HankK
Forum Enthusiast
NOTE: I am not a professional tester but life long prosumer and have owned the Canon 5Dm2, Fuji X100, and GH2 kit.
I shoot RAW only, sorry JPG'ers. I have been using the NX200 as my primary camera but felt I still needed a viewfinder. I had added a bubble level and Clearview finder to my NX200 to make up for the shortcomings. On the other hand I really have liked the images from the NX200 and I liked using the camera.
I received the NX20 on Friday afternoon. So the comments are based on one day of use. I will do this in parts and in the last part provide my first day overall opinion. I know everyone will want photos posted but I will have to see. I tried different lenses, my usual test landscape with buildings scenes, etc and can see no difference in image quality. See more of my comments in following parts.
General Notes
1. Compared to the NX200, the NX20 body is a bit larger and heavier than I was expecting (like a little brick). The NX20 feels well made, is nice to hold, and as a left hander the EVF is in a nice location. It will not fit (with the 30mm) in my present jacket pocket or my water bottle holder, the NX200 did fit and felt light enough to carry all the time. What a difference just a couple of millimeters and ounces make.
2. The EVF was what I was waiting for and I am satisfied, but not impressed like with the AMOLED display. It appears sharp enough, refresh rate seems acceptable (will need a bit more time to test the refresh), and gain-up in near darkness is good. I was hoping for a bit better EVF in 2012 but it is still good. I wear glasses and as usual it is a little difficult to get a full view of the EVF. I think this is because of the larger rubber opening protector. I have this problem with all viewfinders. So this is just a personal comment.
3. EVF is better than the AMOLED screen for manual focus, it is more detailed. Can manually focus very quickly and precisely.
4. The electronic level is great but you do loose all of the screen information because it is a separate display option. I can see that it is something I will be using most of the time.
5. The swivel screen is very nice. As of now, I cannot see a difference in the AMOLED screens of the NX20 and NX200. I used the Clearviewer on both cameras and still could not see a difference. I will have to spend more time in the sun to see if maybe it is different in bright light.
6. Omitted by me. Six was a duplicate comment.
7. The RAW files are 33-36MB so the same size as the NX200 files.
8. RAW file write seems to be about the same for NX20 and NX200 (basic comparison of release shutters on both cameras after both cameras are focused. The camera seems just a bit more responsive but this could be psychological on my want since I just bought the NX20.
9. Battery life was on full after 172 shots and a lot of messing around learning the camera etc. At 201 shots the battery is showing one-quarter left. I have to say that this is first charge of only two hours and I have been doing a lot of manual focusing with my tests. More real shooting sessions are needed.
10. I took a few minutes to try the WiFi remote with my Samsung Galaxy Note phone. It worked but switched my images to JPEG. That was a surprise.
11. I tried to get file transfer to PC to work using WiFi but have not succeeded yet. I need more time to see if this is worth doing. I am hoping for a faster than USB file transfer.
12. At first look, I am not sure that I will be using Wifi much. It is complicated as heck to setup and get working. I only got the remote function to work.
13. MISSING OPTION -- One wish is that in Auto ISO you could set a minimum shutter speed. My Fuji X100 had this and it worked great. The shutter speed the NX20 sets before switching to a higher ISO is to low for me.
14. ONE PROBLEM – When using manual focus after magnification the exposure locks up and will not change until you turn off the camera. Since I like to use manual lenses about 20% of the time, this is a nasty bug for me.
--
Hank K
Samsung NX200 Kit (former 5DM2, GH2 Kit, and Fujifilm X100 shooter)
I shoot RAW only, sorry JPG'ers. I have been using the NX200 as my primary camera but felt I still needed a viewfinder. I had added a bubble level and Clearview finder to my NX200 to make up for the shortcomings. On the other hand I really have liked the images from the NX200 and I liked using the camera.
I received the NX20 on Friday afternoon. So the comments are based on one day of use. I will do this in parts and in the last part provide my first day overall opinion. I know everyone will want photos posted but I will have to see. I tried different lenses, my usual test landscape with buildings scenes, etc and can see no difference in image quality. See more of my comments in following parts.
General Notes
1. Compared to the NX200, the NX20 body is a bit larger and heavier than I was expecting (like a little brick). The NX20 feels well made, is nice to hold, and as a left hander the EVF is in a nice location. It will not fit (with the 30mm) in my present jacket pocket or my water bottle holder, the NX200 did fit and felt light enough to carry all the time. What a difference just a couple of millimeters and ounces make.
2. The EVF was what I was waiting for and I am satisfied, but not impressed like with the AMOLED display. It appears sharp enough, refresh rate seems acceptable (will need a bit more time to test the refresh), and gain-up in near darkness is good. I was hoping for a bit better EVF in 2012 but it is still good. I wear glasses and as usual it is a little difficult to get a full view of the EVF. I think this is because of the larger rubber opening protector. I have this problem with all viewfinders. So this is just a personal comment.
3. EVF is better than the AMOLED screen for manual focus, it is more detailed. Can manually focus very quickly and precisely.
4. The electronic level is great but you do loose all of the screen information because it is a separate display option. I can see that it is something I will be using most of the time.
5. The swivel screen is very nice. As of now, I cannot see a difference in the AMOLED screens of the NX20 and NX200. I used the Clearviewer on both cameras and still could not see a difference. I will have to spend more time in the sun to see if maybe it is different in bright light.
6. Omitted by me. Six was a duplicate comment.
7. The RAW files are 33-36MB so the same size as the NX200 files.
8. RAW file write seems to be about the same for NX20 and NX200 (basic comparison of release shutters on both cameras after both cameras are focused. The camera seems just a bit more responsive but this could be psychological on my want since I just bought the NX20.
9. Battery life was on full after 172 shots and a lot of messing around learning the camera etc. At 201 shots the battery is showing one-quarter left. I have to say that this is first charge of only two hours and I have been doing a lot of manual focusing with my tests. More real shooting sessions are needed.
10. I took a few minutes to try the WiFi remote with my Samsung Galaxy Note phone. It worked but switched my images to JPEG. That was a surprise.
11. I tried to get file transfer to PC to work using WiFi but have not succeeded yet. I need more time to see if this is worth doing. I am hoping for a faster than USB file transfer.
12. At first look, I am not sure that I will be using Wifi much. It is complicated as heck to setup and get working. I only got the remote function to work.
13. MISSING OPTION -- One wish is that in Auto ISO you could set a minimum shutter speed. My Fuji X100 had this and it worked great. The shutter speed the NX20 sets before switching to a higher ISO is to low for me.
14. ONE PROBLEM – When using manual focus after magnification the exposure locks up and will not change until you turn off the camera. Since I like to use manual lenses about 20% of the time, this is a nasty bug for me.
--
Hank K
Samsung NX200 Kit (former 5DM2, GH2 Kit, and Fujifilm X100 shooter)
you will find no difference to the NX200 here