The Samsung NX11 in Review

Photographer/Vistek Staffer Natasha Heredia was kind enough to take the new Samsung NX11 out for a test run. Have a gander at what she thought and check out some sample images!

I tried out the Samsung NX11 camera with the attachable flash and 20mm pancake lens.

Most of my time with it was late afternoon to late night.  I really liked the programmed modes, the light and exposure readings made some really nice results.  Even when using the manual setting it was great; the exposure value is numerical and easy to read in the view finder and you automatically see in the view finder the kind of shot you’re going to get with the current settings.  I also like that you always see what you’re doing on the back as well as through the viewfinder so you don’t have to worry about remembering which button to press to switch, or worse, what menu it’s in.

The iFN option is a new feature; it allows the shooter to make most, if not all, required adjustments without taking their eye away from the viewfinder.  Just tap the iFN button on the side of the lens, use the scroll wheel at your right hand to choose aperture, shutter speed, ISO, scene mode, etc., then move the focus ring at the end of the lens to select f8, 1/125th, ISO200, etc.  It takes a minute or two to get used to, just because it’s habit to look at the digital readout at the top or back of your camera, but is a really handy feature and would be fast once you fully got used to it.  Setting up the entire shot could be quicker and simpler than choosing the right composition!

The camera has some difficulty focusing in low light but that being said, I got some night shots that I’m really very happy with and the little flash is really impressive and that’s just on the standard setting.  Even late at night in full blackness it threw plenty of light to capture the images I wanted without being blurry.

One other setting in particular I liked was the backlit setting in the Scenes menu.  I think that using manual and a couple of test shots I could come up with a better final result but in a pinch or for the amateur user it produces better results than usual.

I also liked the 20mm lens.  Its versatility made it perfect for pretty much all situations except for, of course, those that required zooming… but I could count on one hand with fingers left over the number of times I wished I’d had another lens with me.

There are still lots of things I’d like to play with but overall, I think I could recommend this as a great solo camera for amateurs/enthusiasts or travelers or as a second camera for the more serious shooter.

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