Digital Home Thoughts: Samsung Launches Trio of NX Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras

A little late with this, but here we go: Samsung announced its latest generation of NX mirrorless cameras on the 19th of April, comprising of the NX20 flagship, the NX210 compact, and the budget NX1000. All three of them share a lot of common features, chief of them the APS-C sized 20 megapixel sensor, which first made its debut on the NX200. It is not a bad sensor, compared to the 14 megapixel found in the first generation, but I am not sure how it compares to the latest from Sony and Panasonic. The other main feature is built-in Wifi, which allows photos to be shared and uploaded wirelessly. Unfortunately, the new ability to share a Wifi link with a smartphone for remote control purposes is only available on the NX1000. The feature is not too different from the one in the recently announced Nikon D3200, but having it integrated means not having to deal with a clunky dongle. Traditional camera manufacturers watch out: The new boys are hungry, and they will beat you to their game in this connected world if you are not careful!

All three cameras can also do 8FPS continuous photo taking, along with 1080p video at 30FPS in h.264 with manual controls (unclear to what extent) and in-camera panorama stitching like the Sony cameras. The NX1000 comes with a 3" VGA LCD screen, a small external flash to make up for the lack of an internal flash, as well as the mentioned smartphone link capability. It will ship with the compact 20-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS lens in June at a currently undisclosed price. The NX210 comes in a slimmer metal body, and uses a 3" AMOLED screen instead. Unfortunately it is not the Plus variety, meaning it will have the Pentile patterns. It will be packaged with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS lens for US$900, and be available from May. The NX20 comes in a bigger faux-SLR style body, with more external controls, a SVGA EVF, and the 3" VGA AMOLED screen is now attached to an always handy articulated arm. There is also a built-in flash. The NX20 will ship with the same 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS lens found in the NX210 kit, but at a price of US$1100! Ack, I am not sure if Samsung can move many at that price. It feels like twice the price the NX10 and NX11 debuted at. Ships in May. Hit the read link for full specs and more images.