Optical profusion
I tested the camera with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS kit lens (27-82.5mm equivalent), a good and accurate zoom; the 60mm 1:1 f/2.4 OIS (90mm equivalent), a fast and well-built Macro lens and the 16mm f/2.4 Pancake lens (24mm equivalent), a light, bright optic, particularly well-suited to low-light and shallow depth of field work but equally good for landscape and architecture shots.
A good range of NX lenses is available with more promised
A major improvement over previous NX models and an easy selling point for this new release is the provision of a Full HD 1080p Video Mode. The video recording benefits from full manual controls, use of all creative modes and some extra features such as image stabilisation, fad-in/fade/out, self timer and additional voice clips. Footage is crisp and detailed but some blurring can occur with continuous focus, as well as the barrel movement being registered by the very sensitive mic.
A major player in the making?
Verdict
Overall, the NX200 is arguably the most accomplished and grown-up camera Samsung has produced to date. Its price is perfectly in line with the current crop of CSCs, such as the Sony NEX, Olympus PEN, Nikon 1 and Panasonic Lumix MFT alternatives, with the potential to eat into the DSLR entry-level market too.
Moreover, the NX200’s performance and image quality equals and, at times, surpasses those of most of its rival CSCs and, crucially, Samsung has expanded its array of lenses to make the NX a truly versatile and complete system. To me, it looks like Samsung’s photographic endeavours have finally come of age and it’s ready to challenge the big names out there. ®
More Camera Reviews… |
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 Fujifilm
Finepix X10 |
 Sony
NEX-C3 |
 Olympus
PEN Mini E-PM1 |
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1 V1 |
 Hasselblad
H4D-200MS |
Samsung NX200 20.3Mp APS-C compact system camera
COMMENTS
Drop the gimmicks, add useful features
If I want to make my pictures look like drawings, or oil paintings, or acid-induced fever dreams, I can do that on my computer, thankyouverymuch. Drop that crap, and put useful features in the camera, like high dynamic range capture, panoramic assist (you don't even have to do the stitching in the camera - just help me do the pointing to acquire the pictures), and GPS/magnetometer geotagging. Better still - give me the ability to quickly annotate the picture - maybe a simple voice recorder function?
Much to like
The NX200 does look like an interesting choice, with a nice selection of compact primes (Sony take note!) making for a compact and portable kit.
The only downside I can see is the loss of the accessory port that the NX100 had and therefor no way to use the EVF that was available for that camera which does look like a retrograde step.
Samsung NX200 20mp - good results, especially in low light.
The low light handling for a 20mp sensor is pretty good. Noise in the ISO 6400 is quite noticeable and there's some colour bleeding, but still it's not bad for that speed. Also, noise is well weighted, for example in low light grays at the pixel level there's not noticeable numbers black pixels (as with cheap sensors).
Samsung has the makings of product that will shake up Canon and Nikon methinks.
Yup, that's an EVF alright. It fits nicely into the accessory port on the NX100 - the same port that Samsung have decided to leave off of the NX200. If there ever is an EVF for the 200, it will have to be a new design.
My sydlexia must be on tonight.
I managed to read APS-C as 'arse'
