Review Date: October 24, 2010
Category: Beginner to Serious Amateur
Samsung NX100
Photoxels Editor’s Choice 2010 – Compact Mirrorless
IMAGE QUALITY
The Samsung NX100 is targeted to beginner and serious amateur photographers. It has 14.6 megapixel resolution on an APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm) CMOS image sensor and accepts interchangeable lenses on the Samsung NX mount.
The Samsung NX100 has excellent image quality including good low-light performance at ISO 100 with good detail preserved.
| 2.5x Optical Zoom | |
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| Wide-angle 20mm (30.8mm, 35mm equivalent) |
Telephoto 50mm (77mm, 35mm equivalent) |
One of the advantage of a Digital Interchangeable Lens (DIL) camera is the ability to use interchangeable lenses suited for specific jobs. The Samsung NX100 comes with the 20-50mm (30.8-77mm Equiv.135) 2.5x optical zoom kit lens with a maximum aperture of F3.5(W)-F5.6(T). A 20mm (30.8mm equiv.) F2.8 pancake is also available. Samsung has announced a 60mm macro lens, a 18-200mm Super Zoom lens, a 16mm ultra wide-angle, a 85mm, and a 16-80mm lenses for 2011.
We tested the camera with the 20-50mm kit lens. In the above pictures, we show the coverage for 20mm [30.8mm equiv.] then 50mm [77mm equiv.].
We are a bit mystified (and somewhat disappointed) that a wider angle lens is not included as kit lens, and also that the kit lens is not optically image stabilized.
The Samsung NX100 has full exposure flexibility with PASM modes, and Program Shift.
The camera also provides exposure compensation (with Auto Bracketing) and Custom (Manual) White Balance. A Histogram can be displayed in both Live and Playback modes.
Shutter speed ranges from 1/4,000-30 sec. in PASM, plus B (up to 8 minutes) in Manual Mode.
Macro
The actual macro capability is a function of the lens you use. The 20-50mm kit lens allows you to focus only as close as 28cm (11 in.). This is not much macro capability and the above picture shows just how close you can expect to get to your subject. If you are into macro photography, we recommend that you get the 60mm macro lens when it is available next year.
The AF Area can be manually moved to any of 15 x 13 = 195 focus areas (at the smallest AF Frame size). AF is fast, works very well in good light and in low-light with the help of the AF-assist illuminator.
TIP: Resize the AF Frame to its smallest size for fast and precise AF lock in low light. See Handling & Feel for more about this feature.
There are three metering modes: Spot, Multi-Pattern and Center-weighted. This is easily and quickly selected by pressing the Fn button and then selecting Metering. There is also “Spot AF,” though it’s not called that and you’ll have to select a Menu option to tie the metering to the AF Frame [Menu – Camera 3 – Link AE to AF Point – On].
| Auto White Balance Indoors | |
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| AWB | Custom WB |
As the above two pictures show, the Auto White Balance (AWB) is not quite accurate indoors under artificial lighting [I have two energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs on the ceiling]. The Samsung NX100 allows WB to be easily set manually and this brings out the real colors. AWB works very well in natural light.
The easiest way to set WB manually is to customize the Depth-of-Field Preview button (found on the left side, viewed from the back) to set Manual WB instead [Menu – User – Preview – One Touch WB].
| ISO Comparisons | |
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| ISO 100 | |
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| ISO 200 | ISO 400 |
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| ISO 800 | ISO 1600 |
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| ISO 3200 | ISO 6400 |
The Samsung NX100 has 7 ISO settings going from ISO 100 to ISO 3200, and extendable to ISO 6400. The 100% crops above (area delimited by the white square) demonstrate the noise at the available ISO Speeds. At ISO 100 to 400, noise is under control. Noise starts to be slightly visible at ISO 800 but is still very acceptable. Noise (with detail loss) is quite visible at higher ISOs. Auto ISO ranges from 100 to 1600, in 1EV step or 1/3EV step, depending on what you set it to be [Menu – User – ISO Step]. Overall, very good noise handling.
Note that because the maximum aperture on the 20-50mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens is quite small, low light pictures can easily go into the seconds and will require therefore the use of a tripod. If you want to use the NX100 as a low-light camera for people photography, you might want to use the faster 20mm F2.8 lens instead.
The Samsung NX100 easily passes our low-light test, both locking focus fast and precisely as well as providing the full shutter speed range in all the PASM modes to correctly expose the pictures whichever shooting mode you prefer to use.
CA (Purple Fringing)
CA is under control in most everyday shots but can be quite severe in some very high contrast shots using the 20-50mm kit lens. The area delimited by the red square at top left, and reproduced at 100% crop at bottom right, shows purple fringing.
Long Exposure - 77mm (equiv.), Shutter-Priority, Spot AF, 30 sec., F5.6, ISO 100, Custom WB, Self-timer (2 sec.), Tripod Used
The LCD screen of the NX100 does not gain up in low light, so I have to rely on the AF-assist light to shine on Bamm-Bamm to compose the shot and lock focus. The NX100 snaps into focus. Isn’t it a bit surprising that electronic companies like Panasonic and Samsung can get their contrast AF to be so fast and precise — and traditional optical camera manufacturers can’t?
The Samsung NX100 allows the use of a long shutter speed of up to 30 sec. in PASM modes, therefore allowing very nice night photography. Generally, with image sensors, noise becomes more prominent the longer the shutter is left open. If you turn Long Term Noise Reduction ON [Menu – User – Noise Reduction – Long Term NR – ON], you’ll notice a longer processing time (approx. twice as long) before the next picture can be taken.
To test this noise reduction algorithm, we take a low-light indoors shot. I experiment a bit to obtain the optimum exposure, eventually settling on 30 sec. at F5.6. Even at this long shutter speed, the Samsung NX100’s noise reduction seems to be working great, producing a nice smooth blurring effect of the background.
While the NX10 did not have an Auto ISO 800, the NX100 has 4 Auto ISO settings: Auto ISO 200, Auto ISO 400, Auto ISO 800 and Auto ISO 1600. Set it in Menu – User – Auto ISO Range. Overall, impressive image and noise handling quality and it is quite easy to get great shots with the NX100.
View the Samsung NX100 Photo Gallery [In the Photo Gallery, click on the picture of the camera to return here.]
Next: Samsung NX100 Handling & Feel