Samsung NX30 Smart Camera Adds Flexible EVF And New S-Line Lenses
Samsung has revealed a new smart camera, the Samsung NX30, running the company's SMART 3.0 software for easy uploads of its 20.3-megapixel images to Dropbox, Flickr, and social networks. Launching officially at CES 2014 next week, the NX30 has an APS-C CMOS sensor with Hybrid Auto Focus, up to 9fps continuous shooting, and an ISO 100-25600 range, along with both a 3-inch swiveling AMOLED display and a tilting 1024 x 768 electronic viewfinder. There are also two new lenses to go along with the new camera.
Unlike the new Galaxy Camera 2, the NX30 doesn't get full Android to run apps and such on. Still, there's WiFi b/g/n, email, and Direct Beam support for sending photos to other devices, along with automatic backup to the cloud, social networking, and Remote Viewfinder Pro for turning a nearby smartphone or tablet into a remote control for the camera.
Samsung has also added NFC for quickly transferring images between the NX30 and your smartphone, while the new Group Share feature can simultaneously share a picture with up to four nearby devices. Storage is via SD/SDHC/SDXC card.
As for the camera itself, there's up to a 1/8000s shutter speed, 1080/60p video recording, and both optical and digital image stabilization on offer. The 3.5mm microphone input works with a new audio level meter, with optional input level adjustment, and there's HDMI live streaming for up to 1080/30p video output via HDMI.
Compared to the NX20 of last April, the NX30 has a brighter preview display, while also adding an EVF. That can be tilted upward by up to 80-degrees, and automatically shuts off the AMOLED when you put your eye to it.
Alongside the NX30 come two new lenses, including a flagship 16-50mm F2.0-28 S ED OIS lens. Splash and dust-proof with its metal body, Samsung says it's extra-resilient for outdoor photography, and marks the start of a new "S" line of high-performance lenses. Secondly, there's the 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 Power Zoom ED OIS lens, the smallest wide-angle zoom Samsung has to offer for the NX range, while still including a motorized zoom.
Finally, there's a new flash, the SEF-580A, which has a posable head, 1/8000s reaction time, and can be used as a slave to the NX30's own in-built flash.
The Samsung NX30 will go on sale later in 2014, though pricing and specific availability have not yet been announced. We'll likely find out more at CES next week.
