Responsiveness

In this field, the NX100 inherits all the good features of the NX10. It starts up in under a second, saves pictures quickly (burst mode tested at 2.7 frames per second), has a good autofocus in decent light etc. In fact, this camera only really falters in one field: the autofocus in low-light conditions is slower than in competitors' models, and has an annoying tendency to simply lose track of its subject. Night-time shots are therefore not a strong point for the NX100, but it's still a pleasant camera to use.

Picture Quality

With no built-in flash and no stabilisation, Samsung has no choice but to rely on impeccable handling of ISO sensitivity to keep picture quality to decent standards. However, as we know from experience, this has never been a strong point for the Korean manufacturer, which still has a lot to prove


However, Samsung has made fast, noticeable progress with the NX100. Up to 800 ISO, pictures are almost entirely free from noise, and they're still pretty good up to 1600 ISO. Above that, noise and smoothing are visible in 8" x 12" prints. Compared with other recent Samsung sensors, particularly those used in the Pentax K-7, the improvement is quite incredible, although it still lags behind the quality seen in Sony's NEX cameras.

In bright light, the new 20-50 mm lens does a pretty good job, in spite of its compact design (it retracts into a 'travel' position which is just 43 mm long). In wide angle, the picture is excellent in the middle and pretty good around the edges too. In telephoto, the picture is good across the frame.


It's a shame about the lack of stabilisation and flash, though. As a result, the Barbie shot only becomes clear at 1/30 sec, which in turn pushes up the sensitivity with the risk of degrading picture quality. Otherwise, you could try taking a series of shots: a few pictures at 1/8 sec will probably turn out sharp enough ... so long as you have steady hands. Even when making your subjects pose, dark lighting conditions won't be a strong point for the NX100 with its kit lens (the result is different with the 30 mm f/2 pancake lens, which captures four times more light, or with stabilised lenses).

Video

The NX100 has a decent enough video mode but it's nothing special. Footage is recorded to H.264 in an mp4 file in 720p HD resolution. That's all OK, but the sound is recoded in mono (although it's actually not too bad) and digital fuzz starts to appear as the light fades.

The NX100 doesn't have a separate video record button and isn't really intended for users who are serious about video.