Low light photos with NX10 & 30mm lens at the NY Met Museum of Art

I went to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art this past weekend to test out the NX10 in low light conditions with the 30mm lens. I was worried about the high-iso performance of the NX10 based on the various reviews concerning the image noise. I have to say I am quite pleased with the results up to ISO800. The 30mm lens is also tack sharp wide open.

I am posting the pictures here. They were all shot in fine JPEGs only, no raws. Used Photoshop to adjust levels, cropped, resized and a touch of USM. The EXIF data is below each picture.



1/90s f/3.2 at 30.0mm iso200



1/100s f/4.3 at 30.0mm iso200



1/160s f/4.3 at 30.0mm iso200



1/40s f/3.8 at 30.0mm iso200



1/90s f/2.2 at 30.0mm iso400

This is a 100% crop of a piece of arm-band jewelry shot through glass.



1/80s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso400



1/60s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso200



1/60s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso800



1/45s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso400



1/30s f/2.2 at 30.0mm iso800



1/45s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso800



1/80s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso800



1/60s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso800



1/160s f/4.0 at 30.0mm iso200



1/125s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso200



1/60s f/2.2 at 30.0mm iso800



1/30s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso400



1/40s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso800

This picture below was the most challenging shot. The room displaying this mummy case was almost pitch black with just a very dim spot light on. I set the lens wide open, -0.3EV, leaned against a wall and fired off a few continuous shots.



1/20s f/2.0 at 30.0mm iso800



1/80s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso800

The room with the mummy below was also very dark. People look at me and probably thought I was crazy taking pictures in that light condition with a P&S when no flashes were allowed.



1/45s f/2.2 at 30.0mm iso800



1/80s f/2.8 at 30.0mm iso400

This room with the armour may look bright in the picture but there weren't much light coming in from the top. When I set the lens to f/4 to get a decent depth of field, the ISO had to be bumped up to 800 to get an acceptable shutter speed. Levels adjustment in Photoshop does wonders.



1/80s f/4.0 at 30.0mm iso800



1/60s f/2.2 at 30.0mm iso400

Wow, thank you for sharing! I like the colors and texture, the general feel of the photos. There is clearly higher noise than my 7D (even at ISO200 and ISO400) but then again it's a totally different camera in yet another league.

Viewing your photos has helped me make the decision to buy one for my wife, who has refused to use my old Canon 400D because it is bulky and heavy. She would love the NX10 with 30mm!

Again, many thanks!

--
Noogy
'Photography is my therapy.'
Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 400D, Canon D10, Lumix TZ5, Kodak V1253

Dear ChuvaKuhn,

Fantastic, WOW, I'd like your pictures and your job.

Thank you for share your pictures with us.

Seems that this is a good camera. No?

Best regards and nice day.

Seloge.

Thanks for the comments. Yes, the image noise is higher than the average DSLR camera, but the image quality and details are all there. It's a great compromise for the small size and weight. Having used a Nikon D70 and then a D200, the small form factor of the NX10 is nice change. I never imagined owning a Samsung camera just a couple of months ago. When I examined this camera for the first time at J&R, I was really impressed that they could engineered an APS-C sized sensor in such a small body, and without eliminating any of the typical DSLR-like controls. Hopefully, Samsung will improve the noise level on their next version, and add an articulated screen.

Noogy, I think your wife will be pleased with the NX10. It turns on and focus as fast as my D200. The AF is also spot on, my D200 tends to back focus sometimes. And she can easily put the body+30mm in her handbag

To Seloge, I hope you get to purchase your new NX10 soon.

And she can easily put the body+30mm in her handbag

That sir is the clincher! They don't pixel-peep like we sometimes do after all!

--
Noogy
'Photography is my therapy.'
Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 400D, Canon D10, Lumix TZ5, Kodak V1253

The quality of the pictures is obvious. The NX10 deserves more respect and better sales...

They're also bringing out a smaller companion model which is gonna be a proper handbag camera with an aps-c sensor.

Re: the articulated screen. I really hope that samsung steer clear of these on the NX10's replacement. There's no need with the AMOLED and they just add bulk/be something to break off. I like the bulletproofness of the NX10. I think that this highlights how difficult it must be for a manufacturer to please all the people all of the time.

To the OP, great shots.

I have an NX10 and I love the feel of the pictures (need to post some!)- these ones look great! And even with the 18-55mm lens on I carry it around in my handbag (although its quite a big handbag!!)

Great shots!

The explanations of some shots are helpful to understand how the shots were made under the low light condition.