Samsung: real SLR in pocketable size — just
By Gareth Powell
Samsung has come up with a 35mm DSLR, which is most desirable because it is small enough not to be an encumbrance. The next bit get technical for which apologies are offered.
In August 2008, Olympus and Panasonic announced a new DSLR/compact camera standard that could deliver DSLR image quality but in a point-and-shoot form factor, known as the ‘Micro Four-Thirds’ specification. We have done a technical explanation of that and as none of us are any wiser we will skip it for the moment.
Now Samsung has announced a competitive product line, the NX Series which is like the Micro Four-Thirds standard only different.
The NX Series will not use a mirror box — the difference between these new compact DSLRs and a true DSLR. The mirror box — which you knew full well but it had escaped your tongue for the moment — reflects the image from the lens to the viewfinder. The Samsung NX Series has an electronic viewfinder in place of a real viewfinder.
Most serious users will happily be able to cope with this. This electronic viewfinder is tiny high resolution LCD screen placed in the viewfinder window and it works very well when framing a picture. Which is what viewfinders are there for. The use of an EVF lets Samsung reduce the size and weight of the new camera system by decreasing the distance between the lens and image sensor by approximately 60 percent compared to traditional DSLRs.
Samsung NX will be slightly smaller but use the same size image sensor that as the DSLR opposition.
Within reason, the larger the sensor, the lower the amounts of noise — scattering on the image — and higher dynamic range. Much better than in point and shoot cameras which is why you have to give up some quality when going for point-and-shoot.
In truth, with its smaller external dimension the Samsung is almost a point-and-shoot so you are getting almost two for one.
There are still some questions unanswered but, at a guess it will be 14 megapixels or so, which means what Rolls Royce said about the power of its engines — adequate.
We do not know if there will be interchangeable lens but at a guess there will not be. That looks like a fixed 35mm lens to me.
There’s also no mention on what type of focusing system it will use although it will probably be ‘phase detection’ which is a lot faster than point-and-shoot.
Available the second half of this year.
Samsung estimates that the hybrid digital camera market will be more than 20 percent of the global digital still camera market by 2012 which seems damn high to me. But three years off, that could be a reasonable figure if DSLR quality can indeed be successfully crammed into smaller form factors.
At a guess the price will be around $650. Anyone planning my Christmas present can start saving now.
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