Samsung NX2000 touts beefed-up connectivity

Samsung NX2000

With a 3.7-inch capacitive touch screen on its back, the NX2000 has little in the way of hard controls. Continuing its full-court press in camera connectivity, Samsung introduced the NX2000 interchangeable-lens camera, which features a phone-like touch screen and easy Autoshare toggling.
Essentially a slightly more feature-rich version of the NX1100 (which in turn is the NX1000 with Autoshare capability and a bundled version of Adobe Lightroom 4, which also comes with the NX2000). Both are based on the same sensor as the NX210, though the NX2000 has an updated version of the image-processing engine. Samsung says that it results in better image quality and faster performance, and that autofocus performance falls somewhere between the NX1100 and NX300; it’s got faster contrast AF, but lacks the phase-detection sensors of the NX300.

 I officially dub this color “Powder-room pink” or, alternatively, “Midcentury bathroom pink.” It also comes in a more sedate black or black or white.

The camera incorporates a new 3.7-inch capacitive touch screen, and its interface mimics that of the Galaxy Camera, albeit without the Android. In addition to using NFC to enable quick Wi-Fi connections, it has a dedicated button to toggle Autoshare — automatic image transfer directly to a linked device — though the button can be remapped to send directly to another location.
As you’d expect, there are other operational tweaks, including updates to the scene analysis behind the Smart Mode for better automatic operation.
With this model, Samsung is switching to MicroSD, which is a big pain for people who actually remove their media on a regular basis.
Here’s some comparisons:

	Canon EOS M	Nikon 1 J3	Samsung NX1100	Samsung NX2000	Samsung NX300	Sony Alpha NEX-5R
Sensor (effective resolution)	18mp hybrid CMOS	14.2MP CMOS	20.3MP CMOS	20.3MP CMOS	20.3MP hybrid CMOS	16.1MP Exmor HD CMOS
	22.3 x 14.9mm	13.2mm x 8.8mm	23.5mm x 15.7mm	23.5mm x 15.7mm	23.5mm x 15.7mm	23.5 x 15.6mm
Focal-length multiplier	1.6x	2.7x	1.5x	1.5x	1.5x	1.5x
Sensitivity range	ISO 100 – ISO 12800/ 25600 (expanded)	ISO 160 – ISO 6400	ISO 100 – ISO 12800	ISO 100 – ISO 25600	ISO 100 – ISO 25600	ISO 100 – ISO 25600
Continuous shooting	1.7/1.2fps depending upon lens (4.3fps with fixed AF)	15fps 22 JPEG/n/a (60fps or 30fps with fixed AF)	8fps 11 JPEG/8 raw	8fps n/a	8.6fps n/a	3fps 11 raw/15 JPEG (10fps with fixed exposure)
Viewfinder	None	None	None	None	None	Optional
Autofocus	31-point contrast AF	73-point phase detection, 135-area contrast AF	15-point contrast AF	n/a	105-point phase-detection, 247-point contrast AF	99-point phase-detection, 25-area contrast AF
AF sensitivity range	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0 – 20 EV
Shutter speed	30-1/4,000 sec; bulb; 1/200 flash sync	30-1/16,000 sec.; 1/160 x-sync	30-1/4,000 sec.; bulb to 4 minutes; 1/180 x-sync	30-1/4,000 sec.; bulb to 4 minutes; 1/180 x-sync	30-1/6,000 sec.; bulb to 4 minutes; 1/180 x-sync	30-1/4,000 sec.; bulb; 1/160 sec x-sync
Metering	n/a	n/a	221 segment	221 segment	221 segment	1,200 zone
Metering range	n/a	n/a	0 – 18 EV	0 – 18 EV	0 – 18 EV	0 – 20 EV
Flash	Optional $149.99	Yes	Included optional	Included optional	Included optional	Included optional
Image stabilization	Optical	Optical	Optical	Optical	Optical	Optical
Video	H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/30p/ 25p/24p; 720/60p/50p	1080/60i/ 30p, 720/60p H.264 MPEG-4 QuickTime MOV	1080/30p; 1080 x 810/24p; 720/30p H.264 MPEG-4	1080/30p; 1080 x 810/24p; 720/30p H.264 MPEG-4	1080/60p/ 30p; 1080 x 810/24p; 720/30p H.264 MPEG-4	AVCHD 1080/60p @ 28, 24Mbps, 1080/24p @ 24, 17Mbps, 1080/60i @ 17Mbps; H.264 MPEG-4 1440×1080/ 30p @ 12Mbps
Audio	Stereo; mic input	Stereo	Stereo; mic input	Stereo; mic input	Stereo; mic input	Stereo, mic input
LCD size	3-inch articulated touch screen 1.04 megadots	3-inch fixed 920,000 dots	3-inch fixed LCD 614,000 dots	3.7-inch fixed capacitive touch screen 1.152 megadots	3.3-inch tilting AMOLED touch screen 768,000 dots	3-inch tilting touch screen 921,600 dots
Media	1 x SDXC	1 x SDXC	1 x SDXC	1 x Micro SDXC	1 x SDXC	1 x SDXC
Wireless connectivity	None	Optional (via WU-1b Wireless Mobile Adapter)	Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi, NFC	Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi
Battery life (CIPA rating)	230 shots	220 shots	320 shots	n/a	320 shots	430 shots
Dimensions (inches, WHD)	4.3 x 2.6 x 1.3	4.0 x 2.4 x 1.1	4.6 x 2.5 x 1.4	4.7 x 2.5 x 1.4	4.8 x 2.5 x 1.6	4.4 x 2.4 x 1.6
Body operating weight (ounces)	10.5 (est)	7.5 (est)	9.5 (est)	8.5 (est)	10.9 (est)	9.7 (without flash)
Mfr. price	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	$599.99 (body only)
	$599.99 (with 22mm lens)	$599.99 (with 10-30mm lens)	$599 (with 20-50mm i-Function lens)	$649.99 (with 20-50mm i-Function lens)	$749.99 (with 20-50mm i-Function lens)	$699.99 (with 18-55mm lens)
	$549 (est, with 18-55mm lens)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Ship date	October 2012	February 2013	April 2013	June 2013	March 2013	October 2012

This brings Samsung’s ILC lineup to three cameras priced between $600 and $750, which seems a bit crowded to me. The NX2000 offers a lot more than the NX1100 — notably a better screen, NFC, and potentially better performance — for just $50 more. (The NX20 remains in the lineup for now at around $900 to $1,000.)
Samsung tends to deliver the best wireless experience in a camera, and with a decent touch screen that may turn out to be the NX2000′s advantage in this crowd; if it can deliver great performance, that will help, too. Most of the cameras in this class produce comparable photos, and it’s really coming down to speed, design, and feature execution to differentiate among them.


[source:cnet]

Samsung