Small body and big heart. This is also how I can describe the Samsung NX100 mirrorless camera. At first glance, many people classify this camera as a tourist digital camera. But the opposite is true. Samsung has gone above and beyond with this camera and brought us an amazing camera at a low price. Many experts agree that cheaper SLRs are often bad in terms of price/performance. And they are right, because this "camera" is well below the price of cheaper SLRs and takes much better pictures.
After unpacking, the first thing that comes to mind is: "Does this tiny device really take SLR quality photos?" With the small 20-50mm lens, it makes a fairly compact duo and I had no problem carrying the camera in any jacket pocket, it would also fit in larger pockets. Even with thin gloves, the camera handles quite well, but you have to be careful when pulling it out; the surface is more slippery plastic and you won't find any grip here. Some may be disappointed by the absence of a viewfinder and flash, but it can be purchased.
On the front, you will find nothing but the Samsung logo, an LED and a button to unlock the lens. Here we come to another big advantage. Lens. A big advantage of every single-lens reflex camera compared to compact cameras is the possibility of changing lenses. And this is exactly what will please the novice photographer. He can have a camera at a low price with good photo quality, and when he feels it's time to expand his accessories with some lens, he will be able to do it. He will even be able to choose lenses from Canon or Nikon. You can buy a reducer in the store, which costs around €25 and guarantees you compactness with lenses of another brand.
In the package you will find a lens, of course from Samsung. It is excellent for the beginning and for occasional photos. It also has the "i-Function" function, which simplifies and speeds up access to important settings. Of the settings, the sequential shooting mode is worth mentioning. When using an SDHC with a speed of 30 Mb/s, it can take 6 photos in a row. It then takes 1 second to process. Then he takes two photos with a smaller spacing and then the cycle repeats, he takes 6 more photos.
What I regret, however, is the almost appearing noise. And that's already at ISO 800, which means that you won't be able to photograph anything nice and sharp in the dark without a stand or flash. Fortunately, I figured out how to take a photo without noise even in the dark and I don't have a tripod with me. You can easily set sequential photography, ISO to 400 and shutter speed to the required value. And then just hold the trigger. One of the photos will definitely be taken when you were not moving. As for the video, the image is nice, the color rendering is (as with the photos) stunning and the maximum length of 25 minutes is sufficient. What I regret is the absence of video settings. The only thing you can adjust is the brightness of the video and the aperture size. The shutter is set by itself, which is not good at all for advanced users. And even what can be set can only be "adjusted" before starting the recording, after that nothing can be done at all.
Another thing worth mentioning is the battery. It has a capacity of 1 mAh, which is half that of today's smartphones. But here it is something else. Cameras don't have an extra powerful processor, they don't have a huge screen, and they don't have any software that can drain the battery in no time. But I will honestly admit that I am used to the endurance of today's mobile phones, and therefore out of habit I turn off the camera after every photo. And here we come to another plus. Not only does the battery last for several days, maybe even a week, when I turn it on/off, but it is pleasant to turn it on and off constantly, because it takes about 300 seconds to start and about 2 seconds to turn it off, which makes this type of battery saving an addictive habit.
Conclusion
The Samsung NX100 is really worth mentioning. It's not a top-of-the-line SLR for €3, but it's a good camera that takes professional photos at a low price. Personally, I have owned this camera for the second year and I am satisfied. It is very thin, light, the battery lasts for a week and I can rely on it even in adverse conditions that are beyond the limits of the conditions for use.
+ Image quality/price ratio
+ Compact dimensions
+ Capture to RAW
+ Comfortable grip
+ Two programmable buttons
+ Ultrasonic sensor cleaning system
+ Lens mount
+ Logical division of bookmarks
+ AF speed in good conditions
+ Color reproduction
+ On/off speed
– AF in worse conditions
– Almost appearing noise (already at ISO 800)
– Ergonomics
– Low contrast and gray standard JPEG
General parameters:
- Torch: 1 300 mAh
- memory: 1 GB internal memory
- SDHC: up to 64 GB (I recommend buying the fastest one possible)
- LED: yes (green)
- Display: 3 "AMOLED
- resolution: VGA (640×480 pixels)
- Visibility angle: 100%
- Dimensions: 120,5 71 mm × mm × mm 34,5
- Weight: 282 grams (340 grams with battery and SD card)
PHOTO:
- Number of pixels: 14 megapixels
- I 100 – 6400
- Format: JPEG, SRW (RAW format)
- Shutter speed: 30 s to 1/4000 s (Bulb maximum is 8 min.)
VIDEO:
- Format: MP4 (H.264)
- Sound: mono AAC
- Max. length: 25 min.
- resolution: 1280 x 720, 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 (30 fps)
We thank our reader Matej Ondrejek for the review!
