Samsung NX1000 Digital Camera Review

Conclusion

The Samsung NX1000 is the entry level model in the Korean giant's interchangeable lens model lineup. Sporting the same image sensor as the higher end NX200 and NX20, the NX1000 offers much of what the higher end models do, but at a kit price of just $699.99.

In testing we found the NX1000 produced very good sharpness, solid dynamic range, and offered image quality that was quite good right up to ISO 3200. The NX1000 also managed to capture shots at up to 8 frames per second, though the buffer is more limited than it was on the higher NX-series cameras.

The NX1000 did struggle in some key areas, namely in color accuracy and white balance. We found the custom white balance was acceptable, but the automatic white balance system was inconsistent and slightly off in many of our sample shots. These can be overcome by shooting RAW images, but that will also bog down the system. With the camera practically shutting down while it processes images, that can degrade performance severely.

Samsung have billed the NX1000 as a smart, connected camera. It certainly can make use of its connectivity features, but we only found them occasionally useful. More impressive was the amount of features Samsung gleaned from the high-end NX20 while keeping the price under $1000.

The NX1000 offers a lot for that price—but so do many of the cameras in this part of the market. Ultimately, we feel cameras like the Sony NEX-F3 offer more for less money, but the NX1000 offers a solid combination of size, speed, low light performance, and sharpness with a solid menu system. It's worth a look if you're shopping here, but we feel there are slightly better values to be had.