Photography News 06

Camera review

SamsungNX30 The Samsung Galaxy NXmixed camera with smartphone, but the newNX flagship is designed only for photography. We put it through its paces. ON TEST

magnification ratio to most APS-C DSLR viewfinders, but for electronic versions, bigger is better and we’ve been spoilt with the latest from Olympus and Fujifilm – these have the same resolutions, but significantly higher magnification ratios. I also found that the NX30’s viewfinder struggled with movement, which could become stuttery and a little blurred, particularly in lower light. As a result, I found myself using the LCD on the back more than the viewfinder – it’s bigger and clearer, and the only time I found the viewfinder a better option was when the sun was too bright to see the screen. It was a similar story when it came to the tilting function of the viewfinder. It’s unique, in that you can pull the EVF out of its housing and tilt it upwards by up to 80° – it locks in three positions. But again, the advantage of this over the tilting and swivelling LCD was a little lost on me. Solid performance Inside the NX30 is a 20.3-megapixel APS-C sized sensor and Samsung’s latest DRIMe IV processor. Image resolution is excellent, although it’s best to shoot Raw – JPEGs seem to be smoothed in-camera at the expense of detail that’s retained in Raw files. The camera comes with Adobe Lightroom 5 in the box, and the latest update, 5.3, is compatible.

Words by Ian Fyfe

Last year, Samsung took cameras in a new direction with the introduction of the Galaxy NX – its Android operating system and purely touch-screen control made for a completely new picture-taking experience. The question was whether this was a road Samsung was committing to at the expense of more traditional cameras, or simply an extra branch of the Smart camera family tree. The NX30 gives us the answer. This new flagship NX camera is much more familiar for photographers – there’s no Android operating system, and there are plenty of buttons, while the body is styled very much like a DSLR and more compact than the Galaxy NX. Amongst this more traditional set-up though is Samsung’s Smart technology, providing plenty of connectivity that’s way beyond any other cameras in this respect. It all makes for a rather interesting prospect. Easy control Really impressive are the handling and controls. The grip is extremely comfortable, and what really struck me was how much direct access there is to settings via buttons on the top-plate and back. Aperture and shutter speed are controlled with a top command dial and wheel on the back – if you’re in manual mode, the two controls let you adjust either setting. Buttons give you direct access to white-balance, ISO, AFmode, AF area selection, exposure compensation and metering modes, while a switch on the top- plate changes the drive mode. In normal shooting, you never need to enter the menus. My only slight complaint is that the buttons on the back are all very close and not easy to distinguish by touch, so could be confused if you’re searching for them with the viewfinder to your eye. The viewfinder itself is something of a conundrum to me. It’s an OLED display with 2359k dots, and there’s no doubt that this makes for a crisp and clear preview in the main. It has a similar

SPECS

PRICE £899 with 18-55mm lens CONTACT www.samsung.com SENSOR 20.3-megapixel with DRIMe IV IMAGE DIMENSIONS 5472x3648 pixels ISORANGE ISO 100-25,600 AUTOFOCUSMODES Single, continuous, manual, touch EXPOSURE METERING PATTERNS Multi-segment, centre- weighted, spot SHOOTING SPEEDS Single, continuous 9fps, burst (5MB images only), self-timer, bracket LCD SCREEN 3in Super AMOLED with touch panel, 1037k dots STORAGEMEDIA SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS-I compatible) DIMENSIONS (WXHXD) 127x95.5x41.7mm WEIGHT 375g (without battery) COMPENSATION +/-3EV in 1/3 steps, AEB +/-3EV SHUTTER 30secs-1/8000sec

What struckmewas howmuch direct access there is to settings via buttons on the top and back

ABOVE RIGHT The focus peaking feature and magnification in manual focusing helped to get this shot sharp. RIGHT The NX30 also includes a number of Smart Filters and a Picture Wizard for different effects – here, I used the Retro Picture Wizard.

Photography News | Issue 6