Back in July Korean giant Samsung announced a new series of cameras, the NV (New Vision) range that finally, firmly put the 'cheap n cheerful' plastic camera image behind them with three new all-black, all-metal models packed with features and genuinely desirable designs. The ultra-slim NV10 sits in the middle of the range and sports a 10MP CCD, 3x Schneider-branded optical zoom and a surprisingly sophisticated feature set. It also debuts Samsung's innovative new 'Smart Touch' user interface and control system, designed to replace pages and pages of menus with two strips of touch sensitive soft keys that offer direct access to almost all the camera's many features and options. We thought we'd find out if Samsung has finally caught up with the big boys in the digital camera market, or if the NV range is a mere case of style over substance. We'll start as usual with the headline features:

  • 10.3 megapixel CCD
  • 35-105mm equiv. (3x) Schneider-KREUZNACH zoom
  • Program, Auto, Manual and Scene exposure modes
  • ISO 100-1000
  • Advanced Shake Reduction DSP
  • In-camera special effects and editing of saved images
  • Auto Exposure Bracketing
  • 4cm Macro mode
  • MPEG-4 (DiVX) VGA movie mode
  • Only 18.5mm thick
  • Optional docking cradle and remote control

NV10 specifications

Street price • US: $340
• UK: £270
Body Material Metal and plastic
Sensor

• 1/1.8 " Type CCD
• 10.3 million pixels total
• 10.1 million effective pixels
Image sizes

• 3648 x 2736
• 3126 x 2345
• 2605 x 1954
• 2084 x 1563
• 1042 x 781
Movie clips

• 640 x 480 @ 30fps / 15fps
• 320 x 240 @ 30fps / 15fps
• WAV audio
File formats • JPEG
• Exif 2.2
• DPOF 1.1
• AVI MPEG-4
Lens

• 35-105mm equiv
• F2.8-5.1
• 3x optical zoom
Image stabilization Advanced Shake Reduction (ASR)
Conversion lenses n/a
Digital zoom up to 5x
Focus TTL auto focus
AF area modes Center focus only
AF assist lamp Yes
Focus distance • Normal: 80cm - infinity
• Macro: 4cm - 80cm (wide) 50cm - 80cm (tele)
• Auto Macro: 4cm - infinity (wide) 50cm - infinity (tele)
Metering • Multi
• Center weighted
• Spot
ISO sensitivity • Auto
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400
• ISO 800
• ISO 1000
Exposure compensation • +/- 2EV
• in 1/3 EV steps
Exposure bracketing n/a
Shutter speed

• Auto: 2-1/1500 sec
• Manual mode: 15-1/1500 sec
• Night: 6-1/1500 sec
• Fireworks: 4 sec
Aperture F2.8-5.1
Modes

• Auto
• Program
• Manual
• ASR
• Effect
• Scene
Scene modes • Night
• Portrait
• Children
• Landscape
• Text
• Close-up
• Sunset
• Dawn
• Backlight
• Fireworks
• Beach & Snow
White balance

• Auto
• Daylight
• Cloudy
• Fluorescent H, Fluorescent L
• Tungsten
• Custom
Self timer • 2 or 10 sec
• Double self timer 10 & 2 sec
• Optional Remote Control
Continuous shooting

• Single
• Continuous
• H. Continuous
• AEB
• Motion Capture(1M fix)
Image parameters • Effect: Normal, B&W, Sepia, Red, Green, Blue, Negative, RGB Composite, Highlight, Frame
• Sharpness: Soft, Normal, Vivid
Flash • Auto,
• Auto & Red-eye reduction
• Fill-in
• Slow sync
• Flash off
• Range: Wide: 0.4m-3.2m, Tele: 0.5m~1.8m
Viewfinder None
LCD monitor • 2.5-inch TFT
• 230,000 pixels
Connectivity • USB 2.0
• NTSC, PAL
• DC in
Print compliance • EXIF 2.2
• DPOF 1.1
• PictBridge 1.0
Storage • MMC / SD card compatible
• 19 MB internal memory
Power • Rechargeable battery SLB-0837(B)
• AC adapter
• Optional cradle
Weight (inc batt) 148.7 g
Dimensions 96.5 x 60 x 18.5 mm (3.8 x 2.3 x 0.7 in)