The Samsung NX30 ($999.99 with 18-55mm lens) is the company's most full-featured mirrorless camera to date, thanks to innovations like an integrated, articulated electronic viewfinder and class-leading Wi-Fi. The 20-megapixel camera sports the same APS-C sensor size you'll find in D-SLRs, and its body design is similar to an SLR as well. If you're invested in the NX system, it's the camera to get if an EVF is a must (if not, the NX300 is a more compact option). It falls just short of winning our Editors' Choice award, which stays with Sony's Alpha 6000, which focuses and shoots a bit faster and is $200 less expensive when purchased with a lens.
Design and Features
The NX30 measures 3.8 by 5 by 1.6 inches (HWD) and weighs about 1.4 pounds without a lens. The included zoom adds about 7.2 ounces, and adds about 3 inches to the depth. The design incorporates a sizable handgrip, an integrated pop-up flash, and an articulating EVF—if you didn't know this was a mirrorless camera, you might mistake it for a compact SLR. It's a bit larger and heavier than the Olympus OM-D E-M10 (3.2 by 4.7 by 1.8 inches, 14 ounces), which also incorporates a pop-up flash, EVF, and handgrip in its design.
The 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS is included. It covers a 27-82.5mm field of view in 35mm full-frame terms, and features image stabilization. Like most mirrorless cameras, the NX system uses lens-based image stabilization. If you want in-body stabilization, you'll have to go for a model with a smaller image sensor like the Olympus E-M10 or the tiny Pentax Q7. If you've got an older Samsung camera and are upgrading to the NX30 there's a good chance that you already have this lens. And Samsung is not selling the NX30 as a body only, so you'll be buying it again. At this time the company is not offering the NX30 with any of its other zoom lenses, which include a non-stabilized 20-50mm f/3.5-5.6, a compact power zoom 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 ($349.99), and the pro-level 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S ED OIS.
All of the controls, save for the lens release button to the left of the mount, are located on the right side. There's a depth-of-field preview button on the faceplate, located so that you can engage it using your middle or ring finger, and the top plate houses the mode dial, drive mode dial, video record button, Wi-Fi button, metering control, control dial, shutter release, and the power switch. Rear controls include a flat command dial with four directional presses (Display, Autofocus, ISO, White Balance) and a center OK button, as well as buttons to adjust exposure compensation, engage autoexposure lock, play and delete images, and open the menu. Samsung also includes an Fn button, which brings up an overlay display that provides direct access to settings.
The overlay menu can be controlled via touch, or via a combination of the rear command dial (its directional presses move from setting to setting) and the top control dial (it changes settings of the active box). Samsung has done an excellent job leveraging the display's touch input; it feels like an extension of the physical controls rather than an afterthought. Most mirrorless cameras with touch screens make it easy to tap the rear display to set a focus point, but the NX30 extends that capability to separate focus and exposure. Just tap and drag the active focus box and a separate box will appear to set the exposure point. The only thing missing is the ability to use the display to move the focus point while framing an image with the EVF, a feature that's still exclusive to Panasonic models like the Lumix GH3.
The display itself is 3 inches in size with a 1,037k-dot resolution. It's an OLED panel rather than an LCD, which gives it a look with a little bit more contrast, and with all those dots it's extremely sharp. I had no problems using it outdoors on a bright day, and the vari-angle design makes it possible to view from almost any angle. I was able to take low-angle shots without having to get down on the ground by flipping the display up and selecting my focus point via touch; that's not possible with a camera with a fixed rear display like the tiny Panasonic GM1.
The integrated EVF is also quite sharp thanks to a 2,359k-dot resolution. It's got a tilting design with four set positions that range from the standard position to one that's almost vertical; just pull it away from the body in order to adjust it. The EVF has more resolution than that of the Sony Alpha 6000, but even with a side-by-side comparison it's hard to tell the difference. Both are a bit choppy in dim conditions.
Wi-Fi is a standard feature in new cameras, but Samsung has been leading the pack in that functionality for some time now. The NX30 is no exception; it's easy enough to copy images and videos to your smartphone or tablet using the free Samsung Smart Camera app. You won't be able to transfer 1080p60 videos or Raw images, but otherwise it's a smooth process. You can also post directly to various social networks, including Facebook, Picasa, Dropbox, and Flickr, or send them via email. Instagram isn't supported like it is with the Android-powered Galaxy NX, but it's easy enough to copy images to your phone and then share them on the popular network. There's a remote control function as well; a Live View feed streams to your handheld device and full manual control is possible.
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