Samsung NX Mini review

Samsung NX Mini image quality

It put in a strong performance in our image quality tests. Brightly lit scenes were captured with faithful colours and plenty of detail, with only a slight deterioration of focus towards the edges of frames. Processing RAW files in Lightroom 5 gave a boost to the fidelity of fine details, particularly in dense textures such as foliage. That’s true of virtually all cameras that can capture RAW files, but it’s particularly pertinent here because the NX Mini includes a copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 in the box.

^ Rich yet natural colours and plenty of detail, although close inspection reveals some of the grass texture has been lost to noise reduction (1/400s, f/8. ISO 160)

^ Processing RAW files in Lightroom 5 gives a welcome boost to fine details

Lightroom also helped to deliver the goods in low light, with print-quality photos at ISO 1600 and respectable snaps at 6400. The cameras’ JPEGs weren’t too shoddy either, holding it together at ISO 3200 – which happens to be the top speed used by the Auto mode.

Compared to other cameras with 1in sensors, it surpassed the Nikon 1 J4 with sharper fine details, particularly at fast ISO speeds. The NX Mini and Sony RX100 III were much closer, with very similar JPEG quality at slow ISO speeds. At ISO 3200 and above, the Samsung displayed smoother colours in brighter areas but its shadows were scruffier. This was for a given ISO speed, though – the Sony’s brighter lens meant it could easily outperform the Samsung in real world tests.

^ There’s little evidence of noise in these shaded skin tones at ISO 800, although the smooth gradients in the wall are less forgiving. (1/30s, f/3.5. ISO 800)

^ ISO 1600, and skin tones in JPEGs are beginning to look a bit scruffy. (1/30s, f/3.5. ISO 1600)

^ This ISO 3200 shot doesn’t stand up to scrutiny but it’s fine for snapshots shared at modest sizes. (1/20s, f/3.5. ISO 3200)

^ This subject matter is more forgiving to the heavy noise reduction. (1/20s, f/3.5. ISO 3200)

There’s no mechanical shutter, so the shutter speed depends on how long the sensor measures the incoming light for. This allows for shutter speeds as fast as 1/16,000 seconds. The downside is that fast-moving subjects exhibit warped geometry – something known as rolling shutter effect. This is caused by the way CMOS sensors capture images from the top of the frame down. It was imperceptible in most of our test shots, but photos taken out of a moving train window looked pretty odd. We also noticed some strange bands of colour when shooting test shots under artificial lighting at fast shutter speeds, although this is less likely to be a problem in normal shooting conditions.

^ The electronic shutter means rolling shutter effect, warping the shape of fast-moving subjects such as this (supposedly) vertical pole to the left of the frame (1/250s, f/6.3, ISO 200)

Our video quality tests revealed crisp details, barely any noise in low light and a clean, full-bodied soundtrack. Autofocus was a tad skittish, though, and the tiny camera size and lack of stabilisation meant that handheld shots could be quite shaky.

Time to buy?

With such a wide range of CSCs currently competing for business, it takes a brave manufacturer to launch yet another mount. Samsung will need to back this up quickly with more NX-M lenses to convince people that it’s in for the long haul. The relatively small sensor should make it possible to produce powerful telephoto and macro lenses that aren’t excessively large or expensive. Then again, the NX Mini’s slim, point-and-shoot design might best appeal to the kind of photographer who is unlikely to buy such extras.

Take lens upgrades out of the equation, and the NX Mini and 9mm lens still deliver excellent image quality for such a slim camera. The fixed wide-angle view could be a source of frustration, but there’s enough detail in the 20-megapixel shots – in well-lit conditions at least – for some liberal cropping. Its lens can’t match the Sony RX100 III‘s, but then again, the NX Mini doesn’t cost £700.

£300 is a great price for such a capable camera, especially when you factor in the £100 value of Lightroom 5. We’d like to see a few more lenses on the roadmap before we give it our unreserved praise, but it’s a promising start for the NX-M system.