
Preview based on a pre-production Samsung Galaxy NX Camera
Samsung has had broad success with the Android operating system in the smartphone and tablet space, and last year introduced a long-zoom camera with Android and cellular wireless capability. Samsung now brings Android to its NX mirrorless system with the Galaxy NX. The new camera uses most of the same essential elements as the NX300, including the NX lens mount, the 20.3-megapixel sensor, and DRIMe IV imaging processor, but it also includes a large 4.8-inch 921K capactive touchscreen, the largest display on any interchangeable lens camera so far, and several forms of wireless communication.
Samsung was the second company to announce an Android-based camera in 2012, but it was more ambitious than the Nikon S800c, which ran Android 2.3, while the Galaxy Camera ran 4.1. The Galaxy Camera also had a 4.8-inch LCD, and a wider and longer zoom, ranging from 23-481mm equivalent. What the Galaxy NX offers over the Galaxy Camera is interchangeable lenses, an APS-C sensor, dedicated processors, and a larger battery, among other things.
While it looks like an ordinary SLR or mirrorless EVF camera from the front, from the back the Galaxy NX looks more like a big smartphone. Samsung decided to rely primarily on the touchscreen for most settings, leaving only one dial on the back, which also serves as a button, the shutter release, movie record button, plus power and flash pop-up button, and the i-Function button on more recent NX lenses.
Though there is no telephone application, the Galaxy NX can run essentially any Android app, according to company representatives, including Skype, so there's potential to use the phone as a communication device. Of course, the primary form of communication intended with the Galaxy NX is uploading images and videos to servers and social media sites via its WiFi and 3G/4G cellular radio. The Galaxy NX can also transfer images to smartphones and tablets for storage, editing, and upload.
The advantages to a camera that is also an Android device are wide-reaching, potentially omitting the need for a computer, at least for the initial phases of a photoshoot. Application of filters and edits are limited only by the programs available on Android. Our initial impression is that the camera doesn't need a SIM card or contract to work.
The Samsung Galaxy NX Camera will come either body-only or kitted with an 18-55mm O.I.S lens. The new camera will work with all NX lenses, including the company's 45mm 2D/3D lens.
Unlike the original Galaxy Camera, the Galaxy NX Camera has two separate processors: one for Android (the 1.6GHz Quad-core processor) and one for images (the DRIMe IV), which promises to make both Android and image processing faster.
The Galaxy NX camera is noticeably larger than the NX20, which also has an electronic viewfinder. The size increase is likely due to the considerably larger LCD, which literally dominates the back of the Galaxy NX, leaving no room for buttons and just enough for a slight thumb grip.
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If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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