Fancy capturing the latest action in Brazil but don't know what camera to buy? The ongoing competition between compact and DSLR never seems to cease, especially as technology advances. Since digital cameras were first introduced to the consumer back in the early 90s, they have undergone intense modifications, allowing photographers to take high quality pictures all over the world and upload them online for everyone to see.
The Samsung NX30 is a brand new premium compact camera which could prove to be a rival to some DSLRs in the future. Although pretty much all cameras are easy to use these days, this one isn't something we would recommend to technophobes. You can 'point and shoot', but to get the most out of it (including setting the correct frame rate for recording videos) then you'll need the right amount of technical know-how and or patience. If you are a technically minded person then you will find this a quite handy alternative to a DSLR.
The ISO ranges from 100 to 25,600. Given that football is usually in a well-lit stadium it should be able to cope rather well; it should also be able to easily handle dark scenes with ease. It is lighter than your typical camera and has a high quality sensor, but the camera itself still feels like an imitation rather than an innovation. The shutter sounds more feeble than that of a DSLR and more amateur in shape and operation. The zoom capabilities are standard given the provided 18-55 M&M lens. This is a standard zoom lens which is great for everyday stills and videos. If further magnification is required, other lenses are available to buy at reasonable price, in proportion to the camera, This aside the overall practicality isn't bad at all and the NX30 should do well in any location given its capabilities.
Like all new cameras, this one is packed full of different functions making it a formidable opponent to the rest. With 20.3 megapixels at its disposal, the quality of shots produced is the last thing on our minds. However, the focus ring twists around continuously rather than stopping when it's reached its limit, and the focus lines that appear when in manual make it difficult to be sure if you are actually focused. These things could hinder rather than help to those with a keen eye for photography. The Wi-Fi capabilities all work efficiently and can be used for things such as AutoShare, auto backup, MobileLink, group share and SNS & Cloud (Dropbox, Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, YouTube). For avid photographers, there are two customisable settings whereby you can store your own favourite settings onto the camera. This could prove useful for when you need to remember the settings of two locations, especially if it involves switching between the two.
The body and lens resemble a DSLR camera, even though there is in fact no mirror inside the camera, just a sensor. When pulled apart a novice could easily mistake this for one. The colour scheme and matt black finish immediately allows it to blend in to the existing market and suggest that it's some kind of 'Hybrid DSLR'. The menu system is simple and easy to follow with a minimalistic approach. This doesn't in any way detract from what the camera can do as there are plenty of buttons and wheels which control all the other elements of it. It doesn't have the bright colours that other compact cameras may have and it looks a lot larger in size, possibly making it undesirable to take on a holiday or perhaps to the World Cup. It all comes down to style or substance, rather than both.
When it comes to handling the NX30 there are a few minor issues. The focus ring continuing to turn is a pain because it means you have to look at the meter to see if you're at one end or the other of the focus scale. Secondly it feels a bit too lightweight and we could imagine it getting broken quite easily, especially in a busy place like Rio de Janeiro. Finally, when zooming, the lens doesn't feel very smooth and tends to make a shuffling sound which could possibly be picked up on video recordings using the on board microphone. These elements make the camera feel worse than it is and could make any wary user nervous about handling it.
Overall the camera performs well and breaks some of the boundaries between DSLR and compact as we suspect Samsung are trying to do. If they work on the minor issues then they may have a close second to the leading DSLR out there. If you are heading on holiday somewhere or to the World Cup then we would recommend this camera as it would give you a good balance for what you need it for. Editing and uploading video to the web would be absolutely fine but in terms of sound we would recommend use of an external mic rather than the on board one included if clear atmospheric sound is needed.
The Samsung NX30 is now available to buy on the Samsung Store and most other major photography retailers.
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