Samsung NX10

Motion (6.00)

The Samsung NX10 records all video using a 30p frame rate, so it captures motion in a very different way than a traditional camcorder would (most regular camcorders record using a 60i frame rate). 30p frame rates are quite common amongst video-capable DSLRs, however, as are 24p record modes. More on how CamcorderInfo tests motion.

Artifacting on the NX10’s motion video wasn’t terrible, but we saw lots of trailing and blur. The video captured by the camcorder also wasn’t very smooth and we noticed some interference in both of the rotating pinwheels in our test. The NX10 also showed signs of a rolling shutter that created a wobbly effect when the camera was quickly moved from side to side. We usually only see this issue on actual DSLR cameras—not mirror-less cameras like the NX10 (none of the Micro Four Thirds cameras showed signs of a rolling shutter issue).

The GF1 can record 720p HD video using a 60p or 30p frame rate. The camera’s 60p mode gave us some trouble when we tried to import the footage into our computer (this was likely an issue with the camera’s AVCHD Lite compression system). We noticed more artifacting, pixelation, and choppiness with the 30p mode, but the files were much easier to work with (the 30p mode uses MJPEG compression).

Like the NX10, the Olympus E-P1 records HD video using a 30p frame rate. We found the camcorder to render decently smooth motion with an average amount of blur. There was some very prominent artifacting around the borders and edges of lines and we consistently saw pixelation on the rotating pinwheels in our test.

The Pentax K-x didn’t have a huge problem with artifacting in our motion test, but its video wasn’t that smooth. The motion video captured by the camera looked jerky compared to what you’d get from a dedicated camcorder. The Pentax K-x records video using a 24p frame rate.

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Video Sharpness (9.34)

The Samsung NX10’s horizontal and vertical sharpness were both measured at 600 lw/ph in our video testing. These numbers are similar to the other cameras we used as comparison models, which makes sense as they all record at a maximum resolution of 1280 × 720. One thing we noticed, however, is that the Samsung showed a lot more aliasing and discoloration in our sharpness test than some of the cameras we compared it to. So, while the sharpness of the four models may be roughly equivalent, the actual quality of the image rendered by the NX10 was below average. More on how CamcorderInfo tests video sharpness.

Low Light Sensitivity (1.99)

The Samsung NX10 required 19 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor, which is a disappointing performance overall. Since all the video-capable DSLRs in this set did poorly on this test, however, the NX10’s performance doesn’t seem all that bad.

Of course, when determining a camera’s low light sensitivity the results are heavily influenced by what kind of lens you have attached to the camera. We did all our video testing with the NX10’s 18-55mm kit lens. Using a faster lens will most likely get you a better low light sensitivity.