The Samsung NV10 has characteristics that are common to many
current high-end, point and shoot compact cameras: a 10-megapixel
resolution, a 3X optical zoom, and a generous 2.5-inch LCD
monitor. To stand out from the crowd, Samsung has gone to
considerable effort to improve the appearance of the NV10
— noticeable when this camera is compared to earlier
Samsung cameras — which is now excellent, and with the
creation of a new user interface that is truly original.
Almost all the capture parameters
are displayed constantly on the monitor and can be changed
without having to delve into a menu, avoiding any need to
navigate to some part of the interface to change, for instance,
sensitivity, exposure compensation, or white balance.
But, while this novel type
of interface is quite seductive, before attempting to use
the camera effectively, it demands a time investment to become
proficient in its use.
The camera responds quickly to its controls, and exhibits
no noticeable shutter lag, an indication that the auto focus
is fast. The colours the camera delivers are saturated and
ideal for making prints; although when seen on a monitor they
occasionally appear to be a touch too sustained.
The default Multi area
metering is excellent, and regularly yields well exposed and
well-balanced exposures. But, with very strong contrasts, a
loss of detail can be detected in the brightest highlights.
And, although it is rare to need either, both centre-weighted
metering and spot metering are included.
Optically, the 3X Schneider-Kreuznach
zoom reveals no major distortion throughout its range, even
when it is at the widest angle or in macro mode. However,
under some conditions, a small chromatic aberration along
the edges of strongly contrasting areas in images can become
visible when the lens is at the widest angle.
Similarly, with the zoom set to the wide angle, the equivalent
of a 35 mm lens on a 35 mm camera, images tend to exhibit
a soft focus when captured at the biggest aperture, an effect
that is more pronounced in the corners of the image, at least
with the camera tested here.
At all other focal lengths of
the lens, however, image sharpness is reasonable and homogenous
throughout the frame. Still, it is regrettable that the maximum
aperture becomes a modest f5.1 as soon as the lens is at its
maximum telephoto. This small aperture sometimes forces relatively
slow shutter speeds, which can lead to camera shake impacting
the image, a problem that the ASR mode cannot
effectively address.
Although it yields results
that print well up to an 8 x 10 inch size (20 x 25 cm), the
NV10 is sensitive to noise as of 100 ISO. When images are
seen on a monitor at full size, noise can be detected in areas
of uniform colour such as the sky, even when there is plenty
of ambient light. As of 200 ISO, colour noise becomes even
more noticeable, while at 400 ISO it is detectable throughout
images. At even higher ISO settings, 800 and 1000 ISO, the
graininess of the image is quite marked and sharpness is visibly
lower, placing the value of these sensitivities in doubt.
Flash photography is another area
where the NV10 could be improved. The small built-in flash is
underpowered and its reach is limited, even when used as fill-in
light. Adding exposure compensation has no visible effect, and
the alternative, increasing sensitivity, translates into an
increase in noise.
The JPEG format used to record
images on the NV10 offers three compression levels, and the
highest image quality is obtained using the Super
Fine setting. Although it only uses a compression
ratio of approximately 6:1, the smaller details in images
tend to loose some definition, an effect that becomes more
noticeable when the images contain noise. Nevertheless, as
pointed out earlier, this is only noticeable when images are
viewed at 100 % scale on a monitor, and is undetectable in
prints up to 8 x 10 inches (20 x 25 cm).
The remaining two compression levels,
Fine and Normal, are best reserved for images that will be reduced
to small sizes, as the impact of these compression levels is
very noticeable in the final level of details recorded in the
images.
The Samsung NV10 is a camera
that must be tamed. It takes time to get accustomed to its
interface. But once used to it, it can prove to be fast to
use, and possibly faster to use than any of the other systems
used on other compact cameras. Equipped with a solid group
of scene modes, the NV10 also offers a Manual mode that makes
it even more versatile. So, while staying within the bounds
imposed by the characteristics and intended use of the camera,
the NV10 can produce good images that will easily generate
bright and vibrant prints.
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Image Quality
