On September 1 2011, Samsung has announced the NX200, a vastly improved mirrorless camera in the NX camera series. This new born Mirrorless IL camera features a newly developed 20.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor, an all-metal body, 1080p30 movie recording, 7 fps and improved ISO range (up to ISO12800). The camera is very compact in size and has a design that in my opinion is more elegant than the NX100. I'm pretty sure that there are some NX100 owners who search for an upgrade model, and the NX200, on the surface, looks like a good upgrade candidate. Let's take a closer look at the newly announced Samsung NX200 and see what so special about it (other than its new look).
The first thing that you probably noticed is that the NX200 features a different design than the NX100. It's a bit smaller, but certainly looks more slick with its ergonomic design, featuring a nice grip that the NX100 doesn't have. It certainly looks like Samsung wanted to improve the design. I don't know if the NX100 design hurt sells, but I've read many negative user opinion about it. Of course it's a subjective thought, but I have a good feeling that many people will find this design more compelling than the previous model.
Now because of the lower height (compare to the NX100), the NX200 kind of remind me of Sony NEX cameras. This is a mirrorless camera after all, and many vendors, including Panasonic, Olympus and Sony, strive to make their cameras more compact in size. It seems that Samsung is following the same path too.
The build quality was vastly improved. The NX200 features a magnesium-alloy body construction, which should make this camera feel much better in the hands and improve its durability. After all, the competition doesn't get any easier, and other vendors already released cameras with all-metal body.
If I can add my personal opinion, I personally a fan of Sony NEX camera design. I think that they perfectly reflect the essence of what mirrorless cameras are and the philosophy and vision of Sony, and how it comprehend the mirrorless.
Having said that, I do think that Samsung has made the right choice making the NX200 look how it looks. In fact, it looks more like a Leica design if my eye aren't misleading me (?!)
At the back of the camera you'll found the gorgeous 3-inch 614K-dots OLED screen (4:3 ratio). this bright OLED display will certainly make your photos and videos pop out when you view them on the back display. It will also enhance the usability by allowing you to view the scene even in a bright sunny say when shooting outdoors.
It seems like we are entering an era where we get to see more cameras with resolution above 20MP. I personally not a favor of high-megapixel sensor because it makes me wonder how the image quality would have been if camera vendors would have decided to use a sensor will much less resolution. But lets leave it aside right now and focus on what we have and not what we don't.
The new 20.3MP (effective res.) sensor brings some new opportunities to the enthusiast photographer's hands. Now you can have more room for cropping your images, and take highly details photos that really grabs more details from the photographed scene.
As other cameras in the NX-series, the Samsung NX200 is compatible with all i-Function lenses. The i-Function technology invented by Samsung, allow photographers to control a wide range of parameters from the lens itself, without digging deep into menus and without taking your eyes of the subject. Right now Samsung have several i-Function compatible lenses (see below), so by a click of a button you can control the aperture, ISO , EV (exposure value), Shutter speed and white Balance.
What lenses are currently available for the NX200 (or other NX cameas)?
Samsung segment its lenses into four groups:
NX200 Looks Pretty Promising
The Samsung NX200 provides improved usability, design and functionality. It really seems that Samsung has spend time listening to its customers, but not just listening, but making sure that the demands are utilized in future models, as in the currently announced NX200. The XN200 features smart filters, 3D Shooting (both regular and Panorama) and sound picture (captures 10 second of audio while shooting an image; I love this feature). All of those features should appeal to beginners, those who search to upgrade to a mirrorles camera, and are debating which camera to buy.
Samsung has a mini-site (actually a page) that reveals all the camera key functions, worth a look.
Design
The first thing that you probably noticed is that the NX200 features a different design than the NX100. It's a bit smaller, but certainly looks more slick with its ergonomic design, featuring a nice grip that the NX100 doesn't have. It certainly looks like Samsung wanted to improve the design. I don't know if the NX100 design hurt sells, but I've read many negative user opinion about it. Of course it's a subjective thought, but I have a good feeling that many people will find this design more compelling than the previous model.
 |
| Samsung NX200, new design |
Now because of the lower height (compare to the NX100), the NX200 kind of remind me of Sony NEX cameras. This is a mirrorless camera after all, and many vendors, including Panasonic, Olympus and Sony, strive to make their cameras more compact in size. It seems that Samsung is following the same path too.
 |
| Ergonomics have been improved (NX200) |
The build quality was vastly improved. The NX200 features a magnesium-alloy body construction, which should make this camera feel much better in the hands and improve its durability. After all, the competition doesn't get any easier, and other vendors already released cameras with all-metal body.
If I can add my personal opinion, I personally a fan of Sony NEX camera design. I think that they perfectly reflect the essence of what mirrorless cameras are and the philosophy and vision of Sony, and how it comprehend the mirrorless.
Having said that, I do think that Samsung has made the right choice making the NX200 look how it looks. In fact, it looks more like a Leica design if my eye aren't misleading me (?!)
At the back of the camera you'll found the gorgeous 3-inch 614K-dots OLED screen (4:3 ratio). this bright OLED display will certainly make your photos and videos pop out when you view them on the back display. It will also enhance the usability by allowing you to view the scene even in a bright sunny say when shooting outdoors.
Newly Developed 20.3MP Sensor
It seems like we are entering an era where we get to see more cameras with resolution above 20MP. I personally not a favor of high-megapixel sensor because it makes me wonder how the image quality would have been if camera vendors would have decided to use a sensor will much less resolution. But lets leave it aside right now and focus on what we have and not what we don't.
The new 20.3MP (effective res.) sensor brings some new opportunities to the enthusiast photographer's hands. Now you can have more room for cropping your images, and take highly details photos that really grabs more details from the photographed scene.
i-Function 2.0
As other cameras in the NX-series, the Samsung NX200 is compatible with all i-Function lenses. The i-Function technology invented by Samsung, allow photographers to control a wide range of parameters from the lens itself, without digging deep into menus and without taking your eyes of the subject. Right now Samsung have several i-Function compatible lenses (see below), so by a click of a button you can control the aperture, ISO , EV (exposure value), Shutter speed and white Balance.
What lenses are currently available for the NX200 (or other NX cameas)?
- 18-55mm ED OIS II F3.4-5.6 (i-Function)
- 20-50mm F2.505.6 ED (i-Function)
- 30mm F2.0
- 50-200mm F4-5.6
- 20mm (i-Function)
- 16mm F2.4 (i-Function)
- 60mm F2.8 SSA Macro (i-Function)
- 85mm F1.4 CSC SSA
- 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 ED OIS (i-Function)
Samsung segment its lenses into four groups:
- Carry (small and light lenses that are easy to carry) - 30mm, 20mm 20-50mm and 16mm
- Optima (lenses optimized for special captures) - 18-55mm, 50-200mm, 60mm
- Omnia (multi purpose lenses) - 18-200mm
- Premium (high image quality, premium lens) - 85mm
NX200 Looks Pretty Promising
The Samsung NX200 provides improved usability, design and functionality. It really seems that Samsung has spend time listening to its customers, but not just listening, but making sure that the demands are utilized in future models, as in the currently announced NX200. The XN200 features smart filters, 3D Shooting (both regular and Panorama) and sound picture (captures 10 second of audio while shooting an image; I love this feature). All of those features should appeal to beginners, those who search to upgrade to a mirrorles camera, and are debating which camera to buy.
Samsung has a mini-site (actually a page) that reveals all the camera key functions, worth a look.
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