Being a tech journalist, I have had the opportunity to play with a couple of cameras so I was pretty keen to get my hands on the Samsung NX300 and boy am I glad I did. I recently bought a DSLR thinking that I need a big boy camera in order to take high quality photos and videos. Little did I know that this would actually be possible in a sleeker and lighter device.
As part of the #MissionSamsung competition, the NX300 was dropped off. As always I was excited to receive a new device to play with.
Let’s get into the specs. The NX300 features a 20.3 megapixel CMOS Image Sensor which captures high quality images which can be viewed on the 3.31 inch touch screen display that can be tilted up 90°, down 45°. This is really useful for those shots where you want to hold the camera either high up or low to the ground and still see the screen. You can also capture videos in Full HD 1920 *1080 which is perfect for those viral YouTube videos!
Lenses are really important and often cost more than the camera. The NX300 comes with an 18-55 OIS len. I was pretty impressed as to how far in you can actually zoom. Sorry neighbours. You can use Samsung lenses that fit the NX mount.
To help focus on the important details, the NX300 has Single AF, Continuous AF, MF, Touch AF & Shutter focusing. I found that setting the lens to manual focus and using the focusing ring allowed me to get the focusing exactly how I wanted it but Auto focus is super fast and is easy to use.
The NX300 packs a 1130mAh battery which is pretty decent for a camera of this size. You are looking at getting 160 minutes / 320 shots so if you are trigger happy, I suggest a second battery would do the trick.
At the touch of the direct link button, you can share your photos via Wi-Fi to your favourite social media site. Of course connect the camera via the USB cable or even view content on your TV via the HDMI port.
The NX300 supports SD, SDHC, SDXC, UHS-1 Support cards so you will be able to choose the storage medium that suits your usage best.
There is no internal flash but the NX300 comes bundled with an external flash that connects via the Hot Shoe. You can choose different settings for the flash depending on the situation.
For those that want their photos to stand out from the crowd, picture wizard really allows you to edit and enhance your photos on the go with features such as: standard, vivid, forest, retro, cool and calm modes.
The NX300 really caters for all types of photographers. Beginners can pick up the NX300 and shoot in Smart Auto which uses the lens to choose the right settings for the image and the more advanced can switch things into manual mode to really take advantage of all the settings that can be configured. The NX300 is an easy camera to use and you will find that you will be changing the settings pretty soon!
You also have smart filters which can be applied in certain modes. I tested out the miniature and vignetting modes. I found these modes added a cool effect to the photos!
Setting the camera to smart mode via the dial, you have ability to take photos with options that are preset for specific types of scenes. Check out photos that I took in the following modes: light trace, macro, landscape, and panorama. I have always wondered how you do light trace photography and the NX300 made it easy with the light trace mode.
So did I enjoy having the NX300 for a few weeks? Yes, the NX300 is a great camera that can be carried around on a daily basis. With the ability to share to social media channels via Wi-Fi, this is a great camera for someone that needs to share content quickly to the web! The image quality is perfect and all the different modes and features really helped me take amazing photos without much effort. If you are in the market for a Mirrorless Digital Camera, I suggest you have a look at the Samsung NX300. You certainly will not be disappointed.
