The Samsung NX1 is one of the finest cameras to be unveiled so far
this year. It's packed full of features, has a new super-fast autofocus
system with some clever features, a new 28-megapixel sensor capable of
capturing 4K video and that's all arranged in a sturdy build.
But the notion of "compact" system camera has gone. Samsung's direction in the market
is almost regressive despite its push forward; the NX1 is as close to a mirrorless DSLR camera
as cameras get given its 138.5 x 102.3 x 65.8mm size (body only). Pop a
giant (and admittedly fast and high quality lens) on the front and the
size and weight grow yet more. Which, if that's exactly what you're
after, is no bad thing, as it's a direction unlike any other
manufacturer in this space.
is almost regressive despite its push forward; the NX1 is as close to a mirrorless DSLR camera
as cameras get given its 138.5 x 102.3 x 65.8mm size (body only). Pop a
giant (and admittedly fast and high quality lens) on the front and the
size and weight grow yet more. Which, if that's exactly what you're
after, is no bad thing, as it's a direction unlike any other
manufacturer in this space.
We got to use the Samsung NX1 in a variety of pre-set situations on the Samsung stand
at the Photokina show in Cologne, Germany. Each was tailored for the
camera, but even so the results from the new NX AF System III - which
provides 205 phase-detection AF points (153 of which are cross-type for
heightened sensitivity irrelevant of orientation) alongside 209
additional contrast-detection areas - are impressive.
Not prefect, mind, but certainly impressive. In continuous autofocus
there was only the occasional slip-up that saw the NX1 very briefly hunt
for focus, but otherwise it's among the best continuous autofocus
systems we've seen in a compact system camera. We'd still opt for a high-end DSLR camera's 3D tracking system, but Samsung is on the advance to close the gap between the two systems.
Add a 15 frames per second burst mode and the NX1 does genuinely
sing. And that's 15fps with continuous autofocus, something no
competitor can quite match at full resolution.
New clever features include Samsung Auto Shot which, in the way it
was introduced at Samsung's Photokina press conference, is said to
automatically read fast subject movements and auto capture at the
precise moment. A clever idea, but one that's currently restricted:
there are Baseball and Jump modes only available, to specifically cater
for such scenarios.
We snapped a green-laser-dot hurtling towards a miniature baseball
player cutout, whereby the NX1 refuses to fire the depressed shutter
until it knows the exact moment required for a ball-on-bat contact shot.
Which is all well and good, but that's a limited scenario right now. In
truth we were hoping for a more varied application - but perhaps the
technology is there for Samsung to expand on and update via firmware.
One feature we did particularly like was the 3-inch, 1,046k-dot
tilt-angle AMOLED screen. The ability to angle it up or down for
overhead or waist-level work we can see being of great use, but it's the
incorporation of a touch-sensitive panel that's great to see. As the NX
AF System III covers the entirety of the frame you'll get responsive focus wherever you happen to tap onto the screen.
focus wherever you happen to tap onto the screen.
