Then there’s the shutter button. In most cameras, it’s a nice large button placed at the far right of the camera body. But Samsung’s designers decided in their infinite wisdom to put a small shutter button close to the middle and the mode dial on the right, with the result that if you’re not careful, you’ll end up pressing the mode dial and not the shutter button when taking a shot.
The zoom rocker is tiny and not very responsive; the battery compartment flap is fiddly to open and close, and the lens placed so high up on the camera body that it’s very easy to inadvertently put their finger in the way. Oh, and the function buttons on the back of the camera are small and it’s not easy to read the text on the mode dial button. On the plus side however, the LCD display does tell you what shooting mode you’ve selected and there’s a handy in-camera user guide.
Sample shots
Click for full-size image
You can take reasonably good close-up shots with the NV4
Picture quality is impressive; it’s just a shame that it’s not matched by the camera’s handling
The NV4 offers a 6.3mm-18.9mm zoom, equivalent to 38-114mm on a 35mm camera, but wide angle shooting is not so good
COMMENTS
Excellent idea
It's about time someone came up with something like this. Now they just need to add some kind of mobile communications device to it (perhaps some sort of "mobile telephone"?) Then I'll finally be able to buy a mobe where the camera isn't shit. Happy days.
Video frame rates
What is it with digital camera and cameraphone vendors supplying ridiculous video frame rates? This one provides 20fps, 15fpd and 30fps, but why not PAL-friendly 25fps or 50fps? Frame rate conversions create a juddering image, especially visible when panning. Maybe Korea uses NTSC and that is where the last two rates come, but actually Nokia phones have the same problem, even though the vendor hails from the PAL universe (ok, actually digital DVB these days, but the TV frame rate in Finland is still 50 fps interlaced).
Is there any cameraphone that shoots video in 25fps or 50fps at VGA resolution or better? I'll buy it even if it is not Nokia...
