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Samsung NX Mini review: Almost ideal substitute for smartphone cameras

SINGAPORE — The Samsung NX Mini, which comes in white, baby pink, mint green and brown, looks much better than a regular camera. After using the interchangeable-lens camera for a while, I was impressed at how quickly it became part of my everyday life, replacing my smartphone camera to offer a higher-quality picture, especially when it came to taking selfies and landscapes.

SINGAPORE — The Samsung NX Mini, which comes in white, baby pink, mint green and brown, looks much better than a regular camera. After using the interchangeable-lens camera for a while, I was impressed at how quickly it became part of my everyday life, replacing my smartphone camera to offer a higher-quality picture, especially when it came to taking selfies and landscapes.

Touted as the world’s thinnest and lightest interchangeable-lens camera, the NX Mini sports a 22.5mm body that weighs only 196g (excluding the lens). It is equipped with a 20.5MP CMOS sensor, which provides high quality, well-saturated images. ISO can be extended to as far as 100 and 25,600, but pictures beyond the ISO 6,400 mark appeared too grainy for normal use.

The NX Mini has a maximum shutter speed of 1/16000 second — which is perfect for capturing fast-moving objects — but it can only shoot at 6fps in continuous mode before it runs out of buffer, much less then some of the competition.

There are three lens options for the NX Mini: A wide-angle 9mm F3.5 lens for landscapes and self-portraits; a 9-27mm F3.5-5.6 lens for telephoto and wide-angle shots; and a 17mm F1.8 lens for achieving the bokeh (background blur) effect.

Taking pictures with the NX Mini is gratifying, but the lack of zoom for all three lenses is a drawback. You can use normal NX lenses with the NX Mini, but you will need to buy an adapter for them.

The NX Mini also comes with a 3-inch touchscreen display that flips 180-degree upwards, but what sets it apart is its Wink Shot feature. When taking a selfie, there is no need to fumble with the camera while trying to hold steady and feel for the right button. Just wink, and a three-second self-timer will be activated.

The NX Mini also shoots video, but video performance is disappointing. Under low light-conditions, videos appear too dim.

Like other SMART cameras by Samsung, the compact camera boasts easy sharing of photos. By connecting the NX Mini to the Samsung SMART app, which is available for Android and iOS, images you take will automatically be stored on your smartphone.

The NX Mini has successfully blended striking features and elegant design into its incredibly lightweight body. Coupled with a rather enticing price and the ease of use, it is a great choice for an interchangeable-lens camera. But while the NX Mini is fairly convenient to take along, it is still not quite as slim as a smartphone, nor quite as powerful as some other cameras — and struggles to have an edge over either.

The Samsung NX Mini now retails at S$549 with a 9mm lens and S$649 with a 9-27mm lens.

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