Samsung NX1000 Digital Compact System Camera Twin Kit - Black (20-50MM F3.5-5.6 II and 16MM F2.4 Lens, 20MP)

This must be one of the only times we have made an impulse buy off the back of a TV advert! In this instance it was the hundreds of blokes called David Bailey advert, very clever. My wife liked the neat sleek look of this compact camera (we got the white one), and she wanted a new camera SHE could use, seeing as I already have a Canon EOS600D DSLR, and she was fed up with me never being in any shots.

After reading a few reviews we decided to go for this, plus the bag, and a 16Gb SDRAM card (like others have said, its a pity a card isn't included, given the low cost of memory nowadays).

The camera was delivered in a couple of days, and I'm pleased to say we're impressed by the number of features packed into this Compact, many of which I am used to in my Canon DSLR, plus a few extra which make this excellent for the digital age, although I suspect most of these will get little use since wifey will use Smart mode most of the time.

The wi-fi features are brilliant, and I have tried several of these already with no problems at all (other people reported problems!?);
Once my wireless router was detected and added as an Access Point, all the wi-fi features can be used.
Auto Backup from camera to laptop can be a little bit slow if you have many pics to transfer, and it is probably quicker to transfer/backup using the supplied USB lead.
Dropbox on the laptop detected the camera when plugged in, and quickly loaded all photos and then started syncing to our online Dropbox a/c.
Probably one of the simplest, yet most useful functions is the fact the camera will Email a photo(s) to one or more people, seemingly without any special email setup (no SMTP server stuff, just your email and the people you're sending to), and also reduces the image to a sensible size JPG before sending! Very nice.
You can share pics/video via Facebook, Picasa, Youtube or Photobucket.
Also upload to Windows SkyDrive (cloud).
I was able to download a couple of Android apps (Remote Viewer and MobileLink) to my Samsung Galaxy S2 phone and then easily connect using the Smart Link button (which has a cool blue LED ring light when active) to MobileLink to view and transfer pics onto the phone, and of course once on the phone your possibilities for sharing are endless.
With RemoteViewer app you can preview in realtime whatever the camera is pointing at, then control the camera to take and then download pics (or video?) to the phone. Cool. Maybe someone will think of a novel use for this?
Pictures can also be made available for viewing on your HDMI TV providing it uses DLNA over wi-fi/network connection, or directly by means of an optional HDMI lead (not tried this yet).
The light sensitivity of the camera is excellent for indoor/party/night-time shots (ISO goes up to 12800!) which means its good for these kind of shots even without the included neat little flash unit which plugs into a proper hot-shoe mount.
The menu system is very comprehensive and well-presented. Being familiar with the various modes of a DSLR camera I found I was able to recognise and use most features without any reference to the manual. I think wifey might take a little while to delve into things, but already (after only 2 days) she loves this camera.
I'm surprised how much is packed into it. Even down to level-detectors which show an aircraft cockpit style gimbal, so you know that the camera is horizontally level in two axis, for perfect landscape shots.
Of course there are a good variety of gimicky overlay frames and filter effects which have become very popular in phone camera apps lately (like Instagram), so you can apply effects, fish-eye, toy/miniature, sketch, halftone, vignette, dawn/sunset, soft focus, old film, etc.
With other lense choices available, this really is an excellent camera, and considerably smaller than a proper DSLR so its convenient enough to easily carry around. I'm a little envious, but have been told to keep my hands off!

The Samsung NX1000 is a small camera, weighing in at only 460g even with battery, strap and flash attached, which makes it an ideal companion to take away on trips where space is at a premium. Interchangeable lenses, such as a 50-200mm zoom, 16mm pancake and a macro provide the means to expand photographic capabilities without the need to buy a new camera body. The photographic results place the camera on a par with the Sony NEX5N albeit with a few compromises in terms of usability.

* Starting Off

The battery is quick to charge and easy to insert alongside an SD card in the base of the camera. No memory card is supplied in the box with the camera so that's an essential extra to consider, particularly if buying as a gift. I use a 16GB class 10 card as that provides a decent rate of data transfer and ensures that the camera is always ready for the next shot. The battery holds charge well and lasts sufficiently for fairly prolific use over the course of a day (and over a decent period of time when not in use), being designed to last for about 320 photographs or more than two hours of video. I always find it useful to have a second battery charged for backup though, 'just in case'.

The build quality of the camera feels less robust than that of the NEX5N; it looks as though it is mostly constructed from (an albeit tough) plastic rather than the reassuring metal body and lenses of the latter.

The camera doesn't have an integrated flash but a small unit is supplied in a case, designed to be attached to the strap, which can be accessed whenever needed. It slots into the hot shoe on top of the camera once a protective plastic cover is slid off.

* Early Days

An embarrassingly helpful yellow 'NO CARD' flashing display is prominently placed at the top of the rear display, ensuring there can be little chance it won't catch your eye before you try to take a shot without a card in place - something that has happened to me on more than one occasion whilst using the NEX5N (whose display I find less obvious).

Clearly, to get the most out of the camera, you need to get to know the equipment you are using, all of the features that have been built in and thereby get the best photographic results. However, the 'SMART' automatic setting enables a novice user to produce pretty decent shots, even in less than ideal conditions, without needing to become an expert by first reading the (fairly short but comprehensive) user manual. 'Playing' with the camera is by far the best way to learn how to use it and the user manual takes up very little space so can be taken along for referral if the need arises in the early days.

* LCD Panel

This is a small camera and one of the compromises to achieve that is the lack of an integrated viewfinder. The Samsung's LCD panel is a good size covering about two thirds of the rear of the camera, in bright light however it can be difficult to properly compose your shots, although that is a rare problem in the UK climate. An electronic viewfinder is available as an optional extra if you find this is a problem.

A disadvantage of the Samsung compared with the NEX5N is the fact the LCD screen doesn't pivot, which means you have to go down to low level shots with the camera rather than being able to adopt a more comfortable position from above. Furthermore, the NEX5N offers access to the menu (from where you adjust most picture settings) via a touch screen - once you have used such a facility it is difficult to go back to the manual methods of navigation required for the Samsung.

* Quality of photographs

These are fairly impressive, particularly in lower light conditions without use of a flash - unless the subject is in front of the light source (bright sky/natural light from a window) when a flash proved necessary. In those trickier situations the NEX5N produces a slightly better image without needing to attach the flash - which can be useful if you need to be fast to catch the action and are not already set up ready to go.

* Panoramic Pictures

This can be a useful facility as you can effectively take a very wide panoramic picture, which the camera splices together automatically as you shoot; gone are the days when I had to take a series of individual pictures and manually glue them together afterwards in a fairly laborious process. It isn't something I would use every day but I have used the feature far more than I ever thought would be the case.

* Summary

From my perspective, the NEX5N has a slight edge over the NX1000 in terms of build quality, the pivoting display and touch menu screen, and in respect of the quality of some shots in low light levels. In other words, the NEX5N has some more user-friendly features but leaving those to one side, there is not much to choose between the two in terms of the quality of photographic results.

The Samsung is a lovely, affordable little camera that will enable even a novice user to produce quality shots with minimal effort. A good range of accessories is available, although some can be hard to find other than via the Samsung Direct site; all were very competitively priced by comparison to the Sony NEX camera range.

Got rid of my old SLR cameras as they were too bulky to take out for every day use. Bought a compact Fuji F10 to replace them. Great little performer but not in the same league as an SLR. Decided to try the Samsung NX1000. Love it. It is virtually the same body size as my Fuji but has all the features I will need and then some. Came with a 20-50 zoom lens. Not the greatest of zooms but very responsive. Wanted it to take action shots both indoor and out. Fantastic! Tried it on its "Sports" setting and got the action every time. Can't wait to try out its "Burst" setting at 30 fps. There are so many features with this camera that it will keep me trying out new settings for a long time. Worst feature no viewfinder, but I have gotten used to this with my Fuji. Best feature is its ability to send pictures over WiFi. Samsung have 2 Apps for it. One to share pics with any tablet or smart phone anywhere! (The camera creates its own signal, you just select it on your phones / tablet WiFi connection and off you go!) The other app lets you control your camera remotely. You set it up with the scene you want to take or just hold it above your head and look at it on your phone / tablet screen. Press the shutter control button on your screen and the camera takes the photo. Don't know how big a range it has outdoors but 10 ft. Indoors works great. Best of all was the price. £399.00 and it included a free Galaxy 7" tablet plus £50 pre loaded credit card cash back! Can't wait to buy the 50-200 zoom lens for it. Something to consider is the body colour. If you choose black all lenses designed for it will match!