Review Price £1,299.00

Key Features: 20.3MP CMOS sensor; 4.8-inch TFT Touchscreen; 3G / 4G data connectivity with Android OS support; ISO 100 – 25,600; 1920 x 1080 HD video capture @ 30fps

Manufacturer: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy NX review

What is the Samsung Galaxy NX?

The short version is it’s the world’s first Android-based interchangeable lens camera, hence the confusing ‘Galaxy’ branding borrowed from the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and S4 Zoom. The longer version is its Samsung’s latest play to make cameras more connected, with Wi-Fi, NFC, 3G/4G and Android combining to make it easier than ever to share photos straight from your camera. Consider it a high-end version of the Samsung Galaxy Camera.

It’s a serious camera too, though, as its £1,299 hefty price tag attests. Do its photos pass muster and do all those features justify the price?

Not interested? Try our best camera round-up instead.

Samsung Galaxy NX: Features

The Samsung Galaxy NX is quite unlike any other camera on the market.

One feature that signals this difference is the Galaxy NX’s LCD screen. Where most other compact system cameras (CSCs) have an LCD of around 3-inches, the Galaxy NX measures in at 4.8-inches. It’s a capacitive touchscreen, too, with an impressive 1,280 x 720 resolution just like that of a smartphone.

The good news for photography traditionalists is that the ample LCD screen is accompanied by a built-in EVF that boasts a 1.44-million dot resolution and features an eye-sensor that detects when it’s required.

The Galaxy NX does share some features in common with its Samsung CSC stablemates. It retains the Samsung NX lens mount and as such is compatible with any of the 13 lenses currently available in that fit. It’s also compatible with Samsung’s i-Function technology; a welcome feature that utilises an ‘iFn’ button on the camera’s lens to offer one-touch access, in combination with the customisable lens ring, to over 32 different camera settings.



But the real selling point of the Samsung Galaxy NX is no doubt its connectivity. Although most new Samsung CSCs feature dual-band Wi-Fi, the Galaxy NX goes one step further with the inclusion 3G/4G as well.

This comes via a micro SIM card in much the same way that you would with a smartphone – simply purchase a data-only SIM card on either a contract or pay-as-you-go deal and you’ll be able to surf the internet or upload content on the go without needing to connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot. Furthermore, the Galaxy NX ships with two years’ worth of 50GB of Dropbox storage for seamless uploading of images when shooting out in the field.

Thanks to the Android OS, access to the Google Play store allows for the download of over 1 million apps including many popular photography apps such as Instagram or Photoshop Touch. This adds some intriguing options for viewing, editing and sharing your photos straight from the camera.



With all these unusual features, it’s easy to forget the camera’s core imaging specs, which on paper are very strong.  Samsung Galaxy NX uses the same sensor as on previous Samsung CSCs, including the NX1000, NX20 and the most recent NX300.

The sensor is a 20.3MP CMOS APS-C unit with an ISO range of 100-25,600. Owing to its APS-C nature it’s substantially larger the sensors found on some competing DSLRs from Nikon, Panasonic and Olympus, and as a result it should handle noise better across that ISO range.

The sensor also delivers video capture at a host of resolutions including 1920 x 1080 full HD, along with lower resolutions of 1280 x 720, 640 x 480 and 320 x 240.

Other key imaging features include a headline continuous shooting speed of 8.6fps, maximum shutter speed of 1/6000 sec and a hybrid AF system, which combines phase and contrast detect systems to promise some impressive results.

Samsung Galaxy NX: Design

Despite the uniqueness of the Galaxy NX as a digital camera, it does share certain design characteristics with Samsung’s other CSCs.

From a front-on view it appears similar to the Samsung NX20, albeit much larger in size. This is no doubt due to the weighty battery needed to power both the extra wireless features and the monster LCD screen found on the rear. The battery is housed in the hand grip that is itself fairly bulky, although it does allow for a nice firm grip on the camera while shooting.

When you combine the camera with the 18-55mm kit lens it feels particularly well balanced, while the general level of build quality and finish is of a premium standard that we’ve not seen before in the Samsung NX-series of CSCs. Just as well considering the price.


But one of the side effects of the Samsung Galaxy NX’s large screen, and the majority of the camera’s functionality being accessed from it, is that the Galaxy NX’s body is noticeably low on external buttons.

The body houses a power button, shutter release and single mode / control dial, which offers access to the bulk of the camera’s functionality, including shooting settings, exposure tools and even the camera’s volume when being used more akin to smartphone.

Thanks to the lenses iFn capabilities there is the option to alter shooting settings through the lens, and this is something of a blessing as without it the lack of buttons would be more of an issue.

That being said, the majority of the camera’s functionality can be access through the ample an impressive touchscreen, so the absence of buttons isn’t as keenly felt.

Samsung Galaxy NX: Performance

One of the major issues with the performance of Samsung’s previous Android-powered compact – the Galaxy Camera – was that its battery life left a little to be desired. A camera packing so much technology was always going to have questions asked of its battery, and that on the Galaxy Camera wasn’t really up to the job.

Samsung has addressed this issue by equipping the Galaxy NX with a much larger 4,360mAh rechargeable Li-ion that it states is capable of some 420 shots on a single charge. In use the Galaxy NX lived up to these claims, supporting a day’s shooting and surfing of the web using Wi-fi and 3G / 4G data connectivity, as well as uploading images, sending emails and so forth.

Although Wi-Fi enabled cameras aren’t new, the benefits of having such a model that runs on the Android operating system is noticeable. Sharing images through social media, editing images on the go and generally surfing the web is a breeze and a real welcome addition.



For the test we purchased a pay-as-you-go SIM that included 1GB data for just £10, thus enabling wireless operation away from any Wi-Fi hotspot, although the Galaxy NX works just as well over a wireless internet connection.

The 4.8-inch screen – no doubt inherited from Samsung’s smartphone range – is a fantastic addition to the Galaxy NX. The capacitive touchscreen technology is wonderfully responsive, while the clarity and sharpness of images is first class. The only real gripe is that its 16:9 aspect ratio is out of sync with the model’s 3:2 sensor aspect ratio, although when it comes to shooting video it’s perfectly suited.

The fact that the LCD screen is so good makes the EVF performance of secondary importance. In bright conditions, however, the EVF is welcome and it works well, with the responsive eye sensor very helpful.



This is all very promising, but the core performance when actually taking photos is a mixed story.

The Galaxy NX features an array of focusing modes, including a touch-to-focus AF area select system. The AF system itself is prompt and very much in line with the rest of Samsung’s CSC line-up, including the NX300, managing to acquire focus quickly in a wide range of lighting conditions.

The Galaxy NX is fast in general operation, too, but it’s slow when it comes to writing and saving shots. It wasn’t uncommon after a number of shots at once to wait several minutes for the shots to be saved to a Class 10 16GB micro SD card.

There were also instances where the camera failed to save the Raw version of the image when it was set to save both Raw and JPEG files and although this is an issue that might be able to be fixed with a firmware update, it’s currently very problematic.

Samsung Galaxy NX: Image Quality

As the Galaxy NX features the same APS-C sensor as found in the Samsung NX300, we expected good things where noise handling was concerned


Click photo above for full gallery of test shots

Between ISO 100 and 800 images are generally noise-free, with noise only really beginning to appear at ISO 1,600. Noise does begin to be somewhat of an issue at ISO 3,200, and ISO 6400 is about as high as you’d want to push the camera before noise becomes intrusive.

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Click photo above for full gallery of test shots

The Galaxy NX’s metering system performs well, although there is a slight tendency to overexpose in bright lighting conditions and thus resulting in clipped highlights. As a result you’ll quite often dial in exposure compensation to -1EV.


Click photo above for full gallery of test shots

Colours are generally vivid and punchy without being so much as to appear oversaturated. The auto white balance is also pleasingly reliable, delivering good colour temperature in a range on conditions.

The supplied 18-55mm kit lens is reasonable, although it does struggle with chromatic aberrations in high contrast scenes. The Galaxy NX does a good job of handling these with its Raw files however, with them only really becoming an issue in JPEG files.

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy NX?

With the Samsung Galaxy NX being such a unique proposition, it’s difficult to compare it to any cameras currently on the market.  What is clear, however, is the camera’s high price tag and that it represents a fairly hefty investment for what is still a fairly young audience.

If the Galaxy NX’s pricing behaves anything like Samsung’s previous Android-enabled model – the Galaxy Camera – then it may soon be available for under £1,000 and as such become a more attractive proposition.

For the time being, however, while the Galaxy NX may well be the future of photography it’s currently hampered by a somewhat prohibitive price tag, and its slow write speeds need fixing, too.

For more alternatives, head to our best cameras round-up.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy NX is an interesting concept that combines a plethora of technologies in what is an undeniably attractive package. But the eye-watering price is too much to stomach right now considering the iffy read and write speeds.

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