In a radical shift from its predecessor's chic, smooth contours, the Samsung NX200 is designed to appeal to the stealthy street shooter and camera enthusiast. Its no-nonsense blend of curves and hard edges appeals to the eyes as well as the hands. Though I only shot with it for a short time, its build was solid, its features seemed strong, and its performance was crisp.
The Samsung NX200's grip is just right for the size, rising like a swell about to break, there are no dips top to bottom, but the soft leather texture and knurled pad for the fingertips provide ample hold. The only thing to disturb my grip is the strap lugs, which work with D-rings. Though their noise can enter videos, they're apparently popular among camera designers and enthusiasts alike, as they
seem to appear in more cameras these days.
The front shot shows just how serious they are about the design philosophy, at least on the front: the vertical surfaces are all curved while the horizontal surfaces are flat and hard-edged. Typical of Samsung, it's an aggressively artistic design that also works. While the NX100 appeared very artsy and even sensual, the NX200 looks more serious.
Stereo microphones flank the hot shoe, a step up from the NX100's monaural mic. Four speaker holes are nearby as well. A small top control dial is positioned about where it was on the NX200's predecessor. I'd have preferred it a little further forward, as well as a little larger, but I'm glad there's a second dial for greater control. It's labeled in blue for zooming in and out in Playback mode, but it's also used in several modes and menus (exactly what it would control in Manual mode was unsettled on the camera I saw, so we'll comment on that later).
I'm happy to see a power switch surrounding the shutter button. This is the most logical location for a power switch, and seems to be appearing on more interchangeable-lens cameras this year. The Mode dial has some new and unusual icons, and is well-positioned for easy turning. It seemed stiff enough to prevent accidental turning while in a back or large pocket, but we'll have to wait for a shipping model to be sure of that.
Much of the beauty of the Samsung NX200 is beheld in the AMOLED screen. Not only is the image on the screen quite good, the graphical interface is both impressive and well done. More importantly, the animations are fast enough that they don't get in the way.
Controls are reasonably well spaced, but tighter than they were on the NX200's predecessor. The main graphical adjustments are accessed by pressing the Fn button, which brings up the Smart Panel, a menu navigated via the four way and the rear wheel, and options are changed via the dial on the top deck. I'd have preferred the function button to appear where the EV or Menu button is, as it's more frequently accessed than even the Menu button. EV is in a good place, though. You hold it and turn the dial on the top deck. Very natural. And the Record button is far enough from the thumb grip, but is in danger of accidental activation as well.
While walking around shooting with the Samsung NX200, I found it pretty comfortable to use. As I mentioned, the animations were swift and attractive, a very important feature in a camera, where you can't afford to wait for swoopy features when a moment is passing before your eyes.
The NX200 is also packed with special modes and features, most of which I ignored for the time I had the camera. It was handed to me in Burst mode, which threw me for a loop at first, as it started rapidly recording 30 frames per second, at five megapixels per shot. Not bad. The camera doesn't use the focal plane shutter in this mode, instead all you hear are clicks from the speaker as the camera rattles off at high speed. You can get seven frames per second at 20-megapixels, which also isn't too shabby, but of course you can hear and feel the shutter actuating at that speed.
Samsung's i-Function button allows the user to quickly adjust a small range of settings in combination with the focus ring. When pressed, the camera toggles among shutter speed, aperture, EV, ISO, and White Balance. Once you've reached your desired setting, turning the ring adjusts that parameter.
Since we didn't see any image quality examples, and the models we saw were a little rough, we can't say much more before the NDA expires. We're pleased to see the more serious design, though we never disliked the old design, as well as the new lenses available for Samsung's NX series.
The Samsung NX200 will be sold for around €849 euros with a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.
by Shawn Barnett and Mike Tomkins
