Full Review: Samsung NX300 Mirrorless Camera

With rows technology, Samsung NX300 is one of many exciting mirrorless cameras in its class. Through this camera, Samsung is not only offer a charming photo results, it's also improving its performance, make it better than other Samsung NX generation.

Concept & Design

Samsung NX300 comes with a charming design. Alloy metal material and synthetic leather gives a modern classic aura which is being favored by consumers around the world. Available in black, brown, and white which can be selected.

The body is quiet thin and slender, even when compared to the mirrorless camera in its price class. Hand grip indentations are also quite deep, although not too large. For ergonomic factors, the Samsung NX300 quite comfortable and can be operated easily, using either one or two hands.

To navigate the menus and functions, the Samsung NX300 rely on a number of physical buttons and comfortable size is large enough to be pressed. The placement of the buttons are also well located and easy to reach. At the top, there is a hot-shoe flash, WiFi Direct Link button, scroll dial to zoom to view the photos, lever on / off and shutter button and the dial to select the shooting mode. In addition to the screen, there are several navigation buttons and settings. Such as a button to adjust the exposure, delete files, and access the menu.

If you feel bothered pressing those buttons, you can still take advantage of its touch screen AMOLED 3:31-inchs. Performance of the touch screen is very good and responsive to touch. The screen angle can be set up or down to help you shoot photos with more creative angel. But unfortunately, the screen bounces enough so it looks tend to be dark when used under sun rays.

In addition to WiFi connection to connect to other devices such as computers and tablets, Samsung NX300 is also equipped with microUSB connection for charging the battery and micro HDMI to connect it to the TV. Connect with Android-based tablets and smartphones is also very easy. Just download Samsung Smart Camera 2.0 app which is available for free on Google Play Store.

Features

Samsung NX300 is quite easy to operate. Thanks to a simple menu and access to every option that is not too deep. Some excellent features of Samsung's Smart Camera (to take advantage of its WiFi connection) can be found in Samsung NX300. Such as Mobile Link, Remote viewfinder, Auto Backup, Email, SnS & Cloud and AllShare Play. In addition there is a new feature that is present in the Samsung NX300 is AutoShare.

With Autoshare and Samsung Smart Camera 2.0, the images can be saved directly to a tablet device or Android smartphone. It's very easy to use with a fast pairing process, thanks to its Dual Band WiFi. You simply download the Samsung Smart Camera app on a smartphone or tablet, and then press the WiFi button on the Samsung NX300 Direct links to connect the two. After the pairing process is complete, you can shoot a picture, and the results can be saved directly to camera's memory card and smartphone in the same time.

In addition to supporting Autoshare, Samsung Smart Camera 2.0 applications can be used for Mobile Link feature so that the images of the Samsung NX300 can be transferred directly to your smartphone or tablet PC. To take a photo remotely via smartphone or Android tablet PC, Remote Viewfinder feature is already available. Mobile Link and Remote Viewfinder can run smoothly and without any problems (with the record distance of 10 meters between the maximum and without any hitch).

Some nice photography features are also pinned such as Smart Filters which provide a range of filter options, Picture Wizard which can help produce images with better colors, according to the shooting conditions.

Samsung NX300 is also equipped with a simple photo editing feature. By utilizing the touch screen, you can process the results directly in the camera such as to crop, resize photos, rotate photos, fix dark light, saturation, apply effects to photos.

For beginner photographers, there is smart mode which is commonly known as scene mode to match the conditions of the subject or the object photographed. As with DSLR cameras, there is a choice mode P / S / A / M for those who want to control it manually.

Performance

Samsung NX300 rely on APS-C CMOS sensor 20.3 megapixel supported by Samsung DRIMe IV processor.

Outdoors with good lighting conditions, Samsung NX300 can produce sharp images and detailed with good color saturation. Auto White Balance setting has also really well both indoors or outdoors. To get the range of highlight / shadow over the maximum, the Samsung NX300 also comes with Dynamic range settings are backed by option + Smart Range and HDR. Both of these options are very useful to improve the Dynamic Range on the images so that the images look more detailed and colorful.

At low ISO setting in the distance range of ISO 200 to ISO 1600, this camera can still produce images with minimal noise. Performance of technology-supported focus Hybrid Auto Focus is also extremely fast and accurate. Quite helpful for those who like shooting with touch focus feature through its touch screen.

For those of you who like to shoot fast action, the Samsung NX300 is also extremely reliable. Performance 8.6fps continuous shoot is fast and responsive autofocus performance, allowing you to capture fast moving subjects with results that stay sharp and minimal blur. This is suitable for those who like levitation or photographing children.

Then how it performs in low light conditions? The maximum ISO suggested is ISO 3200. The images at ISO 3200 is still relatively quite good. If jacked in ISO 6400 to ISO 25600, you will see a decrease in sharpness and color photos with the advent of noise is quite disturbing. Surely this is relative and depends on the individual user.

When in the room with relatively low lighting conditions, the performance focus is also quite fast. However NX300 autofocus system sometimes fails to lock focus on a subject that is often appropriate to make the images had backfocus. This problem also seems to be addressed directly by Samsung because Samsung has released the latest firware update version 1.2 which offers improved autofocus performance.

Conclusion

Elegant design, sharp photo, comprehensive features and capabilities for 3D shooting with 2D/3D lens, makes Samsung NX300 mirrorless camera is one of the most innovative on the market. The kit lens is also good quality with quite good photo result. The drawback lies in the high ISO performance is still below its competitors, but it seems to be redeemed with a fast autofocus performance. For those of you who like to shoot fast action, the Samsung NX300 should be a choice.