It was a hectic month this June, having to put up an exhibition and help to cover some of the arts performances during Causeway EXchange 2014. And when it was finally over, only half a day of rest was bestowed before embarking on the next big thing: Samsung NX Traveller.
Fact of the matter is that I am certainly honoured and *super* glad that I was invited by Samsung Regional Office to be part of the second NX Traveller program after Vietnam. Furthermore, it is back to my favourite city – Melbourne. What’s not to like?
It has been a few years since I last went back. Photography for me has changed a lot too.
From the infancy of Digital Photography in the early 2000s where I have helped with Monash Photography Club – Caulfield, then after nearly a decade later, I grew older and wiser (?) with, hopefully, better photography skills that come with newer and fresher perspectives of Melbourne.
Life has ways to change a person though I am not sure how the absence has changed me and how the city would look to me after so many years. But that in itself is a good thing because a changed person would look at things differently and with it, perhaps, a better representation of the things that I grew to love while staying down under.
One thing’s for sure. I will be super happy to get out of the Singapore heat and into ‘natural’ air-con.
As they say there ain’t no free lunch in this world. But this is one lunch that has perhaps piqued my interest somewhat. Samsung NX system has been around for sometime now and with true honesty, I wasn’t impressed with the first generation of the NX cameras.
There I said it…like I always do, the best way forward for the brands that I review and to the people who read my blog and reviews here and in Techgoondu, is to be straight with how I felt with the products I review. If I wasn’t being frank, the manufacturer would have a reprieve but it won’t serve them any positive purpose and those reading my reviews won’t find them useful any longer.
Will I be in danger of being bias? If the other meaning for being bias is to have a stand, then that is something readers have to accept. For a product to be totally bad either takes a very bad design team or they seriously couldn’t care less in the first place. So like most things in life, there is no perfect product. The best way forward is to know what is needed versus what is wanted and then have the wisdom to know the difference and pay accordingly.
I also grow to accept that there will be people who think differently than me. In the end, my main aim is to help people to arrive at a better decision. Some do, some don’t and I accept it. But I am super glad too that some people read my reviews and made a very happy purchase in the end. What better way to do business than to sell something your customers love without resorting to creative marketing?
Hence Samsung throw a challenge using their latest NX camera to shoot Tourism worthy shots. Maybe this is the trip that Samsung NX can prove themselves at last.
Well, Samsung has graciously loaned me 4 products – NX30, NX3000, NX Mini and Samsung K Zoom Smartphone+Camera. See told you it ain’t free lunch…LOL!!
Out of the four, I decided to keep the NX Mini at home. Reason is simple – I don’t have a NX to Mini NX Adaptor and that would basically mean only one lens for the Mini whereas NX30 and NX3000 can share the same set of lens and lighten the travel load as a result.
And seriously they passed me a PINK NX Mini for review. Really. Not. Helping… Will have an in-depth look at the MINI at a later date then.
Well a short introduction to the cameras being featured.
NX30
20.3 MP Effective APS-C
Lens based OIS
Super AMOLED Rear Touch Panel with swivel at 320 x 480 pixels 460.8k dots
Tiltable EVF (Like how you would shoot with a Twin Lens Reflex camera)
Hybrid Focusing AF with both Phase and Contrast detection
9 fps capture in JPEG
NX3000
Tiltable rear screen to forward facing for selfies (and super useful and no more guess work! Selfie stick FTW!) @ 720 x 480 1037k dots
20 MP Effective APS-C
Lens based OIS
K zoom
Basically love child of a compact camera and a smartphone
4G
Android
Hexa Core: 1.7Ghz Dual + 1.3Ghz Quad processors
2GB RAM + 64GB MicroSD slot
Super AMOLED Screen @ 4.8 inch at 720 x 1280 resolution (kinda low ain’t it??)
Along with the ride are the following lenses (some courtesy of Mr Koh Lye Huat)
The camera bodies attached kit lenses
16mm f2.8
30mm
50-200mm
Feelings after couple of days of usage:
NX30 super comfortable. The closest to a DSLR in terms of feel.
NX30 good grip. Love the EVF too at least not so bad cannot use it.
NX3000 as one would expect, a mirrorless but with compact camera controls.
Both cameras are light and petite. I can actually place both of them into my Lowepro Passport Sling bag with a lot of space left. The combined weight is still light even after I added the extra weight.
Pictures turns out ok though might have to tweak it further in-camera.
K Phone uses a lot of battery juice no thanks to the Hexa core. No wonder the screen resolution only 720 x 1280. Any more the battery would have premature heart attack.
K Phone runs hot too, I can feel it boiling my eggs (ahem!)
Challenge: to come out with the best shots without resorting to post editing. I think is possible and if it is not, will highlight photos that are heavily edited.
Now is 1.40am and the flight is 10.40 am. Guess is time to sign off. See you guys in the next update!
Comentários