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Manual Control Options
The Samsung NV7 has a full palette of control ranging from manual to priority modes to the automatic and scene modes. There are plenty of adjustments with the white balance, ISO, focus, and other parameters too. Read on for more details on the camera’s controls.
Focus
Auto Focus
The through-the-lens auto focus system operates on contrast detection and didn't seem to do too well shooting plain shiny surfaces and other low contrast subjects. The auto focus system can focus as close as 1-10 cm in the super macro mode, and the macro mode extends the focus to 10-80 cm in wide and 60 cm to 2 meters in telephoto. Normally, the Schneider-Kreuznach lens can focus from 80 cm in wide and 2 meters in telephoto to infinity. In case users don’t want to jog between macro and normal focus modes all the time, there is an auto macro setting that bridges the two. The auto focus system works fairly well, but takes about a quarter of a second, most of the time. This slight shutter lag is a bit annoying.
Manual Focus
In the auto focus menu, the NV7’s manual focus option is hidden. When selected, users can move the focal point across a sliding horizontal bar. On one end of the bar is ∞ and on the other end is 1 cm. A line shows you the whereabouts of the focal point. The resolution on the LCD screen is good enough that manual focus is possible, but there is no magnified view like on many compact models.
ISO
The Samsung NV7’s ISO offerings are more expansive than in most models. This digital camera has Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1000 settings. When a picture that used the top ISO setting was magnified, the subject’s edges looked frayed and furry. There is some noise in the picture, but that happens with all digital cameras at higher ISO sensitivities. The NV7 takes advantage of its ISO settings by offering an Advanced Shake Reduction mode. This employs the higher ISO settings while activating the image stabilization system and bumping up the shutter speeds to move quickly.
White Balance
In the on-screen shooting menu is the white balance mode with its several settings: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent H, Fluorescent L, Tungsten, and Custom. The presets can be adjusted by a Kelvin temperature scale from 3000-10000 degrees; this is located in the same menu. The Custom white balance setting is simple to set, thanks to on-screen directions and a small frame in which to capture true white. There is a live view when scrolling through the options, which is helpful in choosing the correct one.
Exposure
The Samsung NV7 does not show any histograms so users can monitor the exposure continuously, but it does allow plenty of control otherwise. Photographers can adjust the shutter speed and aperture in the manual modes, and the exposure compensation can be set in the program and many of the scene modes. In the Auto mode, there is a simplified version. The exposure compensation is very simple to adjust anyway. You just move a sliding bar from 0 to +2 or -2 in 1/3 increments. The Auto mode just dumbs this down to a scale with Dark on one end and Bright on the other. There is an auto exposure bracketing mode grouped with the burst modes, but there didn’t seem to be any way to set it.
Metering
The NV7 has standard metering modes. The Multi is the default and averages the exposure from the entire frame. The Center mode measures the lighting toward the center, and the Spot mode samples from a much smaller area in the middle.
Shutter Speed
With a mechanical and electronic shutter, the Samsung NV7 can snap as fast as 1/1500th of a second. The shutter goes as slow as one second in the auto mode, 4 seconds in the night mode, and 15 seconds in the manual and shutter speed priority modes. The fireworks scene mode has a fixed shutter speed of four seconds. Users can scroll over the options on a horizontal bar that reads “Slow” on the left and “Fast” on the right and has the tagged and numbered look of a retro shutter speed dial.
Aperture
The aperture options can be scrolled through in much the same way as the shutter speed, with “close” on one end of the scale and “open” on the other end. The Schneider-Kreuznach lens has a maximum aperture of f/2.8 at its widest and f/4.0 when using its full 7x optical zoom. The minimum aperture reaches f/7.3 at the 38mm focal length.
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