web analytics
yugatech x infinix pad

Samsung NX10 Review

First time I got hold of the NX10 from Samsung, I thought it’s a nice-looking compact dSLR. Turns out it’s not really an SLR, or even a micro-4/3 or even a hybrid. The Samsung NX10 falls under an entirely new category and Samsung intends to carve a market for it.

For a lack of a proper term, let’s just use “SLR-style” camera when we refer to the Samsung NX10. But first things first, the main features of this camera include:

  • 14.6M APS-C CMOS
  • Samsung NX Mount (25.5mm flange-back distance)
  • 3.0” AM OLED
  • 720p HD (MP4 H.264) video recording
  • ISO 100 – 3200
  • Supersonic Type Dust Reduction
  • HDMI (Anynet +)
  • 353g wieght
  • 123mm x 87mm x 39.8mm dimension

The Samsung NX10 has only been introduced recently and the camera currently comes with 3 inter-changeable lenses and the one that came with this review unit is the pancake ens (30mm f/2.0). We didn’t get to try out the other two but the 30mm should be a good representative of the batch.

The camera body is small and compact — comparable to the size of the Olympus Pen or the Panasonic G1. It’s got a pretty solid construction and a simple design. If you’ve owned a dSLR before, you won’t have any problems familiarizing yourself with the NX10. It’s got both manual controls and the usual pre-sets.

On top of shooting 14.6-megapixel still images, the NX10 can also do 720p movie capture (H.264 @ 30 fps) which is a very useful feature mostly found on a lot of dSLR cameras nowadays .

I used the Auto settings when shooting sample photos and here are several pictures I took using the 30mm f/2.0 pancake lens. The pictures will speak for themselves and attest to the image quality taken by the camera.

They’re in the original state (4592×3056 pixels at 6MB each) so you can closely inspect the image quality (just click on the album to go to PicasaWeb). Generally, the photos are sharp and the colors are vivid. Even at night, the photos are still considerably sharp but already becomes grainy due to the high ISO (range is 100-3200) adjustments. If not, you can always use an external flash or the built-in pop-up flash (didn’t came in with one so we haven’t tested it).

One can also attribute these good shots to the high aperture opening of the pancake lens (30mm f/2). (Note: You’ll need to have a fast SD card here as it takes several seconds to write those 6MB files into the card.)

The 720p video recording is pretty easy take and the camera does it very well at 30 frames per second. Here’s a copy of a video capture I’ve uploaded to YouTube. The format is MP4 (H.264 codec) but the audio is only in mono. I was hoping they’d do stereo here.

Samsung also made the 3-inch screen using AMOLED so the display is amazingly bright and crisp. It also works even under direct sunlight or the outdoors. I think there’s a built-in proximity sensor of sorts since everytime you put your eyes near the viewfinder, the live-view screen turns off automatically.

Currently, the choice of lenses are very limited but Samsung has announced 5 more that will come out later this year: Standard Zoom Lens 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Non OIS; a Compact Zoom Lens 20-50mm f/3.5-5.6; a Wide Pancake Lens 20mm, f/2.8; a Super Zoom Lens 18-200mm, f/3.5-6.3 OIS and a Macro Lens 60mm f/2.8. It’s a pretty interesting pack, if I may add.

When the Samsung NX10 comes out mid-April, the NX10 Hera (with 80mm lens) will retail for Php40,990 while the NX10 Apollo (with 30mm lens) will be priced at Php 44,490. It’s a bit pricey, especially when you compare it to other entry-level dSLR cameras. Samsung aims to target consumers who are looking for dSLR-quality photos but still wants the compact and portability of a point-and-shoot camera.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,115 other subscribers
Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

28 Responses

  1. Avatar for Al Sakon Al Sakon says:

    Superb post! It would be cool of there was a way to have a logon script that just parsed Active Directory..

  2. Avatar for mae tordillo mae tordillo says:

    selling samsung nx10 for 35,000
    location:cebu philippines
    contact me if interested.
    thanks!

  3. Avatar for Multichannel Amplifiers Multichannel Amplifiers says:

    Waiting the recommendations.

  4. Avatar for adam adam says:

    It is very expensive considering they are not known brand when it comes to camera. I think a D3000 of Nikon has a similar price with this Samsung model so better go to Nikon since it was already tested.

    Samsung Dual LCD Screen Camera

    If they would lower the price to 25K or maybe 30K buyers would have second thought of choosing it instead of Nikon.

  5. Avatar for carlo p carlo p says:

    too pricey for the target market.

    costs more than the micro four-thirds offered by olympus and panasonic, same price as the Leica m4/3 model.

    if i’m in the market for an advanced compact camera/compact DSLR, i can’t see a clear reason why i should consider this in lieu of the other makes.

  6. Avatar for iamupset iamupset says:

    the Samsung NX has an adapter which allows you to use various lens

    http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10022306novoflexnx.asp

  7. Avatar for sherminator sherminator says:

    it may look compact at the photo because of the lens, but i dont think it will be once you attach a lens with a longer focal length. if u want compact cameras, stick with point and shoots. ;)

  8. Avatar for Accounting Blog Accounting Blog says:

    hd video?! pwede na sa akin yan, yun nga lang wala ako hilig sa photography

  9. Avatar for Accounting Blog Accounting Blog says:

    wow, hd video, pwede na sa akin yan, yun nga lang wala ako hilig sa photography

  10. Avatar for manong manong says:

    “A digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) is a digital camera that uses a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera.”

    So, this is not a DSLR; and not small enough to be called compact camera which is synonymous w/ the P&S model.

    call it a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera :p

  11. Avatar for lolipown lolipown says:

    @Josh
    thanks for the concise info :D

  12. Avatar for jan jan says:

    where is the place?

  13. Avatar for Josh Josh says:

    Well, technically, it’s not an SLR because they got rid of the mirror-box, like the M43rds system, which is why they’re able to make smaller camera’s and smaller lenses.

    There isn’t a generally accepted description for them yet, although they’ve been called EVIL (electronic viewfinder, interchangeable lens) camera’s or iLC’s (interchangeable lens camera’s)

    I previously owned a Panasonic G1 – and the overall speed (focusing, shot to shot etc..) is miles ahead of even advanced point and shoots (LX3, G11 etc..) and very very close to that of a DSLR. In fact, Live View focusing is faster than any DSLR currently in the market. The only major downside IMO, is the EVF black-out, which you don’t get with DSLRs.

    I disagree that Samsung’s strategy is ‘off-target’. In fact, it is the right thing to do. In fact, CaNikon will release their own compact, mirror-less systems in the near future (within the next five years) – this I am pretty sure of.

    Value for money **might** be an issue for now, but for some people (me included) the size more than makes up for it. If you look at the 7-14 UWA released for the m43rds system for example, it is a fraction of the size of comparable UWA’s from the usual DSLR’s. It is really tiny!!

    For those of us who have been carrying DSLR’s for years malaking bagay yan. I shot with Nikon for five years, and I gave up on Nikon making compact bodies and lenses. (They’ve only made one pancake lens in their entire history)

    The one thing that’s disappointed me with the NX10 so far is the sensor. Despite being an APS-C sensor, I don’t think low-light performance is significantly better than, for example, the Panasonic GH1. But so far, IMO, that’s the only thing limiting the potential of the NX system.

    If Samsung is able to come out with a sensor similar to the Sony sensor found on the Pentax K-x/Nikon D90/D5000/D300 then the NX system would sell like hotcakes even at these prices. Pair it with a mid-tele pancake prime that’s at least f/1.8 and they might even put M43rds out of business!

    These systems are not there yet, but once their lens road-maps start making more sense, and if they can make the bodies and lenses even smaller, then they can definitely capture a large chunk of the market. (actually M43rds already have)

    But as it stands right now, if you are looking for a quality, compact system, the choices are between Micro Four Thirds (Panasonic, Olympus) and the NX system (Samsung) vs the DSLR’s of Pentax (since they are the ONLY DSLR manufacturer who consistently makes compact pancake lenses and primes).

  14. Avatar for lolipown lolipown says:

    @Mark Anthony Grejaldo
    Well you’ve basically described a 4/3 :) and those have been around for quite a while now. While we know that it’s not the best value for money, you got to admit to be at last interested in what makes the NX10 unique.

  15. Avatar for guyrony guyrony says:

    Next!

  16. Avatar for Abiel Abiel says:

    Nice camera but pricey… indeed.. for a 40k to 45k, I’ll go for a an entry level DSLR, like the nikon D3000 or the canon 500D or just add a couple of thousands, you get the Nikon D5000 or the Canon 550D, which are not a very bad choice and you to choose the lens of your choice!! :)

    It looks like this camera is somewhere between hybrids and entry level DSLR.

    Then again why buy a dongkey when you can get a horse for the same price!!! :)

    http://tinyurl.com/y9rchto

  17. Avatar for Sanctuarian06 Sanctuarian06 says:

    Busing busy si Sir Abe ah. XD.

  18. Avatar for Mark Anthony Grejaldo Mark Anthony Grejaldo says:

    i agree with jade that i think samsung’s strategy is way off target. it’s a bit expensive for a “hybrid”. the price is comparable to an entry level dslr plus maybe another lens. nikon d3000 sells for around 25k in hidalgo shops, add another 15k to your budget and you’d have another quality glass from nikon.

    lolipown, maybe it’s a hybrid in the sense that one can change lenses but it can still be as compact as a P&S Cam. so we can assume that it has the same mechanics (ie shutter, mirror, etc) with typical dslrs, but it was condensed in such a way as to reduce size.

    but then again, maybe it really is just a compact dslr. hmmmmm

  19. Avatar for Jhay Jhay says:

    So what’s the proper term for it?

    If it’s not a dSLR nor a compact digi-cam, what is it?

  20. Avatar for lolipown lolipown says:

    Interesting gadget, what makes it a “hybrid” btw?

  21. Avatar for mcv mcv says:

    Looks interesting. Pricey though. Hopefully if it starts its own trend the prices will eventually go down.

  22. Avatar for jade bryan jade bryan says:

    Nice camera, but I think its a wrong marketing of Samsung. With that price the Canon (rebel 2ti) 550D with a standard lens would be better.

    But for people who are looking for more compact cameras this could be the answer.

Leave a Reply