Eyeing the NX210

you can also get nx200 for $500 at henrys.com if you don't need the wifi features much.

It is definitely a good camera for stills if you do not mind the long write times (when taking burst shots or shooting in RAW).

for video, it is also pretty decent, but any non-DSLR will not be able to autofocus very well or quickly. but since you do not want a DSLR, perhaps it's best you get a camcorder since those can autofocus much better in video mode.

A big weakness is the lack of a built in flash. So if you are at a party you will have to remember to bring the flash and put it on ready unless you want to shoot without flash all the time. Also the big sensor can have a shallow depth of field so you may have to think about the aperture if you want everything in focus. I do not think an aps-c camera is very good for this sort of spontaneous thing you are talking about.

stduserid wrote:

Hello!

After struggling for years with an old compact camera and a slow video-camera I have decided that our family (wife and three active kids) needs a new compact unit (ruling out bulky DSLRs) that can take good pictures and record autofocusing HD video (1080p/i 30fps) under various conditions.

I guess 90% of our shots will be point and shoot (many capture the moments type with no time to fiddle with ISO etc). A good deal of video and some composed shots.
50/50 indoor/outdoor. Various lighting conditions are to be expected

I have played with a Nikon J1 for a couple of days and it's great, but indoors - even in relative good lighting - shots are easily blurred if the subject moves (auto mode).

Would you guys/gals recommend the NX210 or are there better choices? It's a bit pricey, but I can get a good deal on it.

Greynerd wrote:

A big weakness is the lack of a built in flash. So if you are at a party you will have to remember to bring the flash and put it on ready unless you want to shoot without flash all the time.

I don't think it is a big weakness for the camera. the user's memory perhaps on his capability to remember things of bringing along.

The fact is people do forget things and lose things and do not want, when they need to take a picture, to have to scrabble around in a bag saying "where the hell is that stupid flash thing". Any product where you need to justify the features by blaming the users for their deficiencies must be doomed. The NX1000 not having a built in flash will lose it a ton of sales in the market I think it is directed at. Most people who I know who want a spontaneous point and shoot camera exclusively use the built in flash indoors.

There does not seem to be anything in the current crop of NX cameras that will gain the mass sales that Samsung want. The fact that the entry level camera has no built in flash is crazy and the complete opposite of Nikon 1 where the base J1 has the flash and the top V1 does not which makes sense as top end users prefer their own flash anyhow. Many of the original NX100 reviews found the lack of a flash strange and this has not been taken on board by Samsung. I think it just shows a lack of investment commitment in the system which is just limping along as a specialist niche. No problem in that but light years away from Samsung's expectations.

Ariston wrote:

Greynerd wrote:

A big weakness is the lack of a built in flash. So if you are at a party you will have to remember to bring the flash and put it on ready unless you want to shoot without flash all the time.

I don't think it is a big weakness for the camera. the user's memory perhaps on his capability to remember things of bringing along.

guys, if you insist on having flash sometimes and forget about it, you can keep it on camera. the main thing is that it's included in the package. i would buy if it even wouldn't

I think you should also take note that the G1 X does not like focusing close up so for example at 50mm equivalent you will have to switch to macro to take a picture of someone the other side of the table (if less than 1.1 metres away!). A great camera for IQ for its size but not really a point and shoot. Check out the minimum focusing distances in attached:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong1x/7

The Sony RX100 must be worth a look.

sensibill wrote:

Point and Shoot implies JPEG, which the NX series does not do well compared to other cameras like the NEX, Nikon 1, E-Pens and others... Especially in low light requiring higher ISO unless you go with a 30mm 2.0, 16mm 2.4 or an adapted vintage 1.4 or brighter. NX lacks IBIS though, so you won't be able to stabilize non-zoom lenses or the legacy manual focus stuff.

Base ISO JPEG is good and RAW of course is excellent with solid DR and tons of room in shadows to pull out detail in post processing, but without that I'm not sure if the NX210 is your best pick. I certainly don't suggest the Nikon, though. Maybe the NEX or a Canon G1 X, which has excellent image quality and JPEG although it's a fixed lens and isn't a speed demon.

stduserid wrote:

record autofocusing HD video (1080p/i 30fps) under various conditions.

I have the Samsung NX200 and I do not find the autofocus in video to be very good. It hunts, is slow to find the subject, and is loud. This is compared to a dedicated MiniDV video camcorder I used to have. I usually use manual focus with video on the NX200, and am very satisfied with the video operation when I use manual focus.

From what I've read, a better option would be a system with phase detection autofocus such as Nikon 1 or a DSLR such as the Canon T4i that just came out ( http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canon-eos-650d-rebel-t4i/ ), or the Sony Alphas that have phase detection in live view.

Michael Barkowski wrote:

. . .

From what I've read, a better option would be a system with phase detection autofocus such as Nikon 1 or a DSLR such as the Canon T4i that just came out . . .

Yes, I found that the V1 was able to refocus much more quickly and silently than a couple of P&S cameras that I compared it with when I aimed it at objects at varying distances from the camera. The good news is that this was indoors in fairly low light, so it probably was using the inferior contrast detection method to maintain proper focus. I don't shoot videos in general so I assume that focusing would be even quicker when shooting videos in daylight, since then the PD AF sensors would be used.

Thank for the input everyone (I have been on a three week holiday)!

I ended up purchasing a Sony A57 DSLR - where I live it was priced exactly the same as the NX210. I'm very happy with my choice. The speed, IQ, HD movies etc. is just amazing compared to what I'm used to. I would have liked a smaller unit, but I don't think any hybrid cameras really can match this quality (yet).

Michael Barkowski wrote:

stduserid wrote:

record autofocusing HD video (1080p/i 30fps) under various conditions.

I have the Samsung NX200 and I do not find the autofocus in video to be very good. It hunts, is slow to find the subject, and is loud. This is compared to a dedicated MiniDV video camcorder I used to have. I usually use manual focus with video on the NX200, and am very satisfied with the video operation when I use manual focus.

From what I've read, a better option would be a system with phase detection autofocus such as Nikon 1 or a DSLR such as the Canon T4i that just came out ( http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canon-eos-650d-rebel-t4i/ ), or the Sony Alphas that have phase detection in live view.

Or the NX300.