Event Coverage

Samsung Launches NX100 Digital Camera in Hong Kong

By Alvin Soon - 14 Sep 2010

Samsung Launches NX100 Digital Camera in Hong Kong

Samsung launched their brand new NX100 mirrorless interchangeable lens digital camera in Hong Kong today, and HardwareZone was there to catch it. Coming nine months after the NX10, Samsung's first mirrorless interchangeable lens digital camera was announced in January, the NX100 seems not so much a successor as a different range of camera all together; more compact with a few new tricks up the NX sleeve.

President of Samsung Digital Imaging Division Mr. Sang Jin Park was there personally to help launch the NX100.

Mr. Sang (center) with surprise guests Gaile Lai (left), famous Hong Kong supermodel and Tyrone Turner (right), National Geographic photographer, both users of the NX100.

While the NX10 came in at 123 x 87 x 39.8mm and 353g, the NX100 is a smaller 120 x 71 x 34.5mm and 282g. Even though it's slimmer and lighter, the NX100 still packs a large 14.6MP APS-C size CMOS sensor. It's a sensor similar in size with those found in entry-level DSLR cameras, and larger than the sensors found in Micro Four Thirds cameras, promising high image quality. While the NX10 maxed out at ISO3200 though, the NX100 steps up to ISO6400.

The NX100 is smaller and lighter than the NX10. It comes in white, black, brown and silver.

Both also shoot 720p HD video and come with a 3" AMOLED screen on the back. The NX100 however, removes the built-in flash and electronic viewfinder found on the NX10, losing some features but gaining some mobility.

Introducing i-Function & New Features

The NX100 introduces a new feature to the NX family, a pairing between lens and camera that Samsung calls the i-Function. As a button found on the new lenses announced today, i-Function lets you use the manual focus ring on the lens to control other settings on the camera, like aperture, shutter speed and ISO when turned on. Which setting it takes over depends on the mode the camera is in, like Aperture or Shutter Priority, but the i-Function ring works in tandem with the other controls found on the body; one dial wheel on top and one scroll wheel on the back.

The new i-Function button is marked iFn on the lens.

The i-Function lens ring works in tandem with the dial wheel on top and scroll wheel on the back to control the camera settings.

i-Function can only be used with the NX100 at the moment, while i-Function lenses can be mounted and used with the NX10, you can't use i-Function features with the NX10 just yet. Samsung is coming up with a firmware update to give the NX10 i-Function as well though, so NX10 owners sit tight.

The NX100 also has a Lens Priority mode designed to help beginners understand which lens can be best used with each shooting scene. Each lens is marked with icons which illustrate its main uses, and the Lens Priority mode provides scene options optimized for the specific lens being used, so a landscape lens will display landscape mode and a portrait lens will display portrait mode.

Another new feature is the Sound Picture mode, which lets you record audio when a photo is taken, so you can preserve the moment and even record your own spoken notes.

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