As you imagine, when a company releases an ‘entry-level’ camera, you often think it’s a stripped down, un-interesting camera with very few features and options.

Lucky for us, while Samsung has definitely put the Samsung NX1000 on a diet of features and options it hasn’t made on the sensor size or resolution a budget decision. Just like the NX20 which is also reviewed this month, the baby brother NX1000 is based around Samsung’s 20 megapixel APS-C sized sensor, and much of it’s features are the same.

First impressions of the NX1000 were just how small it was. Available in Black, Pink or White and measuring only 114 x 62.5 x 37.5mm it’s certainly a nice compact sized camera. Further inspection will show that the NX1000 has no inbuilt flash, nor does it have a electronic view-finder ( EVF ). For the professional, not having a EVF would probably be a big issue, for the entry level photographer, I doubt this will be a concern at all. Not having a flash though, I can see this being a fit of a hindrance, especially in low-light conditions.

The NX1000 comes with detachable lenses, and with the kit lens ( 20-50mm ) it’s almost a little impractical sized/shaped. Whilst the body is nice and small, the lens makes it hard to fit into a hand-bag or a pocket. When I had the 30mm lens attached it made it a lot easier to carry around, but it removed much of the usability of it.

The NX1000’s LCD screen is nice and clear except in really bright sunlight, one of the downfalls of the NX20. The LCD however, is unable to be moved and tilted like the NX20’s.

The NX1000 has the ability for optional accessories to be mounted to it via the hotshoe; things such as the external mic, GPS unit, and of course the external flash. What this means, is that you can only have one of these docked at any one time.

Layout of the NX1000 is nice and simple; with easy to navigate menu systems, so learning how to use it takes very little time. One of the great features I found to this camera was the built-in help guide that provides descriptions of each setting. They are nice easy to understand descriptions that won’t confuse people. Alternatively, you can turn these pop-up guides off, but I’d advice against it.

The little Samsung NX1000 comes packed with an arrangement of shooting modes, full manual, semi-manual, and automatic modes. Things become really fun, with you push the iFn on the lens and start scrolling through the scene. These can be used for specific conditions or subjects or just for a more artistic take. Shooting modes such as Beauty and portrait are fairly self explanatory, but also included and options such a vignette, sunset, dawn, fisheye, sketch and many more. You may find though, with some of the creative shooting modes, that the shots are a little… “too creative”. They seem a little over the top and many people I doubt would use them after a couple of tries.

The Samsung NX1000 is more than able to take good photos. Exposure was ok for the most part, but as I’ve mentioned before with many smaller and cheaper cameras it’s the low-light that lets it down. The Samsung NX1000 will definitely need a flash if you intend to use it where light is lacking.

Of course the NX1000 is able to record video at full HD 1920-by-1080, 1920-by-810, 1280-by-720, 640-by-480, and VGA. with the NX1000 is pretty straightforward. While the videos are okay, they do suffer from movement. Sound wise, it’s adequate but certainly not startling.

The Samsung NX1000 is a nifty little compact camera packed with some nice features. For someone that wants to step up from their point-and-shoot it seems like a good choice. It’s able to produce photos that are both bright and sharp, and the ISO handling is great is good lighting. It’s a little bulky with the lenses on it, but that’s what you get with a camera of this type/spec. If you consider the pricing of the Samsung NX1000 it seems like a good choice for an entry level photography enthusiast. Maybe not in the handbag or the pocket, but definitely in the backpack or the glove box of the car.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Wifi
• Colours choice are nice
• Help guide

• Average performance overall
• Feels a bit ‘cheap’
• Video quality is lacking
• No viewfinder