Samsung NX200 compact system camera – Exclusive hands-on video

Boasting a DSLR-sized image sensor with a colossal resolution of 20Mp, this new camera isn’t short on the specs, even though it manages to be 32% smaller than its predecessor.

We took an exclusive first look at the new Samsung NX200 to see how this new camera measures up.

Compact, but hands-on

One of the most impressive things about the NX200 is that despite its slim dimensions, Samsung hasn’t held back on the direct access dials and buttons.

A downside to most compact system cameras, such as the Sony NEX-3 or NEX-5, or the Panasonic Lumix GF3, is that they tend to strip back on the buttons and dials and force you to use the on-screen menu system to change the camera functions.

Not so with the NX200. Not only is there a control dial on the top of the camera, which can be used to change the shutter speed directly, but there’s a second dial on the rear of the camera beside the screen for controlling the aperture. Few entry-level DSLRs offer two control dials, making it even more impressive that the NX200 finds space for them.

New iFunction lenses

But the hands-on control doesn’t stop there. Thanks to the new iFunction lenses designed for the NX cameras, you can control the camera’s functions via a ring running around the lens itself.

By pressing the iFunction button on the side of the lens, you can toggle which camera function you wish to control with the lens ring – you can select the aperture, shutter speed, ISO or white balance, for example.

HD video recording

You can capture Full HD 1080p video with the NX200, and as you can use exchange the lenses it becomes a versatile piece of recording equipment.

The downside is that you can’t attach an external microphone, so you’re left to rely on the built-in microphone instead.

No viewfinder in sight

The NX200 is missing one key feature, however – there’s no viewfinder to hold to your eye. This leaves you reliant instead on the 3-inch OLED screen. Samsung claims that the screen has excellent clarity and good viewing angles.

You can’t attach an external electronic viewfinder to the NX200 either. And with the recent unveiling of Sony’s NEX-7, which is roughly the same size as the NX200 and packs in a revolutionary OLED electronic viewfinder.

One thing’s for sure – the micro system camera markets is hotting up, and in the NX200 Samsung has shown that you don’t have to sacrifice hands-on functionality in the name of portability.

The Samsung NX200 will be available from late September priced at £750 together with the 20-50mm iFunction Kit lens.