Samsung NX3000 Review

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Samsung NX3000 review

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Image Quality, Performance and Judgment Review

Verdict

advantages

Good picture quality in daylight

retro looks

A small and practical package

Disadvantages

Over-enthusiastic noise reduction

Focusing reliability drops in low light

Low-res display

Important Specifications

Valuation Price: €329.00

20.3 megapixel APS-C sensor

16-50mm PZ lens

3 inch 460,800 screen

What is the Samsung NX3000?

The Samsung NX3000 is an affordable APS-C compact system camera - for around €330 you get the body and a decent 16-50mm power zoom kit lens. This is the successor to the

Samsung NX2000

, and adds even more retro flair to bring it in line visually with the current Samsung NX Mini.

A compact system camera for the mobile generation, the 20.3-megapixel Samsung NX3000 should fit into most people's lives like a dream. However, it's not perfect - and it's not an NX2000 upgrade in every way.

Samsung NX3000: Design

One of the main advantages of the Samsung NX3000 for the photography newbie is its design. Although it's not made out of the aluminum and leather used in the old-school cameras that inspired the look - it's made out of various types of textured plastic - , it's more stylized than competitors like that

Sony Alpha A5000

.

This kind of retro styling isn't new to Samsung's CSCs, but the NX3000 takes it a step further than the NX2000. The metal effect top plate and leather-style body that wraps around the back of the camera give the camera a look that similar to the high-end model

Samsung NX300

, where the NX2000 deliberately had a less flashy, more ordinary design.

But references to the old days of photography are just that - references. Otherwise, the Samsung NX3000 is a thoroughly modern camera. It uses microSD memory cards rather than the full-size memory cards you're used to, and charges via microUSB rather than a separate charger to need.

With accessories that are interchangeable with those of an Android smartphone, the Samsung NX3000 comes in handy for those who have already shopped into other areas of technology. Charging via MicroUSB also means you can carry around an external battery instead of a second battery – extremely useful for holidays when you might want to charge multiple devices.The battery is rated for 370 shots, a little less than the Sony Alpha A5000 but around the same level as the Olympus PL-5.

However, more traditional photographers may prefer the style of the slightly chunkier Samsung NX300 - the taller model. The Samsung NX3000 only has a very slight "bump" to provide extra grip on the front. It's only 39mm thick. There's also no built-in Flash, although you do get a flash module that plugs into the top of the hot shoe. There's not a lot of flesh on those bones, which is good news for portability.

As is usual with APS-C DSLRs, the lenses often make up a large part of your setup, but Samsung has minimized this by bundling the slim 16-50mm kit lens with power zoom with the standard NX3000 package has. However, other NX lenses will work with it.

Not only is the f/3.5-5.6 16-50mm glass very small for a zoom lens, but it also offers optical image stabilization and a near-silent power zoom. This duo is a dream for anyone looking to shoot video - non-stabilized lenses and sticky zooms are a videographer's nightmare.

You can't record 4K video as Capture Maxes-Out at 1080p 25p, but the video quality is more than just basic resolution, and the Samsung NX3000 packs a versatile all-round package. As with almost every new camera in this class, NFC and Wi-Fi is on board, and you can easily connect the NX3000 to a phone via the Samsung Smart app. There's even a dedicated Wi-Fi button on the top.

Back to the lens - thanks to the slimming down of the camera body, the lens helps by taking over some buttons that you might otherwise access on the body itself. There are zoom controls and an iFunction button. This toggles between ISO, white balance and exposure settings , giving you easier control without having to use buttons on the NX3000 itself.

Most of the control, however, is via just a few buttons on the camera's backplate. There's a D-pad that doubles as a scroll wheel and a quartet of buttons surrounding it. As with most entry-level compact system cameras, settings have to be largely tweaked controlled via the menu system rather than relying on dedicated physical controls

Samsung NX3000: Screen

Some of you might be disappointed to hear that the Samsung NX3000 doesn't have a touchscreen, which limits the possibilities of connecting to the camera to some extent. This is especially noticeable when choosing focus and exposure points.

The elephant in the room - the Samsung NX2000 had a touchscreen and a much better display than here. The NX3000 has a 3-inch, 460,800-dot screen, while the old model had a much larger, higher-resolution 3.7-inch display with 1,152,000 pixels. Although the new camera offers decent color fidelity and outdoor visibility, there is no competition - the NX2000 is far superior.

However, the NX3000's more button-driven operation can feel less fiddly than fully touch-controlled cameras: the older model didn't have the NX3000's standard rear button layout.

Even looking at the rear of the camera, there's literally room for improvement given the bezel that's displayed. Certainly, without the cost savings, fitting a larger screen would have been possible.

However, the screen also houses one of the most important features of the Samsung NX3000. It's hinged so the display can be flipped back for easy selfies. If you need more proof that this camera's core audience is young and mobile-obsessed, here it is. But it will also handle family group shots if your arms are long enough.

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Image Quality, Performance and Judgment Review