Samsung NX200 Review

A Post By: Barrie Smith

Samsung has sure rattled the cages of companies like Apple in its chase for market share in the smart phone market. The winner? Who knows.

But one thing is certain: if there had not been an iPhone to bump against in the first place, Samsung would still be happily making other assorted bits of technology. It’s called market opportunity.

And, sure as eggs, IMHO if there had not been a brigade of interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras out there for Samsung to harass, they would most likely have not moved into that territory either.

I looked at this camera’s predecessor, the NX11, about six months ago and recall coming away highly impressed. After all, it’s no mean feat to introduce a new camera, complete with an entirely new lens system.

Now we see the new model with a higher pixel count (20.3 megapixels), while the body is less than half the weight and nearly half the size. While the camera body itself is small and compact, this is countered to a degree by the fitting of a lens.

Samsung NX200 Features

The APS-C sized CMOS sensor has an enormous maximum image, at 5472×3648 pixels, enough to produce a 46×31 cm print.

Movies? How about MPEG4 video at 1920×1080 pixel resoluton? The NX200 will capture up to 25 minutes of movie shooting at 30 fps. If you want 60 fps, then you’ll have to be content with 1280×720 pixel video.

The continuous shooting speed tops out at 7fps, which should make short work of any quick moving animal or kiddy shots.

The mode dial contains the usual Program AE, shutter and aperture plus manual choices plus notches for scene filters etc.

The i-Function feature continues in this model. With this you can toggle between shutter speed, aperture, EV, WB and ISO quickly and easily by pressing the i-Function button and rolling a ring on the lens. Give this feature a bit of practice and you should find it a useful feature … but familiarity is essential, otherwise you may accidentally dial in an unwanted setting.

The review camera was supplied with an f3.5-5.6/20-50mm lens (equivalent to a 30-75mm optic). This lens had the i-Function feature, as do a collection of others, including a 30mm pancake lens, a 60mm macro, an 18-200mm zoom and a number of others.

Also, a clip on flash is supplied with the camera.

Other features include 10 Smart Filter effects, six of which are accessible through i-Function. These offer an old film look, halftone dots, a sketch look
and others.

If that’s not enough, take a look at Magic Frame, where you can add any of 13 different frames: that old album look, a ripple effect, a billboard or newspaper style plus more.

Scene modes include settings for portraits, children, fireworks, sunsets etc. And don’t tell me you haven’t messed up with any of these subjects. Most people have and I’ll bet would appreciate some help!

Sweep panorama is also in the kit: this one is an improvement on some other makers’ implementation in that it can also shoot 3D, viewable on suitable TV sets. Added to this is an easy intro to shooting vertical or horizontal panos: just wave the camera in the direction you want — no menu selection!

There is a GPS feature but you have to acquire the optional module to access the technology.

A nice touch is the self portrait AF feature: aim it at yourself, the focus sets to closeup and the camera beeps faster to tell you when the shot is in focus.

Samsung NX200 ISO Settings

The images were clean right up to about 3200. At ISO 6400, noise became intrusive. At ISO 12,800 … it’s all over Rose! Noise is high, definition low and colour is soft.

Samsung NX200 Review Verdict

Quality: excellent in general, accurate and colour well saturated.

Why you would buy it: big, big images! You want to shoot RAW (but you have to put up with Samsung’s RAW Converter format!

Why you wouldn’t: a vari-angle finder would have been the icing on the cake!

Again, I must praise the PDF of the manual: clear, concise, supported by detailed illustrations plus a number of helpful pages on photographic basics: the lens setting versus shutter speed conundrum, like depth of field, etc. For the raw beginner this is a big bonus.

But I must slap Samsung’s hand once more about the spelling mistakes which continue in the manual: “recharable”, “acces”, “fuorescent”, minumum”. Someone please fix ’em!

Some may feel this camera is over-priced for a unit that uses a lens system with no heritage.

Samsung NX200 Specifications

Image Sensor: 20.3 million effective pixels.
Metering: Multi pattern, centre-weighted, spot.
Sensor Size (APS-C): 23.5×15.7mm CMOS.
Lens Mount: Samsung NX, optional adaptor for Pentax K-mount.
35 SLR Lens Factor: 1:5x.
Shutter Speed: 30 to 1/4000 second; flash sync 1/180 second.
Continuous Speed: Seven shots at 7 fps (continuous high).
Memory: SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.
Image Sizes (pixels): 5472×3648 to 1024×1024. Movies: 1920×1080, 1280×720, 640×480, 320×240 at 30fps.
LCD Screen: 7.6cm LCD (614,000 pixels).
File Formats: JPEG, RAW (SRW), JPEG+RAW, MPEG4.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 100 to 12,800.
Interface: USB 2.0, AV, HDMI, DC.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 117x63x37 WHDmm.
Weight: 220g (minus battery and card).
Price: Get a price on the Samsung NX200 at Amazon