Samsung Galaxy NX review

PHOTO QUALITY

Our photo tests delivered some of the sharpest details we’ve seen from a compact system camera. Focus from the kit lens was crisp from corner to corner throughout the zoom range, and JPEGs made the most of the 20-megapixel resolution. Dense foliage was captured faithfully, but even at ISO 100 we spotted a few occasions where subtle textures such as grass looked a touch noisy. This became more noticeable when shooting in subdued outdoor lighting at ISO 400 or 800. It was far from intrusive, though, and processing RAW files in Lightroom produced great results up to ISO 3200. It struggled at ISO 6400 and above, especially for JPEG output, falling short of the standards of the best CSCs and SLRs. This might rule out making big prints of dimly-lit photos, but for most practical purposes, photo quality stood up to scrutiny.

Details here are pixel sharp, with smooth surfaces in the masonry and plenty of fine detail in the sculpture – click to enlarge

This dark foliage is superbly rendered, too, but there’s a hint of noise in the grass – click to enlarge

There’s a little noise here too, especially in the strip of concrete, but details are – as usual – seriously sharp. Click to enlarge

ISO 6400 results in heavy noise reduction, with smeared details and coloured blotches. It’s fine for sharing at modest sizes, though – click to enlarge

CAM-DROID

It’s important to remember that this isn’t merely a camera. It’s also a fully featured Android device – the one exception being that it can’t make or receive calls. We’re not sure how many keen photographers want to check emails on their camera, but there’s more appeal in being able to edit photos in apps such as Snapseed or Photoshop Touch before uploading to Facebook or Flickr, all without leaving the camera and from anywhere with a 3G signal.

The quad-core 1.6GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 12GB available storage and Android 4.2 are typical specs for a high-end Android device, and there’s a microSDXC slot for additional storage. We achieved identical performance test results from the internal storage and with a Class 10 Sandisk Ultra card. 3G and 4G are supported for mobile internet access, but bear in mind that you’ll need to pay monthly fees on top of your existing phone contract to use it. The camera can communicate with another Android device over Wi-Fi for remote viewfinder duties, with one-megapixel copies of photos transferred across. It’s not possible to transfer other photos from the camera to a smartphone, which would have allowed users to avoid having to pay for two SIM cards.

Power management is more of an issue than with conventional cameras. A Fast Power-On option let us switch on a capture a shot in 2.3 seconds. However, after 24 hours of inactivity, it shut down completely and took 23 seconds to take a photo from a cold start. The 440-shot battery life is shorter than usual at this price, and it’ll probably be much less if other functions are used extensively.

NX APPEAL?

It’s difficult to rate the Galaxy NX. There’s lots that we love about it, a few things that aren’t so impressive, but the crux is that we’re not sure who would buy it. Most serious photographers would probably be utterly bemused by it – and find more to tempt them in a more conventional SLR or CSC. We doubt there are many gadget lovers who are willing to stump up over £1,000 for a camera. But perhaps there are people who want SLR quality, performance and ergonomics, the flexibility of interchangeable lenses and the ability to edit and upload photos – and perhaps check the weather, train times or emails – all on the same device. If the idea appeals and the price doesn’t deter you, this camera lives up to its own concept.