LAS VEGAS — Camera snobs are up in arms about Samsung’s brand new NX10 compact DSLR, which is built on a proprietary lens format, making it incompatible with thousands of lenses out there.
But the NX10 isn’t aimed at lens junkies. It’s meant for soccer moms looking to step up from point-and-shoots, who could give two-hoots that the NX10 is incompatible with other cameras’ lenses.
A quick hands-on at CES gives the impression that Samsung hit the sweet spot. Wifey and I have 30,000 digital pictures of the kids, most of them terrible because they were taken with point-and-shoots. The NX10 is the kind of camera we might like: easy to use, easy to carry around and capable of taking damn fine pictures.
Playing around with it, I can say the NX10 is a well-built, fast and responsive camera that promises the quality pictures of a DSLR without the bulk or complexity.
Built around a 14.6 MPixel CMOS processor, the NX10 promises DSLR-quality pictures. But because there were no computers handy at CES, it wasn’t possible to check this on a bigger screen. We’ll just have to take Samsung’s word for it, for now.
“The bigger the chip, the better the pictures, simple as that,” said Jason Ledder, a Samsung spokesman.
The CMOS sensor is 50 percent bigger than Micro Four Thirds cameras on the market, which like the NX10, dispense with the single-lens reflex system, making them much more compact.
The NX10 has an electronic viewfinder that’s actually quite pleasant to use. It’s fast and looks good, and covers the full camera field. The big, bright 3-inch AMOLED screen on the back also looked great, but the CES show lights aren’t optimum viewing conditions.
The autofocus is fast and decisive. I played around with a couple of the auto shoot modes, and found the UI is pretty easy and logical. The Smart Auto function seemed to do a fine job snapping pictures on the relatively dim, artificially-lit show floor.
The NX10 can record HD movies at 720p, up to 25 minutes max per take. It uses the H.264 codec, which should make it play nice with the Mac. However, there’s no external microphone jack.
Though larger than most point-and-shoots, it’s possible to stuff the NX10 into a jacket posket. It makes a bulge, but its definitely easier to tote than a full-size DSLR.
When the camera ships in the spring, there’ll be three interchangeable lenses and a Pentax K-mount adapter, compatible with thousands of manual lenses.
It will cost between $600 and $700.
We’ve asked Samsung for review unit, so look for a full review shortly on CultofMac.com
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander is an expert on:
Apple and Apple history
Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook and Apple leadership
Apple community
iPhone and iOS
iPad and iPadOS
Mac and macOS
Apple Watch and watchOS
Apple TV and tvOS
AirPods
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
