Pros
- Open source licenses
- Fast Autofocus
- Sharp images even from kit lens
- Great Wi-Fi connectivity
- Touch screen is very responsive
Cons
- Battery only charges in camera
- Less than stellar battery life
Performance
The NX300 is a real champ. The new hybrid autofocus system works quickly and
the variety of lenses make this camera soar to the top of the charts.
Shooting Performance
The Samsung NX300 has a quicker autofocus than I expected--generally taking a
fraction of a second to capture it. Choosing to include both contrast and phase
detection autofocus was a good move for Samsung because it has clearly
positioned itself to be a major contender amongst the Olympus and
Sony mirror less cameras. Startup is also fast on the NX300. It takes about a
second to turn on the camera and snap your first shot and the shutter lag is
unnoticeable.
The NX300 comes with a hot shoe flash. It flips up for use or flips down
when you want to store it on your camera, but not use it.
The battery in the NX300 is rechargeable BP 1130 rated for 160 minutes of
video or 320 shots. Also, the more you use the Wi-Fi, the fewer shots you will
be able to capture. That handy little feature can eat up a lot of power.
Lens Performance
The Samsung NX300 has a wide variety of lenses from which to choose. Although I
can't say the 18-55mm is my all-time favorite kit lens ever, it does function
very nicely with the camera. It is highly responsive and is useful in a multitude
of photographic situations. But the best part is it produces some pretty sharp
images for a kit lens.
Wi-Fi/GPS
I am happy to report that the Wi-Fi mode on the NX300 is easy and seamless.
With no trouble at all, I accessed my Face book account and downloaded 2 images
in less than 10 seconds. After that, I tried again with 7 more images. Again,
each one took about 5 seconds to upload.
Video Quality
Video is captured as an MP4 file. The camera records Full HD 1080p at 60fps. It
can also record 30fps or 24fps. Sound is captured with in-camera stereo sound.
If you like better sound quality than you can get in-camera, the EM 10
microphone is available as an accessory for $130.
Image Quality
We were very impressed with our real world testing of the NX300. Colors were
well represented and came out beautiful. Images are sharp with very little
noise throughout ISO 3200. ISO 6400 started to show noticeable noise.
Conclusion
The Samsung NX300 really does earn the title of the flagship NX mirror less
camera. It offers a classic leatherette skin draped over a sleek metal body. It
is solid and sturdy--the best made NX of the entire lineup. Its image quality
is clean and sharp, only giving way to serious pixel degradation at ISOs above
6400.
The Wi-Fi functionality is simple to use and unable to be beat by any other
camera except for Samsung's own Galaxy Camera. So far, no other camera company
has been able to create an easier Wi-Fi experience. This is great news for
those that desire great image quality and want to have their images available
on the web with the blink of an eye.
In addition to a great camera, Samsung is now packaging the NX300 with Adobe
Light room giving users $150 worth of free software ($80 value if you already
own a previous version of Lightroom).
By
A.ANANDAKUMAR